Updated on September 16, 2019.

Please refer to this article for latest Stake Authorization Guide after the release of new governance and staking economic model on July 7, 2020

Stake Authorization FAQ

In September we used comics to introduce how users will be able to authorize stakes to Ontology nodes to gain rewards.

Time flies, Ontology has already carried out several consensus rounds. We’re sure the community would like to hear more about this feature.

What are nodes?

In Ontology’s governance Ontology has “consensus nodes” and “candidate nodes”, who take part in the governance of the Ontology blockchain.

There are three basic requirements that need to be met before becoming a node:

Have at least 200,000 ONT and complete the stake through a smart contract. Submit KYC for compliance. Meet specified hardware requirements.

How can I authorize a stake?

For those in the Ontology community who want to participate in Ontology’s consensus mechanism with less than 100,000 ONT, they can delegate their own ONT (in multiples of 500 ONT) to other nodes and gain rewards with them.

Take this process as an example.

Step 1: Download OWallet (Windows/macOS/Linux).

Step 2: Open OWallet and find “Stake Authorization”.

Step 3: View the node list. After selecting a node, click on the arrow, select the wallet where your ONT is, and enter the node stake authorization page.

Note: You can click on the “My Stake” button in the upper right corner to see authorized stakes you’ve already made.

Of course, try to choose the node with the highest reward proportion!

OWallet also supports Ledger wallet to complete authorized stake. Just select “Ledger Wallet” in step three.

Step 4: Click the “Submit new stake authorization” button and select the number of ONT units you would like to authorize for a stake (500 ONT per unit). Enter your password to confirm and the authorized stake is complete!

From the above authorization process, we can see that both your stake and the node’s can be cancelled at your own will. Consensus nodes may also be knocked out and replaced by another candidate node in the next consensus round (every 120,000 blocks) if their stake falls below others.

How much do nodes earn?

Nodes receive earnings from two places:

ONG from transaction fees: ONG transaction fees taken by the Ontology blockchain. This amount is distributed at the end of each consensus round for those that participated in that consensus round.

ONG from Ontology Foundation bonus: The Ontology Foundation bonus is an additional 1% of ONG from community incentives allocated to nodes for the first three years. This amount is distributed at the beginning of each calendar month for those that participate in consensus for the entire calendar month.

According to data provided by Ontology, the highest-earning consensus node from the two first consensus rounds was:

The consensus node obtained a total of 27,428.9 ONG in the first two consensus rounds.

The candidate nodes started in the second round, so only the second round data is available:

The candidate node obtained a total of 26,264 ONG in the first two consensus rounds.

All staked ONT will be fully returned after exiting. If a consensus round has not begun since your stake was made you can withdraw your stake straight away, if you authorized stake to a candidate node you will have to wait for one consensus round, and if you authorized stake to a consensus node you will have to wait for two consensus rounds. For more details please refer to the Stake Authorization FAQ.

Excited? Authorize your stake now!