# Staking
Staking is the process of locking MOS coins to support Mosaic Chain's security and consensus mechanism. By staking, validators produce blocks and earn rewards, while delegators earn passive income by backing validators with their capital.
***
### **What is Staking?**
Staking allows MOS holders to participate in Mosaic Chain's Delegated Proof of Stake (DPoS) consensus mechanism.**Two ways to participate:**
1. **Validators** - Run validator nodes, produce blocks, and earn rewards
2. **Delegators** - Stake MOS coins to validators and earn proportional rewards
**Why stake?**
* ✅ Earn block rewards and transaction fees
* ✅ Secure the Mosaic Chain network
* ✅ Participate in consensus without technical expertise (delegators)
* ✅ Support decentralization
**Learn more about participants:**
* [Actors (Validators & Delegators) →](/documentation/mosaic-chain/architecture-and-technology/actors-validators-and-delegators.md) - Overview of all participants
* [PoS Validators →](/documentation/mosaic-chain/architecture-and-technology/actors-validators-and-delegators/pos-validators.md) - Solo validation
* [DPoS Validators →](/documentation/mosaic-chain/architecture-and-technology/actors-validators-and-delegators/dpos-validators.md) - Professional validation with delegations
* [Delegators (Stakers) → ](/documentation/mosaic-chain/architecture-and-technology/actors-validators-and-delegators/delegators-stakers.md)- Passive staking
***
### **Staking Contracts**
When delegators stake with validators, they create staking contracts with specific terms.
#### **Staking Contract Parameters**
* **Minimum staking period:** 28 days (672 sessions) - Global minimum
* **Minimum staking amount:** 50 MOS - Global minimum
* **Commission rate:** Set by validator (minimum 1%)
* **Max contracts per validator:** 1,000
* **Max stake per validator:** 5% of total supply
**What this means:**
* Delegators must commit to staking for at least 28 days
* Validators can set longer minimum staking periods
* Each validator can have up to 1,000 active staking contracts
* No single validator can control more than 5% of total supply
***
#### **Creating a Staking Contract**
When you stake with a validator, you agree to:
1. **Staked amount** - How much MOS or NFT nominal value you're staking
2. **Minimum staking period** - How long your funds are locked (minimum 28 days, set by validator)
3. **Commission rate** - The validator's fee (locked for the duration of the contract)
**Important:** Commission rate changes made by validators only apply to new staking contracts. Existing contracts keep their original commission rate.
***
#### **One Contract per Validator**
There is at most one contract per validator-delegator pair. Each time you add more stake to a validator, the current terms set by the validator are applied to the contract. The start of the new staking period is also reset to the upcoming session.
**Example:**
* Day 1: Stake 1,000 MOS with Validator A (commission: 5%, minimum period: 28 days)
* Day 20: Stake another 500 MOS with Validator A (commission: now 7%, minimum period: 30 days)
* Result: One contract with the new terms:
* 1,500 MOS at 7% commission, 30-day minimum
**Why this matters:**
* The contract's terms do not change if the contract is untouched.
* You can also benefit from the validator's commission reduction with an existing contract
* The minimum staking period restarts at each modification
***
### **Unstaking**
After the minimum staking period ends, delegators can unstake their MOS coins or Delegator NFTs.
#### **Unstaking Process**
* **Global minimum staking period:** 28 days (672 sessions)
* **Unstaking time:** Nearly instant (1 session = 1 hour processing time)
**How it works:**
1. Wait for the minimum staking period to end (28 days, or longer if validator set a higher minimum)
2. Initiate unstaking via Mosaic Chain Explorer
3. Funds are released after 1 session (\~1 hour)
**Validator control:** Validators can kick delegators after the minimum period ends to free up contract slots (max 1,000 contracts per validator).
***
#### **Early Exit During Slacking Period**
In special circumstances, delegators can exit before the minimum staking period ends: **When a validator is chilled for more then 72 sessions** (manually or auto-chilled), delegators can exit after the 72. session of the slacking period without waiting for the minimum staking period to end. Learn more about [Slashing & Auto-Chilling →](/documentation/mosaic-chain/architecture-and-technology/slashing-and-chilling.md)
***
### **Special Staking Rules**
#### **PoS Validator Staking Limit**
**What this means:**
* PoS Validators stake exclusively through their Validator NFT's nominal value
* They cannot add MOS coins to their stake
* They get the block rewards in to their stake
* Their total stake consist of NFT's initial nominal value and their rewards
**Example:**
* PoS Validator NFT has an initial nominal value of 10,000 MOS
* Validator's total stake = 10,000 MOS (from NFT only) + block rewards
* Validator cannot stake additional MOS coins
* Validator can unstake their rewards
Learn more about [PoS Validators.](/documentation/mosaic-chain/architecture-and-technology/actors-validators-and-delegators/pos-validators.md)
***
#### **Delegator NFT Expiration**
Delegator NFT expiry starts when it is first staked.
**What this means:**
* Delegator NFTs have a limited validity period (12-24 months)
* The expiration countdown begins when the NFT is first staked
* After expiration, the NFT stops earning rewards and cannot be re-staked
* Expired NFTs can be kept as souvenirs or sold on secondary markets (no nominal value)
**Important:** Monitor your Delegator NFT's expiration date and plan to re-stake or acquire a new NFT before expiry.
**Key insight:** You don't need a Delegator NFT to stake. Anyone with MOS coins can stake directly to DPoS validators.
Learn more about [Delegator NFT](/documentation/mosaic-chain/architecture-and-technology/actors-validators-and-delegators/delegators-stakers.md) and [NFT-based validator system](/documentation/mosaic-chain/architecture-and-technology/nft-based-validator-system.md)
***
### **Staking Strategy: Diversification**
**Recommended approach:** Stake with approximately 12 validators to minimize risk.
**Why diversify?**
* ✅ **Steady stream of rewards** - Validators rotate in/out of active set (\~200 active per session)
* ✅ **Reduced slashing risk** - Only stake with slashed validator is affected, not your total assets
* ✅ **Balanced exposure** - Spread risk across multiple validators
* ✅ **Mitigates downtime impact** - If one validator goes offline, others continue earning
**How it works:**
* Mosaic Chain has 2,000+ validators
* Only \~200 are selected as active per session (1 hour)
* By staking with 12 validators, you ensure consistent rewards as they rotate in/out of the active set
Learn more about [Consensus](/documentation/mosaic-chain/architecture-and-technology/consensus-dpos.md) and [Validator subset selection.](/documentation/mosaic-chain/architecture-and-technology/nft-based-validator-system.md)
***
### **Staking Limits & Parameters**
| Parameter | Value |
| ---------------------------------- | ---------------------- |
| **Global minimum staking period** | 28 days (672 sessions) |
| **Global minimum staking amount** | 50 MOS |
| **Global minimum commission rate** | 1% |
| **Max contracts per validator** | 1,000 |
| **Max stake per validator** | 5% of total supply |
| **Validator slacking period** | 72 sessions (3 days) |
| **Session length** | 1 hour (\~600 blocks) |
| **Block time** | 6 seconds |
| **Unstaking processing time** | 1 session (\~1 hour) |
***
***
---
# Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation
If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question.
Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter:
```
GET https://docs.mosaicgalaxy.io/documentation/mosaic-chain/architecture-and-technology/staking.md?ask=
```
The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language.
The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation.
Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.