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:
Validators - Run validator nodes, produce blocks, and earn rewards
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) → - Overview of all participants
PoS Validators → - Solo validation
DPoS Validators → - Professional validation with delegations
Delegators (Stakers) → - 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:
Staked amount - How much MOS or NFT nominal value you're staking
Minimum staking period - How long your funds are locked (minimum 28 days, set by validator)
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:
Wait for the minimum staking period to end (28 days, or longer if validator set a higher minimum)
Initiate unstaking via Mosaic Chain Explorer
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 →
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 →
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 NFTs → and NFT-Based Validator System →
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 (DPoS) → and Validator Subset Selection Algorithm →
Staking Limits & Parameters
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)
Learn More
Understand the participants:
Actors (Validators & Delegators) → - Overview of all participants
PoS Validators → - Solo validation guide
DPoS Validators → - Professional validation guide
Delegators (Stakers) → - Passive staking guide
Technical details:
Consensus (DPoS) → - How Mosaic Chain's consensus works
NFT-Based Validator System → - Validator NFT technology
Slashing & Auto-Chilling → - Penalties and protections
Economic details:
Block Rewards & Fees → - How rewards are calculated
Staking Incentive Bonus → - Long-term staking rewards
Treasury → - Where fees and slashed funds go
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