The Fetch.ai Stake Swap: Frequently Asked Questions
We’ve recently announced the Fetch.ai stake swap, which will take place on the 29th of July, 2021. This will give FET stakers who migrate to mainnet an improved reward of more than 13% per annum, far lower transaction fees, a more responsive network and an improved user experience. This article explains some details around the stake migration process and some other FAQs.
What time will the contract be paused?
The contract will be paused at around 10:00 UTC on the 29th of July at a specific block number that will be announced by the Fetch.ai foundation at 12:00 UTC on the preceding day.
What will the reward rate be on mainnet?
That depends on the number of tokens that are staked. The annual rate will be approximately 13% if the quantity of tokens staked remains at the current level of around 220 million FET.
How long will it take to unbond my tokens on mainnet?
Similarly to the staking contract on Ethereum, the unbonding period is around 21 days.
What happens if my tokens have been unbonded but have not yet been withdrawn from the Ethereum staking contract?
The contract freeze will also stop withdrawals of unbonded tokens, so there is no mechanism to deal with these separately. These tokens will also be migrated to mainnet along with the staked tokens and delegated to a foundation validator. Any unbonded tokens that are migrated to mainnet will be given staking rewards of 10% per annum even after they started the unbonding period.
I wanted to migrate my tokens to mainnet but cannot move them now the bridge cap has been reached. What should I do now?
If you unbonded to join main-net but were left stranded by the bridge limit being met, you can just leave your tokens sitting in the contract where they will earn the same annual reward of 10% before being migrated on the 29th of July. You also have the option of migrating them earlier when the bridge limit increases at the end of May.
What commission rate will the foundation validators initially charge?
To begin with, the foundations’ commission rate will be 15%. This is high enough to encourage people to redelegate their tokens to other validators but low enough that people will earn a much better return than they earned from the Ethereum staking program. We intend to increase the commission over time to encourage more users to redelegate.
What if I want to stake with a different validator from the foundation?
As soon as the network is launched, you’ll be able to redelegate your stake from a foundation node to one of the other validators on main-net. We would also encourage you to do this as it improves the decentralization of the network and you will earn a higher reward
How long does it take to redelegate to a different validator?
Tokens can be redelegated to a different validator instantaneously. You’ll then start immediately earning higher rewards because of the lower commission they can offer you. The unbonding period of 21 days is not affected by redelegations.
I’m nervous about the migration, how can I be confident that it will work out for me?
We’ll be running some test migrations on one of our upcoming testnets. This will allow everyone to test the flow and functionality of the new staking system and check that their wallets work on mainnet. If this doesn’t work for you or you’re uncomfortable in some way, you’ll still have a chance to withdraw your ERC-20 tokens before the automatic migration takes effect.
What should I do if I don’t want my tokens to be migrated?
If you unbind and withdraw your staked FET ERC-20 tokens to your wallet any time before the 29th of July, your tokens will stay on Ethereum and will not be migrated. To complete this process before the migration, you will need to unbind your stake before the 21st of July and then proceed to withdraw your tokens to your wallet before 10:00 UTC on the 29th of July.
Will I be able to stake FET ERC-20 tokens on the Ethereum network?
FET staking will continue on Ethereum but with a different staking contract and with a slightly lower annual reward rate of 4% per annum.
Should I migrate my FET now or wait until they’re automatically migrated?
That depends. If you’re a big FET holder and the bridge limit has not been reached then it might well be worth your while to unbind and migrate to mainnet as the higher rewards there justify the transaction fees. For small token-holders it probably makes sense to wait for the automatic migration as this takes care of the fees for you.
If I migrate the tokens to mainnet before the stake swap will I get rewards from the unbonding period?
No, stake swap rewards are only available for tokens that are held in the Ethereum contract when the tokens are migrated to mainnet.
How do I access my FET on mainnet?
The Fetch.ai mainnet uses the same signatures as Ethereum. If you’re using a software wallet like Metamask, you’ll be able to transfer the passphrase to a Fetch software wallet to access your tokens. If you’re using a hardware wallet then this will also be supported. We will be releasing step-by-step guides to make this process as easy and straightforward as possible.
Will I be able to send FET to an exchange?
We are helping exchanges to support the native token, and expect that this will be available when the migration takes place. The cost of transferring to an exchange wallet using the native token will be close to zero on mainnet. It will also always be possible to cheaply transfer tokens across the bridge to Ethereum where you’ll be able to trade them on existing centralized exchanges such as Binance or DEXes such as Uniswap or 1inch.
What happens to the FET ERC-20 tokens stored in the staking contract after it is paused?
The staked tokens will be moved across the bridge to mainnet and used to make delegations to validators.
What happens to my MTLX and ATMX tokens rewards from the Phoenix staking program?
Mettalex and Atomix are both DeFi projects and will stay as ERC-20 tokens for the foreseeable future. FET stakers will be able to claim their MTLX and ATMX rewards up until 14:00 UTC on the 30th of July 2021. After this date, Phoenix rewards will no longer be claimable.
How long will it take for the tokens to be moved to mainnet?
That depends a bit on how long it takes to stop the previous network, perform the upgrade and restart it with all of our validators joining the network. We’re aiming to complete that process in less than ten hours. It will hopefully take less time than that but could also take a bit longer.
I’m a validator, how does this affect me?
You’ll need to be involved in the test-nets and upgrading the network. Initially, the foundation validators will have a commission rate of 15%, and we will encourage users to redelegate their tokens to non-foundation validators. Promoting the migration and helping users will be one way you can increase your share of delegations.
Are you planning to continue operating on Ethereum?
We always intended the Ethereum staking program to be a step towards a fully decentralized mainnet. Fetch.ai is an interchain protocol that brings DeFi agent-based systems to Ethereum and many other ecosystems. We’re committed to the Ethereum ecosystem and will continue to operate agents on that network for the forseeable future.
