A Glimpse into the Matic Staking Program
Earlier in May 2020, Matic announced that its highly anticipated MATIC token holders staking program will soon be activated. Users would be able to delegate their tokens for staking via the Staking Dashboard. The projected MATIC token staking is to go live during step#1 of the Network’s long-awaited mainnet launch. The token delegation event which will be carried out transparently will enable the delegation of tokens to the Matic Foundation nodes in the initial period of the rollout. Delegation on the Matic platform is open to anyone with an Ethereum wallet and MATIC tokens with the minimum delegation amount slated at 1 MATIC.
But What Exactly is the Matic Blockchain About?
The Matic network aims to solve the issues of scalability and usability plaguing the blockchain technology while still being decentralized. The Layer 2 scaling solution for public blockchains uses side-chains for off-chain computation. To guarantee the security of assets on the main-chain, it also leverages on an account-based variant of More Viable Plasma. Matic also ensures the security of all transactions on its network by employing a decentralized network of Proof-of-Stake validators. Thus, the network is designed to enable a better user experience through quicker partial confirmations and financial confirmations on the main-chain.
Why does Matic Need Validators?
In a blockchain network, a Validator is responsible for verifying transactions. The Matic Network is structured in such a way that to qualify as a Matic’s validator all you have to do is run a full-node to earn Rewards and Transaction fee. Validators stake Matic tokens as collateral to verify transactions and ensure the security of the network and get rewarded for their services. Matic ensures that Validators comply with its network rules by having them lock up some of their Matic Tokens as a stake in the ecosystem. In the Matic network, validators are selected through an on-chain auction process held at regular intervals. Validators who are selected during the auction process act as block producers and verifiers on the network. In the Matic network, the validators validate a set of blocks known as a checkpoint and then it is updated on the Parent Chain (Ethereum Main Chain) when this is done, validators are rewarded based on their stake in the network. To become a validator on Matic Network, users need a minimum self stake of 1 MATIC.
About 12% (1.2 billion Matic tokens) of the total supply of Matic Tokens are allocated towards staking rewards. The network aims to utilise a system of gradual decoupling staking rewards during the initial years of Matic Network’s full launch until transaction fees gain enough traction to fully support the network. The rewards will be released yearly with a period of 5 years in this order 20%, 12%, 9%, 7% and 5% respectively. The initial bidding design for validators required a combination of stake, rewards earned, deductions and age. To replace an existing Validator with a new one, more stakes should be placed. If a validator misbehaves, they will have their delegator’s state reduced partially in relation to their delegated staking holdings. Users will also be able to keep a track of the statistics of their holdings, withdraw or re-stake their rewards through the revolutionary Staking Dashboard introduced by Matic.
Matic Staking News
Matic announced its June launch dates for its staking testnet and mainnet. The staking UI had gone live on June 15th and publicly available on testnet. The staking UI will be functional for the Matic network Staking Education Initiative. Users who participate will be able to “experience live delegation to validator nodes on testnet.” However, it will take until the 29th of June for the final staking & delegation to Foundation nodes on the Matic mainnet to go live. Matic also announced the measures they are taking prior to the launch.
“In the interest of ensuring maximum security of our staking mechanism, we recently employed the services of a research-based audit firm to conduct an additional round of audits. They have done a phenomenal job in ensuring the long-term security of Matic Network to be able to cater to our vision of facilitating mass adoption.
Based on their feedback, we will be making a few upgrades before the final launch of staking and delegation to Foundation nodes on or before 29th June.”
