Iota (IOTA)

Validators

Mainnet

Name	Address
Kiln	Kilns Validator on IOTA

Overview

Metric	Value
Stake activation time	Instant
Auto-compounding	Yes
Unbonding time	Instant - The staker obtains the originally deposited IOTA together with all accrued stake rewards up to the previous epoch boundary
Rewards frequency	24-hour epochs
Self-bond	Yes
Active set	2M IOTA to join Validator set - If an active validator’s stake falls below 1.5M IOTA, the validator has seven epochs of grace period to gain back the stake before being removed from the validator set.
Slashing	Yes

Staking Mechanics

How does staking work?	Each IOTA validator maintains its own staking pool to track the amount of stake and to compound staking rewards. Validator pools operate together with a time series of exchange rates that are computed at each epoch boundary. These exchange rates determine the amount of IOTA tokens that each past IOTA staker can withdraw in the future. Importantly, the exchange rates increase as more rewards are deposited into a staking pool and the longer an amount of IOTA is deposited in a staking pool, the more rewards it will accrue.
What is the staking process?	You stake your IOTA tokens by sending a transaction to the network that calls the staking function implemented as part of the system Move package. This transaction wraps the IOTA tokens in a self-custodial stake object. This stake object contains such information as the validator staking pool ID and the activation epoch of the stake. For a list of supported IOTA wallets:https://wiki.iota.org/get-started/wallets/ For a demonstration of staking using an IOTA wallet: https://docs.iota.org/about-iota/iota-wallet/how-to/basics
Do funds move out to another wallet?	In IOTA's staking model, particularly in the newer IOTA 2.0 and Shimmer protocols, you retain full control over your private keys and tokens at all times.
Can I keep staking/unstaking from/to the same wallet?	Yes
Can I select how much of my wallet balance I want to stake?	Yes
How do I unstake?	Similar to staking, a user withdraws their stake from a validator by sending a transaction that calls the unstaking function in the system Move package. This transaction unwraps the stake object, and sends both the principal and the accumulated rewards to the user as IOTA tokens. You accrue rewards only during epochs where the stake is active for the entire epoch. The rewards withdrawn from the validator's rewards pool are calculated based on the activation epoch and unstaking epoch of the stake.
How is my balance computed at epoch N for the rewards distribution?	Your reward is typically calculated based on the amount of your stake and the performance of your chosen signal provider at the beginning of the epoch.
What is the slashing risk on IOTA?	Validators are monitored through a "Tallying Rule" system, where each validator assesses the performance of others. If a validator receives a low score due to misbehavior or inefficiency, they can be penalized by having their stake rewards slashed.The Tallying Rule scores are computed at the end of each epoch, and validators are expected to actively monitor and update their assessments of peers to ensure network health
How is commission paid?	Each epoch, within a given validator staking pool, all stakers are assigned the same proportion of rewards through the pool's exchange rate appreciation. Additionally, as validators earn commissions over the stake they manage, validators receive additional StakedIOTA objects at the end of each epoch in proportion to the amount of commissions their staking pool earns. Staking rewards are funded by stake subsidies released at the end of the epoch. The total stake subsidy per epoch is 767k IOTA, which is distributed among pools according to their voting power and the tallying rule.