Restake

Introduction In this presentation we’re going to cover some of the basics of Cosmos ecosystem and what is the work of validators and what they provide. What is Cosmos? Ecosystem based on consensus Uses Tendermint code for Consensus: 2/3 of voting power must agree What problems can chain have? Centralization (too few validators have > 66% voting power) Chain halt because of lost keys or DoS Security issues (on apps or in cosmos itself) Ecosystem Cosmos is a very rich ecosystem that can be interconected via IBC Many different projects and goals: ATOM, NYM, Sifchain, UMEE, Evmos, GenesisL1, Juno, Osmosis, etc Many projects perform airdrops to stakers in other projects What is a validator? A validator is a server that provides consensus to secure the blockchain. It must be available 24/7 and connected to other validators It must be secured to not compromise the chain integrity It has a private key used to ‘vote’ for each block How a validator interacts in Cosmos-based chains? Each validator,based on delegated tokens (PoS) has more power and more chances to propose blocks Validators get a commission from each proposed block transactions Stakers get rewards Validator gets commissions Validator votes for proposals and for their delegates unless they vote individually What problems can a validator have? Fail to communicate with others (isolated) Fail to sign blocks DoS attacks (sentries) Double signing Disk filling with blocks RAM filling because of bad optimized chain code Getting out of active set What punishment? Penalties Jailing Slashing Tombstoning Choosing the right validator (1) Always DYOR Avoid top 10 validators (decentralization, participation in airdrops, etc) Check for experience in other networks Check Validator in the explorer (missing blocks, delegations, etc) Check for participation in voting Choosing the right validator (2) Avoid 0% validators -> they play badly against community Check maximum commission change Experience in testnets (what is tested in test, doesn’t affect you in production) reStake support (via authz) Authz Cosmos chains might include support for Authz Authz allows to grant certain privileges to other accounts Being incorporated in major chains Enables use of restake restake Restake uses authz support to grant permissions to a validator for: Claiming rewards by delegator to the validator Delegate the rewards to the same validator Restake operator (the validator), will pay the fees for the claim and delegate APY increases as restake executes periodically doing compound interest Min # of tokens in rewards Every ‘X’ period of time restake function Validator prepares a wallet that will keep the funds for the fees and will get the auth grant Profile is updated in repository containing parameters (periodicity and min # of tokens) Periodicity in the repo doesn’t need to be the real one Funds are needed in the wallet for restake to cover the fees restake function (cont) Verifies the available funds on bot account The software executes and reviews all delegators for authz permissions minimum # of rewards When verified, claim+stake is performed Links Restake profile (you can switch between networks) Cosmos Intro Blockchain for begginers Cosmos Airdrops (one of many sites)

As you already know, staking allows you to get rewards by depositing your tokens on a validator. Merak has restake support enabled, so it’s your turn to take profit of it! First you need to delegate tokens to the validator in the traditional way, either via restake.app or via your preferred wallet. If you’re using restake you’ll see a dialog similar to this: Once it’s done, if you visit the list of delegations, it will show that Auto-compounding requires to fix permissions: ...

Merak has added restake support for the validator, you can find the current active links in the validator page. In short, restake, via the link provided, allows you, as delegator to autocompound the earnings from staking for free. You can click on the icons in the networks field in the profile tab to select the validator in other networks where restaking is supported by the validator. How it works? Using AuthZ support in some chains, your wallet grants access to the validator to claim rewards in your name and delegate them again to the same validator, meaning that you don’t need to do that manually (and you don’t need to pay the fees for it, as those are paid by the validator itself). ...