Staking

Overview

Delegate $ASTER to Aster Chain validators and earn rewards.

When staking, users make two key choices:

• Select a validator

• Choose a lock period

These two choices determine how rewards are generated and distributed.

The basic staking flow can be summarized as:

Select a validator → Stake $ASTER → Choose a lock period → Earn epoch rewards

What is a Validator?

A validator is responsible for processing transactions and producing blocks on Aster Chain.

When users stake $ASTER, they delegate their tokens to a validator. Each validator contributes differently to the network, and this performance determines the validator's total rewards.

Once the rewards are received, they are shared proportionally among delegators after deducting the validator's commission.

This design ensures validators compete based on real network contribution rather than simply attracting large amounts of stake.

What is the Lock Period?

The lock period is the duration where the staked $ASTER cannot be withdrawn without penalty. It determines your Loyalty Rewards weight, and a longer lock period means greater reward weight.

The current maximum lock duration is 208 weeks (approximately 4 years).

Dual Reward Structure

Aster Chain staking distributes rewards through two distinct layers.

Reward Layer	Determined By	Weekly Reward Pool
Base APY	Validator transaction share and your delegation size	150,000 $ASTER
Loyalty Rewards	Lock duration and trading activity	300,000 $ASTER

Separating these two reward streams serves two goals:

• Encouraging healthy competition between validators

• Incentivizing long-term staking commitment

Key Terms

Term	Description
$ASTER	Native token used for staking, rewards, and governance
Validator	Validator receiving delegated stake
Delegation	Relationship between user and validator
Lock Position	The staking position tied to a lock duration
Epoch	Reward settlement cycle (currently weekly)
Base APY	Yield derived from validator performance
Loyalty Rewards	Additional yield based on long-term lock commitment
veASTER	Weight metric derived from locked ASTER and lock duration
Power	Loyalty reward weight calculated from veASTER and Trading Volume Boost
Total Power	Combined Power of all users in a given Epoch
Penalty	Penalty applied for exiting before the lock period ends