Staking is a critical function of the WalletConnect Token (WCT), enabling the wider community to play an active role in supporting and securing the network and contributing to its roadmap though governance voting. WCT holders who stake their tokens to the network may also be eligible for performance rewards programs, as well as weekly staking rewards distributions.
November 26 introduced the network’s first token holders through Season 1 of the WCT Airdrop, allowing eligible recipients and WCT holders to begin staking their tokens to the network instantly. From today, staked WCT will begin accruing rewards for its holders—a huge milestone for the network and its wider ecosystem. This blog will dive into what that means for the community, and what WCT stakers can expect to see from today onward.
What are staking rewards, and who are they for?
Staking rewards are a key element of the staking function on the WalletConnect Network, designed to reward those who contribute to the network’s functionality by staking their WCT to it. Anyone that holds WCT is able to stake their tokens to the network, including individuals, apps, wallets, SDKs, and more.
Every Thursday, WCT rewards are distributed to eligible stakers based on their proportional share of the total stakeweight in the network. The rewards for each position are calculated by taking their stakeweight divided by the sum of all eligible staking positions' stakeweight. For example, if your stakeweight represents 5% of the total network stakeweight, you will receive approximately 5% of that week's reward distribution.
The amount of rewards you may receive will depend on the amount of tokens you have staked relative to the above outline of structure, and will be subject to change between distribution phases.
What happens now staking rewards are live?
From 19 Dec, 2024, staking rewards begin deploying on the network. Though nothing changes within the staking experience, users who stake to the network will begin to see their rewards from this date.
For anyone staking WCT from this date forward, they’ll begin seeing rewards soon, depending of when they began staking relative to the weekly distribution cycle. To qualify for staking rewards in a given week, your staking position must meet two criteria:
- Must have started before Thursday 00:00 GMT of that week
- Must have at least 1 week remaining in the lock period
Any users that have staked their WCT prior to December 19, 2024 will see their first reward distribution on December 19, 2024 for any rewards relevant to the dates in which they had staked tokens between the function’s availability on November 26, 2024, and the launch of staking rewards. Following this date, they will continue to see weekly rewards each Thursday per the regular cycle.
Already staking? Check your positions here.
For more information on how to stake WCT, or to better understand how staking is structured on the network, see here.