// features · staking
Stake and Earn SOL
Stake $GPU as validator collateral and earn SOL from network attestation fees. Current network average is 19.7% APY across the mesh.
How staking works
Validators stake $GPU as collateral against attestation duties. When inference jobs run on the mesh, validators are randomly selected to re-execute samples. Honest attestation pays out in SOL from the protocol fee pool. Dishonest attestation gets slashed.
APY breakdown
| Source | Contribution to APY |
|---|---|
| Attestation fees (cycle samples) | ~14.2% |
| Validator reward pool stream | ~3.8% |
| Slashing recoveries redistributed | ~1.7% |
| Net APY (avg) | 19.7% |
APY is variable. It scales with network volume — higher mesh utilization → higher attestation fees → higher payouts.
Validator requirements
- Minimum stake: 10,000 $GPU (subject to governance vote)
- Dedicated machine with >= 8 vCPU, 32GB RAM, 10 Gbps network
- Uptime > 99% — slashed otherwise
- Run the validator client (open source, Rust)
Slashing parameters
- Fraudulent attestation (signed false work) — 100% of staked collateral burned
- Missed sampling (offline during selected duty) — 0.1% per missed slot, max 5% per epoch
- Conflicting signatures (double-sign) — 50% slashed + permanent exit
Non-custodial
Stakes never leave your wallet. The staking program uses Solana's native PDA model — you delegate authority, not custody. Withdrawals have a 7-day cooldown to prevent slashing-evasion exits.
Delegation (for non-operators)
If you don't want to run a validator yourself, you can delegate your $GPU to a validator and earn a share of their rewards minus a fee (validator-set, typically 10-15%).
# Delegate from Solana CLI
$ vouchgpu stake delegate <validator-pubkey> --amount 50000
# Check accrued rewards
$ vouchgpu stake rewards --wallet <your-pubkey>