It is essential for users to stake their PoS tokens with dependable and highly performant validators, which is why we have rolled out our Staking Rewards Verified Staking Provider (VSP) Program in June 2022. Through this program, we thoroughly scrutinize potential validators, evaluating factors such as security measures, their on-chain reliability, their provider setup, and value-added services for the whole ecosystem.

Our VSP documentation contains further details about the program, Staking Providers that are part of the VSP will have a blue checkmark displayed next to their names here.

When choosing a validator to delegate to, there are numerous factors to take into account:

Commission Rates: The commission rate a validator charges is the % of your reward that the validator keeps for themselves. A high commission rate means your rewards will be lower whilst a low commission rate could mean that the validator may not be profitable and could cause issues for them in the future. Keep in mind that validators can adjust their commission rates up or down over time. 

Number of Users: A high number of delegators could indicate positive sentiment towards a validator. 

Validators Self-Staked balance: A provider that has a high amount of staked tokens likely has more incentive to continue operating their services as they have more to lose than those with low self-staked balances. 

Current Status: You can see whether the validator is currently active or not by checking the validator list shown on this page. Validators that are active have a light teal check mark next to their name.

Network Share/Voting Power: You typically don’t want to choose a validator with the highest voting power or a validator with a low network share. Delegating to the most popular validators increases centralisation risks within the network as those validators will have more say in governance and a larger share of the blocks. A validator with a low network share, might not be profitable and hence increases the risk of them discontinuing their services.

Value Add to the Ecosystem: Some providers offer extra services to their delegators, such as tax reporting tools, explorers, etc. This can be another great way to filter for validators that are thinking long-term. You can view the value-added services of staking providers by searching for their profile on our website and scroll down towards the bottom of the page.

After delegating your INJ tokens, there are a few things to keep in mind:

• It is possible to switch your delegation from one validator to another without waiting for the unbonding period. This may be something to consider if your current validator raises their commission rate or gets jailed for misbehavior on the chain. However, please note that once you’ve redelegated, you’ll need to wait 21 days before you can do it again.
• Keep in mind that rewards are not auto-compounded, so to maximize your returns, you may want to claim and stake your rewards more frequently. However, it’s important to consider that each transaction will incur gas fees, so you may want to use our Injective Staking Calculator to determine the optimal re-staking frequency for your amount of INJ. Alternatively, you can use tools like restake.app to choose a validator that will auto-compound your rewards for you.
• As a participant in the Injective ecosystem, you will have the opportunity to vote on Injective Governance Proposals. If you don’t vote as a delegator, your voting weight will be transferred to the validator. In the event that you vote after your validator has already voted for you, then your vote will replace the validator’s vote for your voting weight. While your contribution and vote are highly valuable to the ecosystem, it won’t affect your rewards.

We strive to make staking as safe and transparent as possible, however, it’s important to consider factors that may influence whether a particular staking option is appropriate for you.

Slashing risk: When delegating to a validator, there is a risk of being partially slashed if the validator misbehaves. This can happen if the validator double signs, which can result in a slashing of up to 5% of the staked tokens. Additionally, a validator can also be jailed, during which time no rewards will be earned.

Unbonding risk: When staking INJ tokens, there is a lockup period of 21 days. This means that investors will not be able to sell their tokens immediately, but instead need to wait 21 days after initiating unbonding before they can be traded again. This is something to keep in mind when deciding to stake, as crypto markets are highly volatile. Consider keeping funds liquid if you do not intend to hold INJ long-term. 

Dropping out of the active set: The risk of a validator getting slashed or dropping out of the top 50 could result in a loss of rewards. It is important to check frequently on the status of the validator to ensure it is active, not jailed and hasn’t raised the commission fees.

Protocol security risks: There is an inherent risk that the protocol could contain unknown bugs, this risk applies not only to staking but also the investment in INJ.

This list is not exhaustive and other risks may apply.

Injective Protocol is powered by Tendermint BFT. Tendermint BFT is a Byzantine Fault Tolerant (BFT) consensus engine developed by Tendermint. It offers instant finality, is horizontally scalable and is secure against malicious actors. It is also open-source, meaning anyone can inspect and use the code. Additionally, it is simple to set up and use, allowing developers to quickly and easily build distributed applications. The active validator set consists of the 50 highest-ranked validators by staked tokens, from which 1 validator is randomly selected to propose a block with 66% of the remaining active validators being required to attest the block in order for it to become final. The higher the stake, the more likely they are to be selected. 

INJ is the native token of Injective Protocol that is used to carry out the key functions of the platform as detailed below:

Token Utilities

• Staking: Users can temporarily lock up INJ to contribute to the security of the network. In return for the service, both the validators and the stakers are rewarded with epoch rewards and trading fees.
• Gas token: INJ is used for network fees, each transaction processed by the network requires a small fee to be paid. Trading on Injective Pro requires zero gas fees as the fees are paid by relayers. All other transactions on the Injective Protocol such as claim, delegate, auction, underwriting and unbonding cost a negligible fee of 0.0002INJ.
• Governance: INJ is used to vote on governance proposals on the network. Only staked tokens are eligible to be used for governance voting. The amount of voting power is measured in terms of stake. Unlike many other networks, as a delegator, you are also able to participate directly in governance, rather than passing your votes to the validator. 
• Collateral backing for derivatives: The INJ token can also be used as a stablecoin alternative to supply collateral for margin trading and for the use of Injective’s derivatives market. Additionally, in specific futures markets, INJ can be used for collateral backing and insurance pool staking, allowing stakers to accrue interest on their locked liquidity provider (LP) tokens.
• Developer Incentives: 40% of fees generated by users on dApps built on Injective go directly towards incentivizing new developers building on Injective which brings an ever growing funnel of builders to Injective.

Read our Deep-Dive Article here.

The initial supply of INJ is 100,000,000 tokens and shall increase over time through block rewards. The target INJ inflation is 7% at genesis and will decrease over time to 2%. Gradually, the total supply of INJ may be lower than the initial supply due to the deflationary mechanism. 60% of the exchange fees will undergo an on-chain buy-back-and-burn event where the aggregate exchange fee basket is auctioned off to the highest bidder in exchange for INJ. The INJ proceeds of this auction are then burned, thus deflating the total INJ supply. The total supply is expected to be vested in January 2024.

Initial token distribution:

The Initial token distribution of INJ is as follows:

• 9% was allocated to the Binance Launchpad Sale
• 6% was allocated to the Seed investors
• 16.67% was allocated to Private sale investors
• 20% was allocated to the team
• 2% was allocated to Advisors
• 36.33% was allocated to Ecosystem development
• 10% was allocated to Community growth
• 9% was allocated to the Binance Launchpad Sale