Delegator's FAQ
TL;DR: This delegator FAQ covers how ZIG holders delegate tokens to validators, earn rewards, manage risk, and monitor stake with CLI commands.
Overview
This delegator FAQ answers common questions about staking on ZIGChain for token holders who delegate rather than run validator nodes. Delegators stake ZIG with validators to help secure the chain. They earn a share of block and fee rewards. You do not need to operate a node or maintain server infrastructure to participate.
The sections below walk through rewards math, validator choice, redelegation, slashing, unbonding, and monitoring tools. Each topic builds on the same core idea: you bond tokens to a validator, share in rewards, and share in slashing risk. You can read start to finish or jump to a single question. Read the full staking flow in Staking on ZIGChain when you are ready to delegate. To move stake between validators without unbonding, see Staking Redelegation on ZIGChain. Governance voting power follows bonded stake; see ZIGChain Governance for how proposals work.
Key Concepts
- Block rewards: Inflation-based rewards that encourage staking; the rate adjusts with total tokens staked on the network.
- Commission: The share of rewards a validator keeps before paying delegators; shown as a percentage on validator profiles.
- Fee rewards: Transaction fees shared with delegators in proportion to stake; paid alongside block rewards after commission.
- Redelegation: Moving bonded tokens from one validator to another without going through unbonding first; subject to cooldown limits.
- Self-bonded stake: Tokens a validator stakes on their own account; distinct from delegator stake and not charged commission.
- Slashing: On-chain penalties that burn stake when a validator breaks consensus rules or misses uptime targets; affects delegators on the same validator.
- Unbonding period: The waiting time after undelegation when tokens stop earning rewards but may still face slashing until the period ends.
What Is a Delegator in ZIGChain?
A delegator is a ZIG token holder who supports network security without running a validator node. Delegators bond tokens to validators who validate transactions and secure the chain. In return, they earn a portion of block rewards and transaction fees. Payout size depends on how much they stake and how the validator performs.
When a delegator does not cast their own vote on a governance proposal, they inherit their validator's vote. Validator choice is therefore a governance decision as well as a financial one. You remain the owner of your tokens; the validator cannot move them without your signed transaction.
Delegator Benefits
- Rewards: Earn a portion of the rewards generated by the chosen validator.
- Governance Participation: Influence blockchain decisions through governance voting.
Delegators do not run validator software or pay for server uptime. They still share slashing risk with the validator they choose, so due diligence matters before and after you delegate.
How Do I Become a Delegator on ZIGChain?
Becoming a delegator takes three steps: pick a validator, bond your tokens, and monitor rewards over time. You can use the ZIGChain CLI, a supported wallet such as Keplr, or the Hub interface described in the staking guide.
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Choose a Validator: Review the list of validators on ZIGChain and assess their performance metrics, commission rates, and reliability.
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Delegate Your Tokens: Use the ZIGChain Command Line Interface (CLI) or a supported wallet (e.g. Keplr) to delegate your ZIG tokens to your selected Validator.
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Earn Rewards: Once your tokens are staked, you'll start earning rewards automatically, proportional to the amount staked.
You can delegate to multiple validators at once. Splitting stake across operators spreads slashing and downtime risk.
How Are Delegator Staking Rewards Calculated?
ZIGChain staking rewards come from two sources:
- Block rewards: Inflation-based payouts that adjust with total network stake to balance supply and security.
- Fee rewards: Transaction fees shared with delegators in proportion to stake.
Validators deduct commission before paying delegators. Commission applies only to the delegator portion of total stake, not to the validator's self-bonded tokens. Your payout also depends on validator performance, commission rates, and your staked amount. The example below walks through one reward distribution with realistic numbers.
Example Calculation of a Single Reward Distribution: Consider a scenario where a validator earns 1,000 ZIG in rewards (either block rewards or fees). Here's how delegators receive their Share:
Assumptions:
- Validator's Self-Bonded Stake: 50,000 ZIG
- Your Delegated Stake: 10,000 ZIG
- Validator's Total Stake: 100,000 ZIG (delegator’s stake + self-bonded)
- Validator's Commission Rate: 5%
1️⃣ Calculate the Validator's Share of the Reward The Validator receives the full Reward of 1,000 ZIG but first takes a commission from the delegator's Share:
Validator Commission = Reward × Commission Rate x (Total Delegated Stake / Validator's Total Stake)
Validator Commission = 1,000 ZIG × 0.05 x (100,000 ZIG - 50,000 ZIG) / 100,000 ZIG
Validator Commission = 1,000 ZIG × 0.05 x 0.5 = 25 ZIG
Rewards After Commission = 1,000 ZIG - 25 ZIG = 975 ZIG
2️⃣ Calculate Your Share as a Delegator
Your Share of the remaining Reward is proportional to your stake relative to the Validator's total stake:
Your Share = (Your Stake / Validator's Total Stake) × Rewards After Commission
Your Share = (10,000 ZIG / 100,000 ZIG) × 975 ZIG = 0.1 × 975 ZIG = 97.5 ZIG
You would receive 97.5 ZIG from this single reward distribution.
How Can I Choose the Best Validator to Delegate To?
Validator choice affects your rewards, slashing exposure, and governance voice. Compare operators before you bond tokens. Redelegation has cooldown limits even though it avoids unbonding.
When selecting a validator, consider the following factors:
- Uptime: Validators with higher uptime are more reliable and less likely to face downtime penalties.
- Commission Rate: The percentage of rewards the Validator takes before distributing the remainder to delegators.
- Performance: Historical performance, slashing history, and community reputation.
- Self-Bonded Stake: Validators with more self-staked tokens are incentivized to act responsibly.
- Information Provided: Validators can provide extra information about them through their description, and website.
- Blockchain Interest: If you do not vote yourself, you inherit your validator's vote on governance proposals, so align with operators whose decisions match your interests.
Use the ZIGChain Hub or a block explorer to compare commission, voting power, bonded stake, and APR before you delegate. The Hub does not show uptime; judge reliability from the validator description, the operator's website, and any slashing or jail history on explorers. To list validators from the CLI, run zigchaind query staking validators. A lower commission does not always mean higher net rewards if the operator has a weak track record. Strong self-bonded stake and clear operator communication often signal long-term commitment. Revisit these factors when market conditions or validator performance changes.
Can I Change My Delegated Validator?
You can redelegate tokens from one validator to another without going through unbonding first. Redelegation still has cooldown rules: a 21-day lock on the destination validator and a cap of 7 redelegations between the same validator pair within that window. See Staking Redelegation on ZIGChain for full limits and parameter detail.
Redelegation lets you optimize your staking strategy by switching to validators with better uptime, lower commission, or stronger reputation. It can also help you mitigate risks by moving tokens away from validators with frequent slashing penalties or inconsistent reliability. If governance participation is a priority, you can redelegate to a validator whose voting decisions align more closely with your interests.
Plan redelegations around the 21-day lock on the destination validator. Frequent moves between the same pair hit the seven-redelegation cap quickly. When in doubt, read the redelegation guide before you submit a transaction.
How Do I Unstake My Tokens?
Unstaking—also called undelegation—starts a waiting period before tokens return to your wallet. Rewards stop as soon as undelegation begins. Tokens may still be slashed during unbonding if the validator committed an infraction before you started unbonding. Timing and slashing edge cases appear in the next section.
To unstake (or undelegate) your tokens, follow these steps:
- Use the ZIGChain CLI or your wallet to initiate the undelegation process.
- There is an unbonding period during which your tokens will be locked and not earn rewards. This period is designed to enhance network security.
- After the unbonding period, your tokens will be available for withdrawal.
The unbonding period gives the network time to detect and penalize recent validator misbehavior. You cannot earn rewards on unbonding tokens. You may still lose stake if slashing evidence arrives for an infraction that occurred while you were bonded. See What Happens During the Unbonding Period? for timing, slashing rules, and worked examples.
What Is Slashing and How Does It Affect Delegators?
Slashing is a penalty mechanism that enforces validator reliability and network security. When a validator is slashed, both the validator and its delegators lose a portion of their staked tokens. In Cosmos SDK–based networks such as ZIGChain, there are two primary slashing conditions.
- Downtime (missed blocks): If a validator fails to sign enough blocks within a window, a small slash is applied — typically 0.01% of stake — and it occurs at the time of the infraction. This is by far the most common slash.
- Double-signing (equivocation): If a validator signs the same block height twice, a severe slash is applied — typically 5% of stake — and the validator is tombstoned (permanently jailed and cannot unjail). This is rare but the most serious infraction and can be enforced retroactively once evidence is submitted during the unbonding window.
Because delegators share the validator’s risk, monitoring validator uptime, past slashes, and operational practices is essential to protect your stake. Downtime slashes are small but common; double-signing is rare but severe. Review validator history before you delegate and recheck it when you redelegate.
What Happens During the Unbonding Period?
When you begin the unbonding period, your tokens stop earning staking rewards, but they are not immediately safe from slashing. If the validator you delegated to committed an infraction before or during your unbonding period, your tokens can still be penalized. The unbonding period exists to give the network time to detect and punish recent infractions, preventing validators from exiting quickly to avoid penalties.
Slashing During Unbonding
Whether your tokens are slashed depends on the sequence of events:
- If you are bonded (actively staking) when the infraction occurs: You are slashed.
- If you start unbonding before the infraction occurs: You are not slashed.
- If you start unbonding after the infraction occurs: You are still slashed.
Because double‑signing can be penalized later (once evidence is posted), the chain approximates the stake to slash as follows:
- Unbondings where the infraction happened before the unbonding began are slashed (by the slash factor).
- Redelegations from the slashed validator where the infraction happened before the redelegation began are slashed (by the slash factor).
- Any remaining amount to reach the full slash is taken from the validator’s currently bonded stake.
The timing of your undelegation relative to the infraction matters more than whether tokens are bonded or unbonding at payout. Start unbonding only after you are comfortable with the validator's recent behavior. If evidence of double-signing appears later, unbondings that began after the infraction can still lose stake.
Examples
Example 1: Safe Unbonding
- Day 1: You initiate unbonding of 1,000 ZIG from Validator A.
- Day 5: Validator A double‑signs (5% slashing penalty).
- Day 21: Your 1,000 ZIG are released.
- Result: Not slashed — you started unbonding before the infraction.
Example 2: Slashing After Infraction
- Day 1: You are bonded with 1,000 ZIG to Validator B.
- Day 10: Validator B double‑signs (5% slashing penalty).
- Day 15: You begin unbonding.
- Day 36: Your unbonding completes; 950 ZIG are released.
- Result: Slashed — you were bonded when the infraction occurred.
Example 3: Downtime Slashing While Bonded
- Day 1: You are bonded with 2,000 ZIG to Validator C.
- Day 20: Validator C is offline for too long → downtime slash (0.01%).
- Day 25: You remain bonded.
- Result: You lose 0.2 ZIG; downtime slashing is immediate and affects bonded stake.
Delegator FAQ for APIs and CLI Commands
ZIGChain exposes REST endpoints and zigchaind queries so you can inspect validators, delegations, and rewards without a block explorer. Replace {address} with your ZIGChain account address in the examples below. Run commands against a node that syncs with the network you use for staking.
List of active validators:
/staking/v1beta1/validators
zigchaind query staking validators
Check your current delegations:
/staking/v1beta1/delegations/{address}
zigchaind query staking delegations {address}
View your accumulated rewards:
/distribution/v1beta1/delegators/{address}/rewards
zigchaind query distribution rewards {address}
These queries help you confirm delegation amounts, compare validator commission, and track unclaimed rewards. Pair them with wallet history when you redelegate or unstake so you can reconcile balances after cooldowns complete. Save command output when you dispute a balance or support a governance vote with on-chain proof. For write actions such as delegate or undelegate, use the transaction commands in the staking guide rather than these read-only queries alone.