Delegated staking offers numerous validators, and selecting the right one can be challenging.

Once the validator enters our Staking Rewards Verified Staking Provider (VSP) Program, you will be able to support your decision-making process. 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.

In addition, you can consider other metrics when selecting a validator to delegate to:

Commission: The commission rate the 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 is not 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. 

Performance: Make sure you pick a validator with the highest possible uptime performance by viewing the validator information on the Validator Dashboard. Our recommendation is to only pick those with a >=99% performance and a long history of not getting slashed. 

Network Share: Delegating to the most popular validators increases centralization risks within the network, while a validator with a low network share might not be profitable, increasing the risk of discontinuing their services. If a validator drops out of the eligible set, they also stop earning rewards. However, if you are willing to put more time in, delegating to a smaller validator helps support the network's decentralization. You would just have to make sure to check regularly if the provider is still active and operating.

Staking FUSE and using a Fuse Network involves common technological and economic risks associated with blockchain technology.

Validator Risks: When staking FUSE tokens, you delegate them to validators who are responsible for securing the network. If the validator behaves maliciously or fails to meet the network's requirements, your staked tokens may be subject to penalties or slashing. Validators can experience downtime due to technical issues or maintenance. During such periods, they might not generate rewards, leading to a temporary loss of income for stakers.

Smart Contract Risks: Like any blockchain platform, smart contracts on Fuse Network are susceptible to bugs or vulnerabilities that can be exploited, potentially leading to loss of funds or data.

Please note that this is not an exhaustive list of all the risks related to staking.

Fuse Network is a DeFi project launched in 2019. They are a finance company that tries to connect everyday payments to the blockchain by leveraging a DeFi infrastructure to create a platform for entrepreneurs and allow them to turn their communities into valuable economies.

Turning communities into thriving economies – Allowing companies and communities to enable secure and frictionless mobile payments with ease.

The Fuse Token (FUSE) is the utility token for the Fuse Network and serves multiple purposes within the ecosystem:

Payments: As the native currency, FUSE allows for direct transactions on the Fuse Network without the need for smart contract interactions, making transfers faster and more cost-effective in terms of transaction fees.

Transaction Fees: Users must pay transaction fees in FUSE to approve transactions on the Fuse Network blockchain, as it is the native currency.

Validation: FUSE holders can stake their tokens to become validators, with a minimum requirement of 100K FUSE. Currently, there are over 60 validators helping to secure the network.

Voting: Validators vote on protocol changes using their staked FUSE and the tokens delegated to them by stakers. Validators with more FUSE staked have a greater influence on governance and network upgrades.

Staking: FUSE holders can delegate their tokens to one or more validators. They earn a share of the Fuse block rewards proportional to their stake, minus a minimum fee of 15% paid to the validator(s).

Some of the core team members behind fuse are as follows:

• Mark Smargon – CEO at Fuse.io
• Isaac Rodgin – Business Development Manager at Fuse.io
• Robert Miller – Independent Growth Consultant & Communications at Fuse
• Leon Prouger – Dapp Development Lead at Fuse.io

Fuse launched in 2019 with an initial token distribution of 300 Million FUSE (Plus 5% block rewards per year). They raised $600,000 USD from a token sale on October 24th, 2020 at a price of (1 FUSE = 0.06 USD).

Initial distributions as follows:

25 Million FUSE – ETOP

40 Million FUSE – Early Investors and Advisors

40 Million FUSE – Mesa and Private Sale

65 Million FUSE – Future Dev Pool

130 Million FUSE – Bootstrap Pool