The Juno blockchain uses the Cosmos SDK to build its proof of stake network and achieves consensus via Tendermint Consensus. Validators and delegators govern the network by voting on changes through on-chain governance. The network operates with a maximum of 150 validators, as set by its network parameters.

JUNO, the network’s native asset, powers all network processes. Juno leads in CosmWasm development and adoption, enabling developers to deploy secure and robust inter-chain smart contracts using Rust. The network launched on October 1st, 2021 and CosmWasm smart contracts became available on December 15th, 2021.

There are several ways to earn a return on your JUNO, including lending them out to custodial providers or through decentralized lending protocols, running your own validator, or delegating your tokens to validators of your choosing.

We recommend using a Keplr Wallet to keep full control over your funds. To stake your JUNO, you should ensure you have your JUNO on your Keplr Wallet and follow these steps below.

Step 1: Go to the JUNO Staking Dashboard and connect to your Keplr Wallet.

Step 2: Select a validator from the “All Validators” list. Check our FAQ on how to choose a validator if you are unsure who to delegate to. 

Step 3: Once you have chosen a validator and decided on the number of tokens you would like to stake, click ‘Delegate’ next to the chosen validator.

Step 4: Finalize by entering the number of tokens you want to stake, then click ‘Delegate’ and confirm the transaction in your wallet. 

Please see here for a more detailed step-by-step tutorial.

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: JUNO delegated to a validator can be partially slashed in two ways: 1) Downtime (soft slash) occurs when validator is offline and does not participate in block commitment, which leads to loss of 0.01% stake. In addition, the validator drops out of the active set and does not earn block rewards for at least 10 minutes; 2) If a double-sign occurs (hard slash), the validator’s stake will be penalized by 5% and also loses the right to propose blocks and earn rewards. In this case, delegators lose 5% of their stake and they will enter the unbonding period which will last for 21 days. As a delegator, the maximum loss you can incur is 5% of your stake, which is generally considered to be a relatively low level of risk.
• Unbonding risk: The unbonding period for JUNO is 28 days. Crypto markets are highly volatile, and investors need to be aware that they cannot sell their tokens immediately once they have staked them. They first need to wait 28 days for the tokens to unbond before they become liquid. Please take note of this lockup before you decide to stake. Consider keeping funds liquid if you do not intend to hold JUNO long-term. 
• Dropping out of the active set: On top of potentially losing out on rewards if your validator gets slashed, a validator could also drop out of the active set, meaning they no longer earn any rewards. Ensure you check back frequently to ensure your validator is active, not jailed and has not raised their commission fees. 
• Protocol security risks: There is an inherent risk that the protocol could contain unknown bugs. This not only applies to staking but your JUNO investment in general.

This list is not exhaustive and other risks may apply.

The maxmium supply of JUNO is set at 185,562,268 which will be reached in 12 years since genesis, i.e. October 2033. To reach the maximum supply, fixed yearly network incentives are allocated to delegators in a linear way: The fixed inflation rate in Phase 1 (Oct 2021 – Oct 2022) was 40%, and in Phase 2 (Oct 2022 – Oct 2023) is 20%, which will go down to 10%, 9%, 8%, 7%, 6%, 5%, 4%, 3%, 2% respectively, and eventually 1% in Phase 12 (Oct 2032 – Oct 2033). 

After 12 years, the above reward schedule ends and JUNO will become deflationary. At that point network incentives would primarily come from transaction fees through hundreds of dapps deployed on the network, IBC traffic, and stakedrops/airdrops.

Initial Token Distribution Breakdown 

Any tokens that have been minted are free to be used and staked. Out of the 185,562,268 maximum supply, an amount of 120,659,020 (65%) of JUNO tokens are reserved for staking rewards. The initial token distribution is as follows:

• Community Stakedrop (Circulating at inception): 30.663.193 $JUNO
• Community Pool (Non-circulating/Locked Onchain): 20.000.000 $JUNO
• Smart Contract Challenges (Circulating at launch): 2.373.341 $JUNO
• Core Development Reserve (Non-circulating/Vested 12 years): 10.084.396 $JUNO
• Core Team (Non-circulating/Vested 12 years): 1.782.312 $JUNO

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

• You can receive your staking rewards at any time by using the staking dashboard to claim them.
• When delegating your tokens to a new validator, you can do so without waiting for the end of the 28-day unbonding period. Any unclaimed rewards from the previous validator will automatically be claimed when you unstake. However, you are limited to one redelegation per unbonding period, and can only move to one validator.
• Staking rewards on JUNO are not automatically compounded. To maximize your returns, it may be beneficial to claim and restake your rewards more frequently, but keep in mind that each transaction will cost you gas. You can use the Staking Calculator to help determine the optimal restaking frequency for your amount of JUNO. Also, consider looking for validator that offer auto-compounding or use tools like restake.app.
• As a staker on Juno, you also have the ability to participate in governance by voting on proposals. Your participation and votes help shape the direction of the network, but it will not affect the amount of rewards you will earn.

JUNO is the native token of the Juno network and it is used to perform various important functions within the network:

Token Utilities

• Staking: Users can temporarily lock JUNO to contribute to the security of the Juno Network and earn rewards from the token inflation and transaction fees.
• Gas token: Gas token: Every transaction on the network incurs a small fee that is paid to the validator in the form of JUNO.
• Governance: JUNO holders are able to take part in protocol governance by issuing proposals and voting on various factors which shape the broader JUNO ecosystem. Each JUNO enables 1 vote in on-chain governance.

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. If you want to know which validators on Juno are part of the VSP, simply go to the validator page on Minstcan and click on a validator’s name. If that validator is a VSP, it will have the Staking Rewards logo shown under ‘Additional information’.

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

Commission Rates: When staking your tokens with a validator, the commission rate represents the percentage of your rewards that the validator will retain for themselves. A high commission rate can result in lower returns for you, while a low commission rate may lead to financial difficulties for the validator in the future. It’s important to note that validators may change their commission rates at any time.

Number of Users: A large number of delegators may signal a positive reputation for a validator.

Validators Self-Staked balance: Validators with significant amounts of self-staked tokens may have a greater motivation to maintain their operations, as they have more at risk than those with lower self-staked balances. However, it’s important to keep in mind that this metric has some limitations, as validators can choose to delegate their own tokens to another validator, which is done to enhance the security of their funds.

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 green dot under them. 

Voting Power: When selecting a validator to delegate to, it’s generally advisable to avoid choosing one with the highest or lowest voting power. Delegating to the most popular validators can increase the risk of centralization within the network as they will have more influence in governance and a greater share of blocks. On the other hand, choosing a validator with a low voting power may be less profitable and increases the risk of them ceasing their operations. Finding the balance and choosing a validator with a moderate network share could be the best approach to keep the balance in decentralization and profitability.

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. 

Value Add to the Ecosystem: Another way to assess the long-term vision of validators is to check if they offer additional services to their delegators, such as tax reporting tools, explorers, etc. This can be a useful filter when comparing different providers.