Abstract
Adoption of a power-law APY formula and a separate RewardWeight system to strengthen sustainability, adapt to market conditions, and make shorter unlock periods more attractive while increasing the indicative 104-week APY to 24.52%.
Summary
We propose an update to the WCT staking-rewards formula to improve competitiveness and ensure sustainability across market cycles. This includes:
- Replacing the existing linear APY formula with a power-law function that dynamically adapts rewards to total RewardWeight
- Introducing RewardWeight as a separate rewards-only metric, while keeping StakeWeight unchanged for locking and voting
- Increasing the rewards earned by shorter unlock periods, including raising the indicative 4-week APY from 0.78% to 5.00%;
- Strengthening the long-term staking incentive, with the indicative 104-week APY rising from 20.31% to 24.52% at launch calibration.
This change complements the staking redesign by combining a simpler and more competitive reward curve with a clear separation between governance power and staking rewards.
Background
The current staking-rewards model presents several challenges:
- Uncompetitive Yield: A 4-week position earns approximately 0.78% APY, making the shortest available commitment unattractive compared with other staking programs.
- Steep Incentive Curve: The indicative 104-week APY is approximately 26 times the 4-week APY. This heavily favors the longest unlock periods and makes shorter participation less meaningful.
- Limited Adaptability: The current linear formula eventually reaches 0% as participation increases and does not adjust smoothly across different market conditions.
The proposed power-law formula uses A ≈ 69,661.77 and B = −0.5, calibrated against total RewardWeight to produce the intended launch curve.
RewardWeight is introduced as a separate rewards-only metric so that StakeWeight can remain unchanged for locking and voting. This preserves existing governance power while allowing staking rewards to follow a more competitive curve.
Proposal
1. New APY Formula
Replace the current linear function:
with a power-law function based on total RewardWeight:
2. Separate RewardWeight from StakeWeight
StakeWeight remains unchanged:
StakeWeight will continue to represent locking commitment and voting power. Existing StakeWeight balances, histories, and governance rights will not be rewritten.
RewardWeight will be calculated separately:
These values increase the RewardWeight of shorter unlock periods while preserving the existing 104-week weight endpoint.
For a decaying position, RewardWeight declines with its remaining duration and becomes zero when the position expires. A permanent position does not decay and uses its selected base duration.
RewardWeight is used only for staking rewards. It does not replace StakeWeight and does not affect voting power.
3. Reward Allocation
From the activation period onward, each position’s share of staking rewards will be calculated from RewardWeight:
The rewards calculator and distributor must use user RewardWeight and total RewardWeight recorded for the same Thursday reward period.
Reward periods before activation will continue using the existing StakeWeight accounting. Already settled or claimed rewards will not change.
4. Key Properties
- Market Responsiveness: The power-law formula increases APY when total RewardWeight is low and reduces it smoothly as participation grows.
- More Competitive Short Unlocks: RewardWeight gives shorter unlock periods a meaningful starting weight, making short-term staking more attractive.
- Long-Term Alignment: Longer unlock periods continue to generate more RewardWeight, while the indicative 104-week launch APY rises to 24.52%.
- Governance Continuity: StakeWeight remains the locking and voting metric, so the rewards redesign does not redefine governance power.
- Sustainability: The power-law formula adjusts continuously and avoids the abrupt 0% endpoint of the current linear formula.
5. Resilience Across Market Cycles
- In bear markets, lower participation produces higher APYs, encouraging users to stake and support the network.
- In bull markets, higher participation causes APYs to adjust downward smoothly.
- Across both conditions, RewardWeight makes shorter unlock periods more competitive while retaining a clear advantage for longer commitments.
This responsiveness keeps rewards attractive and adaptable without changing the role of StakeWeight in governance.
6. APY Formula Comparison
The following chart compares the current linear formula using TotalStakeWeight with the proposed power-law formula using TotalRewardWeight.
APY formula comparison
The table shows the indicative APY for a 104-week position. Each column evaluates its own weight system at the same numerical total to illustrate how the formulas behave. TotalStakeWeight and TotalRewardWeight are separate metrics and are not interchangeable.
| Illustrative network total | Before: APY using TotalStakeWeight | After: APY using TotalRewardWeight |
|---|---|---|
| 1,250,000 | 24.00% | 124.02% |
| 2,500,000 | 23.84% | 87.69% |
| 5,000,000 | 23.52% | 62.01% |
| 7,500,000 | 23.20% | 50.63% |
| 8,750,000 | 23.04% | 46.87% |
| 10,000,000 | 22.86% | 43.85% |
| 15,000,000 | 22.22% | 35.80% |
| 25,000,000 | 20.93% | 27.73% |
| 50,000,000 | 17.70% | 19.61% |
| 75,000,000 | 14.46% | 16.01% |
| 100,000,000 | 11.24% | 13.87% |
| 125,000,000 | 8.00% | 12.40% |
The displayed values are illustrative because the governance-facing parameters are rounded. The executable proposal must contain the exact values used by the contracts.
7. StakeWeight and RewardWeight Comparison
The following chart compares the StakeWeight and RewardWeight generated by locking 1,000 WCT at each supported unlock period.
StakeWeight versus RewardWeight generated by 1,000 WCT
| Unlock period | StakeWeight per 1,000 WCT | RewardWeight per 1,000 WCT | RewardWeight uplift |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 weeks | 19.1 | 101.5 | +430.2% |
| 8 weeks | 38.3 | 117.3 | +206.5% |
| 12 weeks | 57.4 | 133.2 | +131.9% |
| 26 weeks | 124.4 | 188.6 | +51.6% |
| 52 weeks | 248.8 | 291.6 | +17.2% |
| 78 weeks | 373.2 | 394.6 | +5.7% |
| 104 weeks | 497.6 | 497.6 | Unchanged |
The largest RewardWeight increase is concentrated at shorter unlock periods. The increase progressively declines as the unlock period grows and converges to the existing endpoint at 104 weeks.
8. Indicative APY by Unlock Period
At the proposed launch calibration:
| Unlock period | Before | After | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 weeks | 0.78% | 5.00% | +4.22 pp |
| 8 weeks | 1.56% | 5.78% | +4.22 pp |
| 12 weeks | 2.34% | 6.56% | +4.22 pp |
| 26 weeks | 5.08% | 9.29% | +4.21 pp |
| 52 weeks | 10.16% | 14.37% | +4.21 pp |
| 78 weeks | 15.24% | 19.45% | +4.21 pp |
| 104 weeks | 20.31% | 24.52% | +4.21 pp |
The shortest-to-longest APY difference falls from approximately 26× to 4.90×. Longer commitments continue to earn more, while short-term staking becomes a viable entry point.
These are indicative launch rates rather than permanently fixed rates. APYs continue to adjust as total RewardWeight changes.
9. Redesign Benefits
- Adaptive Incentives: Rewards adjust dynamically to staking participation and market conditions.
- More Accessible Staking: Shorter unlock periods earn meaningfully more without eliminating the advantage of longer commitments.
- Long-Term Alignment: The 104-week launch rate rises to 24.52%, and longer unlock periods continue to receive greater RewardWeight.
- Governance Stability: Existing StakeWeight and voting power remain unchanged.
- Clearer Accounting: StakeWeight represents locking and voting, while RewardWeight represents staking-reward participation.
10. Implementation Considerations
- Network: Upgrade the StakeWeight proxy to add the permanent-position history and enrollment state needed for historical pricing, deploy the read-only power-law calculator, and upgrade the distributor to derive RewardWeight from StakeWeight history. No second per-position RewardWeight ledger is introduced.
- Migration: Enroll and normalize existing permanent positions without rewriting StakeWeight history. Decaying positions require no migration. Activate the new accounting from a future Thursday reward period with no retroactive changes. Complete enrollment, independent census reconciliation, and external review before activation.
- Parameters: Store the RewardWeight and APY parameters on-chain behind the applicable governance controls and timelock.
- Frontend: Update the staking interface to show StakeWeight and RewardWeight separately, display the new APY curve, and explain the role of each metric.
- Verification: Complete contract testing, migration reconciliation, and an external audit before activation.
Call to Action
We invite the community to review the proposed APY formula and RewardWeight design. Feedback should focus on whether the proposal appropriately improves shorter unlock incentives, preserves long-term alignment, and maintains a clear separation between staking rewards and governance power.
Next Steps
- Network team to finalize the formula parameters, RewardWeight implementation, and migration path.
- Complete contract testing, migration reconciliation, and external audit.
- Frontend team to update the staking interface with RewardWeight and the new APY visualizations.
- Submit the final executable governance payload for community verification and approval.
that is good changing in Good Time. Now start rebuying $WCT. I already staked my all reward. We need to make more secure that system.
