Validator economics are not final yet. Phase 1 is permissioned and does not include the full staking and slashing model described here.
Why validators get paid
Validators provide the PPS updates SuperVaults need to function safely. If updates stop or become dishonest, vault operations degrade quickly. Rewards exist to keep high-quality operators online and aligned with the network.
Rewards
Vault operators pay upkeep fees in $UP for active oracle coverage. Those fees are distributed to participating validators.
The intended model is:
- more stake increases reward weight
- better participation preserves reward eligibility
- missed rounds reduce your effective payout
Exact thresholds and rates are governance parameters and have not been published yet.
Staking
Phase 2 is expected to require validators to bond $UP.
That bond is intended to:
- serve as collateral for slashing
- weight participation and rewards
- enforce a minimum commitment to stay active
Slashing
Slashing is designed to penalize two categories of failure:
- misreporting — signing materially incorrect or invalid PPS data
- insufficient participation — staying below required uptime / contribution thresholds
Exact slash sizes and observation windows are still pending.
Insurance fund
A portion of validator economics is expected to seed an insurance fund intended to backstop depositors if oracle failures cause verified harm.
It is not meant to cover:
- unrelated smart contract bugs
- strategy market losses
- immaterial losses below a governance-defined threshold
Rollout phases
| Phase | Model | Status |
|---|
| Phase 1 | Permissioned validator set | Live |
| Phase 2 | Open bonding, slashing, insurance fund seeding | Planned |
| Phase 3 | Governance-managed validator rotation | Planned |
Practical takeaway for operators
Treat the current program as operationally serious even before the full economic model is live. Phase 1 may be permissioned, but uptime, correctness, and incident response still matter because the vaults depend on your node behaving like production infrastructure.
