Staking: The Stag Hunt

Staking in Talos is more than just locking up your tokens—it's a cooperative game. We use a "stag hunt" model from game theory to encourage deep, coordinated participation. When the community works together, everyone earns higher yields.

The Stag Hunt: Teamwork Pays Off

The stag hunt illustrates a simple choice:

• Work Together (Hunt the Stag): When most TALOS holders stake their tokens, the protocol can confidently invest its treasury in high-yield opportunities. This coordinated effort unlocks better rewards for everyone.

• Go It Alone (Hunt the Hare): If stakers act individually or only commit a small portion of their tokens, the protocol plays it safe with more conservative strategies. The rewards are still there, but they're much smaller.

How It Works

Long-Term Commitment

Staking your TALOS signals a long-term commitment to the protocol. This allows for better planning and more strategic treasury management.

Governance and Delegation

When you stake, you delegate your voting power to trusted community members. This is how you participate in the collaborative governance process, ensuring that the community's voice is heard by the AI Protocol Owner.

Smart APR Management

The staking APR in Talos is managed by our AI and adjusts based on community participation:

• Dynamic Rewards: The AI constantly monitors staking levels and market conditions. As more people stake, the reward rate increases, reflecting the benefits of cooperation.

• Adaptive Yields: If staking is low, the protocol adjusts the APR downward to match a more cautious, low-risk strategy.

• Incentivizing Cooperation: This system makes cooperation the most rational choice for everyone. The more we work together, the better the rewards.

The Power of Collective Action

The Talos staking model turns individual contributions into a powerful collective force:

• Smarter Treasury Management: Coordinated staking gives the protocol the confidence to pursue high-yield strategies, boosting returns for everyone.

• Aligned Incentives: The dynamic APR encourages everyone to stake their tokens, ensuring that the benefits of teamwork are shared across the community.

• Optimized Yields: Real-time analytics allow Talos to adjust rewards on the fly, matching risk with the strength of community participation.

In short, Talos turns staking into a powerful, coordinated strategy. By using the stag hunt model and dynamic APR, we ensure that collective participation drives better yields and long-term value for everyone.

Staking Implementation

The staking contract is located at 0x108134293715CDFDc654803ff0cb3bf7e4aBF300.

Staking includes a three-epoch warmup period to encourage long-term holding and prevent short-term speculation. Here’s how it works:

• Vesting: You are fully vested halfway through the second epoch.

• Profitability: Your stake becomes profitable by the end of the second epoch.

• First Epoch: The first staking epoch ends on July 31st at midnight UTC.

This warmup period is a core feature of our system, ensuring that stakers are committed to the long-term success of the protocol. The duration of the warmup epochs can be adjusted by Talos as needed.