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PHPCoin Docs > Staking > How to Stake

How to Stake

Introduction

Staking is the process of holding PHPCoin in your wallet to support the blockchain network. In return for holding coins, you receive rewards in the form of new PHPCoin.

How Staking Works

PHPcoin uses a Proof-of-Stake (PoS) system to reward coin holders. Unlike miners or block generators, stakers do not create or validate blocks. Instead, for each block created, the network automatically chooses a "stake winner" from all eligible participants to receive a reward.

To be eligible for staking rewards, you must meet the network's minimum balance and coin maturity requirements.

How to Start Staking

To become eligible for staking rewards, you must first send a special "stake" transaction. This is a one-time action that flags your address as a staking participant.

  1. Open a terminal or command prompt.

  2. Navigate to the directory where your PHPcoin wallet is located.

  3. Run the following command:

    php cli/wallet.php send <your-address> 0 "stake"

    Replace <your-address> with your own wallet address. The 0 is the amount to send (this special transaction is free), and "stake" is the message that activates your address for staking.

Staking Requirements

Current Requirements (Block 1,000,001+)

For the current mainnet (at over 1,250,000 blocks), the requirements are simple and fixed:

  • Coin Maturity: 60 blocks. Your coins must be held for at least 60 blocks before they are eligible.
  • Minimum Balance: 160,000 PHPCoin. You must hold at least this amount to be eligible.

Historical Requirements

The staking requirements have changed during the blockchain's history.

  • Before block 290,000:
    • Coin Maturity: 600 blocks
    • Minimum Balance: 100 PHPCoin
  • Block 290,001 - 1,000,000:
    • Coin Maturity: 60 blocks
    • Minimum Balance: Increased in stages, from 30,000 to 140,000 PHPCoin.

Technical Details

1. Activating an Address for Staking

An address is recognized as a staking address after it has been the destination of a transaction with the message "stake".

  • Code Reference: The getAddressTypes function in include/class/Block.php.

2. Code References for Requirements

  • Maturity: The getStakingMaturity() function in include/class/Blockchain.php controls this value. The change from 600 to 60 blocks is triggered by the UPDATE_11_STAKING_MATURITY_REDUCE constant (value: 290000) in include/coinspec.inc.php.
  • Minimum Balance: The getStakingMinBalance() function in include/class/Blockchain.php controls this value. The change from a fixed 100 PHPCoin to a dynamic value is triggered by the UPDATE_12_STAKING_DYNAMIC_THRESHOLD constant (value: 290000) in include/coinspec.inc.php. The specific amounts are derived from the REWARD_SCHEME constant in include/rewards.inc.php.

3. Stake Winner Selection

For each block, a single stake winner is selected from all eligible accounts based on a weight.

  • Code Reference: The getStakeWinner function in include/class/Account.php calculates this weight using the formula: (current_block_height - last_transaction_height) * account_balance. The account with the highest weight wins.

4. Staking Rewards

The reward amount is determined by the block height.

  • Code Reference: The reward function in include/class/Block.php reads the reward structure from the REWARD_SCHEME constant in include/rewards.inc.php.