These terms, in addition to our General Terms and Conditions and your applicable User Agreement, (available here for residents of the US; here if you are a resident of another country), govern your use of certain staking services on the Moleculus Platform. Note that staking services are not currently available in Japan and Singapore, or in other jurisdictions in which Moleculus does not generally make its services available. Capitalized terms not defined herein shall have the meaning given to them in the General Terms and Conditions or the applicable User Agreement.
The Moleculus Platform allows unrestricted users in good standing who reside in eligible jurisdictions to stake certain cryptocurrencies held on the Moleculus Platform in a third party proof-of-stake network. When you purchase a cryptocurrency that is eligible for staking (an “Eligible Cryptocurrency”), you may be given the option to participate in the Moleculus’s staking program (the “Staking Program”) whereby you may earn rewards (“Staking Rewards”) based on the amount of Eligible Cryptocurrency you choose to stake. A minimum amount of Eligible Cryptocurrency may be required to participate in the Staking Program. Holders of Eligible Cryptocurrencies are not required to participate in the Staking Program, and participants may stop participating at any time, subject to the terms set forth below. Please view our FAQ for Staking for more information.
If you reside in a country other than Australia, Canada, Mexico, New Zealand, South Africa, South Korea, Switzerland, or the United States, and you do not opt in to the Staking Program, you acknowledge and agree that Moleculus may stake any Eligible Assets you hold on the platform in its own name and retain for itself any rewards earned. While Eligible Assets are staked on behalf of Moleculus, you are not entitled to and will not receive any Staking Rewards, but you will not be subject to any unbounding periods (see below) with respect to your Eligible Assets.
Based on the amount of Eligible Cryptocurrency that you choose to stake, you will be eligible to receive Staking Rewards. Staking Rewards are rewards paid in the same Eligible Cryptocurrency that is staked, and the amount to be delivered to you will equal 85% of the amount of rewards actually received by Moleculus from the relevant network of the Eligible Cryptocurrency; Moleculus will retain 15% of the rewards actually received from the relevant network as a commission. You have no right to a Staking Reward unless and until the relevant reward is actually received by Moleculus. Staking Rewards are delivered to your Moleculus account each Saturday after any preparation period has completed (see below). All Staking Rewards delivered to you will automatically be re-staked if possible, and will then themselves be eligible to receive Staking Rewards after the applicable preparation period.
Any APY listed on the Moleculus Platform is only an estimate of the potential annual percentage yield that participants may earn over the course of a year based on the then-current rewards offered by the relevant network of Eligible Cryptocurrency, after taking into account Moleculus’s commission and the compounding of Staking Rewards earned, and this estimate may change over time. The actual Staking Rewards you receive may be more or less than this amount.
When you opt in to the Staking Program, there may be a preparation period (also known as a “warm-up period”) of up to four days before the amount you stake is eligible to receive Staking Rewards. You will be notified of any preparation period prior to staking your Eligible Cryptocurrency.
Depending on the Eligible Cryptocurrency, the network of the Eligible Cryptocurrency may require an “unbounding” period during which staked Eligible Cryptocurrency cannot be transferred, exchanged or withdrawn. This period varies, depending on each network of the Eligible Cryptocurrency, and is typically set at up to 30 days, but may be longer. Moleculus will make reasonable efforts by managing liquidity to allow participants in the Staking Program to transfer, exchange or withdraw their staked Eligible Cryptocurrency prior to the completion of the relevant unbounding period, but in periods of high demand, you may be required to wait up to the full unbounding period specified by the relevant network, plus a short administrative period of up to 4 days. During any unbounding period in which your Eligible Cryptocurrency remains unable to be transferred, exchanged or withdrawn, you will not earn Staking Rewards. At the end of any applicable unbounding period, your Moleculus account will be credited with the relevant Eligible Cryptocurrency and only then will it be available for transfer, exchange, or withdrawal.
The relevant networks of Eligible Cryptocurrencies may charge “slashing fees” based on downtime or if the transaction validator representing the staked assets incorrectly validates a transaction. In the unlikely event that any slashing fees are charged based on the Eligible Cryptocurrency that you choose to stake using the Staking Program, Moleculus will promptly reimburse you for any such amount charged.
Moleculus MAKES NO GUARANTEES THAT ANY STAKING REWARDS WILL ACTUALLY BE EARNED, NOR THAT YOU WILL RECEIVE ANY PARTICULAR RETURN OVER TIME, INCLUDING ANY ESTIMATED APY RATE THAT MAY BE DISCLOSED. Moleculus DOES NOT GUARANTEE THAT THE STAKING PROGRAM WILL REMAIN AVAILABLE ON A CONTINUOUS BASIS OR FOR ANY PERIOD OF TIME. TERMS OF STAKING MAY BE CHANGED BY THE NETWORKS OF THE RELEVANT ELIGIBLE CRYPTOCURRENCIES WITHOUT Moleculus’S CONSENT, AND SUCH CHANGES MAY BE PASSED ON TO YOU. Moleculus RESERVES THE RIGHT TO SUSPEND, WITHDRAW, AMEND, OR TERMINATE THE STAKING PROGRAM IN ITS SOLE DISCRETION, INCLUDING DESIGNATING AN ASSET AS AN ELIGIBLE CRYPTOCURRENCY.
The tax treatment of cryptocurrency may be uncertain in various jurisdictions around the world. You are solely responsible for reporting and paying any applicable taxes based on your transactions on the Moleculus Platform, including any Staking Rewards that you may earn.
Ethereum (ETH) may be staked as an Eligible Cryptocurrency in the Staking Program, but staking ETH is subject to slightly different rules. ETH generally may not be unstaked until the Ethereum network upgrades to version 2.0. Moleculus does not control when this may happen, and it may not happen. While ETH is staked, you may not transfer, exchange or withdraw it. However, Moleculus may offer participants in the Staking Program the ability to unstake ETH depending on the activity of other participants in the Staking Program, i.e., if some participants continue to stake new ETH assets, Moleculus may permit other participants to unstake ETH. This option may not be available at all times or for all the ETH that you have staked, particularly in times of high volatility. Moleculus charges a 2% fee for unstaking ETH. Note that rewards earned for staking ETH are not re-staked, but while market conditions allow, Moleculus will credit your account as if they were. Moleculus reserves the right to suspend or discontinue the crediting of rewards on rewards for ETH in its sole discretion.
In addition to the risks related to investment in cryptocurrency generally (see our Risks Specific To Holding Digital Assets and Important Disclosures), staking poses additional risks. Cryptocurrencies are volatile assets and cryptocurrencies that are staked may lose value over time, including over the period that they are staked and any unbounding period, and so an asset may earn rewards while staked but still lose value. You may not be able to liquidate your investment while assets are staked. You may not be able to unstake an Eligible Cryptocurrency until the end of the applicable unbounding period. ETH that is staked may not be able to be unstaked until the ETH network upgrades to version 2.0, which is out of the control of Moleculus and may or may not occur. The networks of Eligible Cryptocurrencies may change rewards that are offered, preparation periods, or unbounding periods in their sole discretion. Do not stake assets unless you are able to bear the risk of waiting for any applicable unbounding period to end. You acknowledge that Moleculus does not provide investment, legal, or tax advice to you in connection with your activity on the Moleculus Platform, including your participation in the Staking Program. You should consult with your own investment, legal, and tax advisors prior to making any investment decision, including whether to participate in the Staking Program.