Protocol Epoch
Last updated
Last updated
An Epoch is a roughly week-long period that the flow-blockchain uses to manage node list and pay the staking rewards.
Regarding the underlying layer of epoch on flow, the following lists part of important points. Please see the Epoch Documentation for deep explanations.
In a Flow Epoch cycle๏ผit is divided into two phases: Staking Auction Phase and Epoch Setup/Committed Phase.
Staking Auction phase last for 6 days from Thursday to Wednesday (UTC). Users can stake / unstake during this phase.
Epoch Setup&Committed phase usually last for several hours. Users cannot stake / unstake at this short time, and need to wait for the new epoch start.
After a Flow Epoch ends, the rewards are distributed and the next epoch will begin.
Compared with Flow Epoch, the liquid staking protocol also has its own Epoch, which we call the Protocol Epoch. This Epoch within the protocol will start a little later after the Flow Epoch starts. Specifically, after Flow distributes rewards and comes a new Epoch, the Protocol will start collecting rewards from all delegators (up to 50,000) within a short time window (1-10 minutes), and, when collection is done, the new $stFlow price will be calculated for the next whole week. At this point, the Protocol Epoch will be synced to the Flow Epoch (Protocol Epoch = Flow Epoch).
