Chainlink Staking is a key cryptoeconomic security mechanism that enables Chainlink ecosystem participants, such as node operators and community members, to back the performance of oracle services with staked LINK and earn rewards for helping secure the Chainlink Network. A part of Chainlink Economics 2.0, Staking enables Chainlink services to scale to secure a broader range of applications and higher value use cases across Web3.

Taking learnings from the v0.1 release and building upon its foundation, the upcoming Chainlink Staking v0.2 platform upgrade creates greater flexibility for stakers, increases security guarantees for staking-backed services, improves the staking system’s ability to support iterative updates to its architecture, and introduces new opportunities for stakers to secure the network and receive new types of rewards in the future. For more information on Staking v0.2, read Introducing the Chainlink Staking Platform: v0.2 Upgrade and Launch Details.

The launch of Chainlink Staking v0.2 will start on November 28, 2023 at 12PM ET with a nine-day Priority Migration period. v0.1 stakers who migrate their staked LINK and rewards during this period have guaranteed access to v0.2. After the Priority Migration period ends, on December 7, 2023 at 12PM ET, stakers eligible for Early Access will have a four-day opportunity to stake up to 15,000 LINK in v0.2 before General Access opens. Afterwards, on December 11, 2023 at 12PM ET, anyone will have the opportunity to stake up to 15,000 LINK, provided the pool is not yet full.

Today, we are launching the v0.2 Early Access Eligibility App, a web interface that enables community members to check their eligibility for the Priority Migration, Early Access, and General Access phases of Chainlink Staking v0.2. Community members can use the interface to connect their address via a Web3 wallet (e.g., MetaMask), which will then be cross-referenced against a series of allowlist criteria (defined further below).

Connect wallet : Here

https://staking.chain.link/eligibility?utm_medium=referral&utm_source=chainlink-blog&utm_campaign=staking-v02&utm_content=eligibility

Note that checking your eligibility does not require an onchain transaction. It only requires signing an offchain message via your Web3 wallet to verify ownership of the address.

At the launch of Staking v0.2, the capped 45,000,000 LINK pool will consist of a 40,875,000 LINK allotment for community members, with the remainder allocated to Chainlink node operators currently servicing Chainlink Data Feeds. Community Stakers can stake a minimum of 1 LINK and up to a maximum of 15,000 LINK during Early Access and General Access on a per-address basis. Note that entry to v0.2 during these phases is not guaranteed due to the capped pool size. Node Operator Stakers can stake a minimum of 1,000 LINK and a maximum of up to 75,000 LINK.

For more information on the phased launch rollout of Staking v0.2, and the new features being introduced, check out the recent blog Introducing the Chainlink Staking Platform: v0.2 Upgrade and Launch Details. More information regarding the exact parameter details for v0.2, will be provided closer to its mainnet launch.

If you are an existing v0.1 staker, then you will be automatically eligible for the Priority Migration launch phase of v0.2.

After the Priority Migration period, v0.1 stakers can still migrate to v0.2 in later launch phases if there is pool space available. All existing v0.1 stakers will also be automatically eligible for Early Access due to their participation in prior versions of Chainlink Staking, where additional LINK can be staked up to the new per-staker maximum of 15,000 LINK. For example, a v0.1 staker who migrates 7,000 staked LINK and 300 LINK in earned rewards to v0.2 then has the opportunity to stake up to an additional 7,700 LINK for a total of 15,000 LINK during the Early or General Access periods.

For non-v0.1 stakers, the table below defines the eligibility criteria for the four-day Early Access launch phase. The v0.2 Early Access Eligibility List builds upon the allowlist originally used during the launch of Staking v0.1, while also adding new criteria conditions based on historical activity to expand access. Community members only need to meet one criterion to qualify for Early Access.

CategoryCriteriaHodlerToken holders who meet any of the criteria below:

1. Held more than 7 LINK on Ethereum Mainnet for at least 50% of the time between May 30, 2019 and June 7, 2022. (Chainlink mainnet launch to Staking roadmap blog)

2. Held more than 7 LINK on Ethereum Mainnet for at least 90% of the time between August 5, 2021 and June 7, 2022. (SmartCon #1 to Staking roadmap blog)

3. Held more than 7 LINK on Ethereum Mainnet for at least 50% of the time from June 7, 2022 and August 25, 2023. (Staking roadmap blog to v0.2 launch details blog)

BuilderBuilders who meet any of the criteria below:

1. Participating teams in any Chainlink-hosted hackathon from Fall 2020 to Spring 2023.

2. Developers who have used Functions or CCIP on a public blockchain testnet on or before August 25, 2023.

3. Developers who have used a Chainlink service on the public testnet of a blockchain in the SCALE program on or before August 25, 2023.

4. Holders of an official Chainlink POAP obtained through Chainlink ecosystem events such as meetups, hackathons, workshops, conferences, bootcamps, Twitter Spaces, and watch parties as of August 25, 2023.

5. Builders with a “Developer” or “Chainlink Bootcamp” role in the Chainlink Official Discord as of August 25, 2023.

EducatorEducators who meet any of the criteria below:

1. Chainlink Advocates, Developer Experts, or any volunteers who have demonstrably hosted or spoken at Chainlink meetups about the Chainlink Network or Chainlink Ecosystem on or before August 25, 2023.

2. Educators with the “Enthusiast” role in the Chainlink Official Discord as of August 25, 2023.

The eligibility list has been optimized to target active and long-term ecosystem participants with a deep understanding of Chainlink and who are more likely to raise valid alerts if they believe an oracle service secured by staking has not met the predefined performance requirements. Similar to v0.1, the Hodler criteria support the use of LINK within top Ethereum-based dApp protocols during the designated time periods.

Note that being on the v0.2 Early Access Eligibility List provides an opportunity to stake during the Early Access launch phase of v0.2 but is not a guarantee of entry given the capped pool size. The v0.2 pool may fill during Early Access before the General Access period begins. Furthermore, the Chainlink Foundation makes no assurances about the performance or security of third-party delegation and liquid staking systems created or employed by node operators or other ecosystem participants.

The launch of Chainlink Staking v0.2 consists of a capped LINK staking pool of 45M LINK, a 20M LINK increase from v0.1. The expansion of the staking pool in v0.2 necessitates a fair-entry mechanism to help ensure a diverse range of staker participation and to reduce the risk of a few well-capitalized participants dominating the pool in the early stages, which could negatively impact the security afforded by Chainlink Staking’s alerting mechanism.

During the launch of Staking v0.1, we observed that the combination of a two-day Early Access period and a 7,000 LINK per-address stake maximum played a key role in maximizing participant diversity. In v0.1, a total of 7,846 Community Staker addresses staked LINK, with a median staked amount of 1,161 LINK. In fact, there were more addresses that staked between 0-500 LINK than there were addresses that staked near the upper limit of 6,500-7,000 LINK.

Chainlink Staking is a key cryptoeconomic security mechanism that enables Chainlink ecosystem participants, such as node operators and community members, to back the performance of oracle services with staked LINK and earn rewards for helping secure the Chainlink Network. A part of Chainlink Economics 2.0, Staking enables Chainlink services to scale to secure a broader range of applications and higher value use cases across Web3.

Taking learnings from the v0.1 release and building upon its foundation, the upcoming Chainlink Staking v0.2 platform upgrade creates greater flexibility for stakers, increases security guarantees for staking-backed services, improves the staking system’s ability to support iterative updates to its architecture, and introduces new opportunities for stakers to secure the network and receive new types of rewards in the future. For more information on Staking v0.2, read Introducing the Chainlink Staking Platform: v0.2 Upgrade and Launch Details.

The launch of Chainlink Staking v0.2 will start on November 28, 2023 at 12PM ET with a nine-day Priority Migration period. v0.1 stakers who migrate their staked LINK and rewards during this period have guaranteed access to v0.2. After the Priority Migration period ends, on December 7, 2023 at 12PM ET, stakers eligible for Early Access will have a four-day opportunity to stake up to 15,000 LINK in v0.2 before General Access opens. Afterwards, on December 11, 2023 at 12PM ET, anyone will have the opportunity to stake up to 15,000 LINK, provided the pool is not yet full.

Today, we are launching the v0.2 Early Access Eligibility App, a web interface that enables community members to check their eligibility for the Priority Migration, Early Access, and General Access phases of Chainlink Staking v0.2. Community members can use the interface to connect their address via a Web3 wallet (e.g., MetaMask), which will then be cross-referenced against a series of allowlist criteria (defined further below).

Connect wallet : Here

https://staking.chain.link/eligibility?utm_medium=referral&utm_source=chainlink-blog&utm_campaign=staking-v02&utm_content=eligibility

Note that checking your eligibility does not require an onchain transaction. It only requires signing an offchain message via your Web3 wallet to verify ownership of the address.

At the launch of Staking v0.2, the capped 45,000,000 LINK pool will consist of a 40,875,000 LINK allotment for community members, with the remainder allocated to Chainlink node operators currently servicing Chainlink Data Feeds. Community Stakers can stake a minimum of 1 LINK and up to a maximum of 15,000 LINK during Early Access and General Access on a per-address basis. Note that entry to v0.2 during these phases is not guaranteed due to the capped pool size. Node Operator Stakers can stake a minimum of 1,000 LINK and a maximum of up to 75,000 LINK.

For more information on the phased launch rollout of Staking v0.2, and the new features being introduced, check out the recent blog Introducing the Chainlink Staking Platform: v0.2 Upgrade and Launch Details. More information regarding the exact parameter details for v0.2, will be provided closer to its mainnet launch.

If you are an existing v0.1 staker, then you will be automatically eligible for the Priority Migration launch phase of v0.2.

After the Priority Migration period, v0.1 stakers can still migrate to v0.2 in later launch phases if there is pool space available. All existing v0.1 stakers will also be automatically eligible for Early Access due to their participation in prior versions of Chainlink Staking, where additional LINK can be staked up to the new per-staker maximum of 15,000 LINK. For example, a v0.1 staker who migrates 7,000 staked LINK and 300 LINK in earned rewards to v0.2 then has the opportunity to stake up to an additional 7,700 LINK for a total of 15,000 LINK during the Early or General Access periods.

For non-v0.1 stakers, the table below defines the eligibility criteria for the four-day Early Access launch phase. The v0.2 Early Access Eligibility List builds upon the allowlist originally used during the launch of Staking v0.1, while also adding new criteria conditions based on historical activity to expand access. Community members only need to meet one criterion to qualify for Early Access.

CategoryCriteriaHodlerToken holders who meet any of the criteria below:

1. Held more than 7 LINK on Ethereum Mainnet for at least 50% of the time between May 30, 2019 and June 7, 2022. (Chainlink mainnet launch to Staking roadmap blog)

2. Held more than 7 LINK on Ethereum Mainnet for at least 90% of the time between August 5, 2021 and June 7, 2022. (SmartCon #1 to Staking roadmap blog)

3. Held more than 7 LINK on Ethereum Mainnet for at least 50% of the time from June 7, 2022 and August 25, 2023. (Staking roadmap blog to v0.2 launch details blog)

BuilderBuilders who meet any of the criteria below:

1. Participating teams in any Chainlink-hosted hackathon from Fall 2020 to Spring 2023.

2. Developers who have used Functions or CCIP on a public blockchain testnet on or before August 25, 2023.

3. Developers who have used a Chainlink service on the public testnet of a blockchain in the SCALE program on or before August 25, 2023.

4. Holders of an official Chainlink POAP obtained through Chainlink ecosystem events such as meetups, hackathons, workshops, conferences, bootcamps, Twitter Spaces, and watch parties as of August 25, 2023.

5. Builders with a “Developer” or “Chainlink Bootcamp” role in the Chainlink Official Discord as of August 25, 2023.

EducatorEducators who meet any of the criteria below:

1. Chainlink Advocates, Developer Experts, or any volunteers who have demonstrably hosted or spoken at Chainlink meetups about the Chainlink Network or Chainlink Ecosystem on or before August 25, 2023.

2. Educators with the “Enthusiast” role in the Chainlink Official Discord as of August 25, 2023.

The eligibility list has been optimized to target active and long-term ecosystem participants with a deep understanding of Chainlink and who are more likely to raise valid alerts if they believe an oracle service secured by staking has not met the predefined performance requirements. Similar to v0.1, the Hodler criteria support the use of LINK within top Ethereum-based dApp protocols during the designated time periods.

Note that being on the v0.2 Early Access Eligibility List provides an opportunity to stake during the Early Access launch phase of v0.2 but is not a guarantee of entry given the capped pool size. The v0.2 pool may fill during Early Access before the General Access period begins. Furthermore, the Chainlink Foundation makes no assurances about the performance or security of third-party delegation and liquid staking systems created or employed by node operators or other ecosystem participants.

The launch of Chainlink Staking v0.2 consists of a capped LINK staking pool of 45M LINK, a 20M LINK increase from v0.1. The expansion of the staking pool in v0.2 necessitates a fair-entry mechanism to help ensure a diverse range of staker participation and to reduce the risk of a few well-capitalized participants dominating the pool in the early stages, which could negatively impact the security afforded by Chainlink Staking’s alerting mechanism.

During the launch of Staking v0.1, we observed that the combination of a two-day Early Access period and a 7,000 LINK per-address stake maximum played a key role in maximizing participant diversity. In v0.1, a total of 7,846 Community Staker addresses staked LINK, with a median staked amount of 1,161 LINK. In fact, there were more addresses that staked between 0-500 LINK than there were addresses that staked near the upper limit of 6,500-7,000 LINK.