Overview

Acurast Staked Compute

Acurast is building a decentralized compute network where anyone can contribute processing power using smartphones. To ensure this network stays reliable and doesn't degrade over time, Acurast uses a staking mechanism that creates economic incentives for consistent hardware availability.

How It Works

Compute Providers (Committers) run the Acurast processor app on actual devices and commit to providing specific compute capacity for a period of time. They stake Acurast tokens as collateral - essentially making a promise backed by Acurast tokens. If they keep their hardware online 24/7 and fulfill their commitment, they earn staking rewards based on their compute amount, stake size, and chosen cooldown duration. If they fail, they lose a portion of their stake through slashing.

Delegators are token holders who don't run hardware but want to support the network. They delegate their tokens to committers they trust, earning a share of the rewards (minus the committer's delegation fee). This helps strengthen providers' commitments while letting more people participate. However, delegators share the risk-if their chosen committer fails, delegators also get slashed proportionally. They can redelegate to different committers anytime.

Why This Matters

This creates "skin in the game" for everyone. Providers are economically motivated to maintain their devices and keep capacity online because failure means losing staked capital. Delegators carefully choose reliable providers because they share the consequences.

For developers, this means predictable, reliable compute capacity they can build on. Long-term commitments backed by financial collateral ensure the infrastructure will be there when needed.

The result is a win-win ecosystem: providers earn rewards for reliability, delegators earn passive income, and the network becomes more valuable as participation grows. Future plans include governance voting rights for staked tokens through the Acurast DAO.