THIS IS NOT A STAKING INSTRUCTION MANUAL.

Staking is a term used to describe how humans can help maintain a blockchain network. It’s kind of like how Bruce Wayne used his wealth and resources to protect Gotham City. Batman is the guardian of Gotham’s security in a way (an invisible heroic way), making sure that no one tries to cheat the system.

Staking plays a vital role in securing The Root Network by validating transactions, supporting security and upgrades and helping to maintain its overall decentralization. On The Root Network, when a transaction needs to be verified and added to the blockchain, stakers (people who stake their tokens) participate in the process. They use their tokens as collateral to vouch for the legitimacy of the transactions (technically they are putting ROOT tokens into a smart contract). This helps to prevent fraudulent or invalid transactions from being added. See, stakers are like superheroes who watch over the city to make sure it runs smoothly.

The Root Network uses a mechanism called proof-of-stake (PoS) as a way of securing the network.

PoS is a consensus mechanism. It is a way to achieve agreement in a decentralized system. In other words, it’s a way of checking that nobody is tampering with the blockchain ledger by making sure everyone agrees on the validity of a transaction. It’s like a team of Bruce Waynes all nodding in agreement at once.

Once a transaction is verified, the staked token is returned back to the owner and a reward is given. This is how you earn ROOT.

Now one more thing, if the node operator (the computer running the node that validates a transaction) fails to perform its duties, their stake will be slashed — and a portion of it will be taken away. This is how all of the node operators are incentivized to do the right thing for the network. It’s a pretty special thing you know… incentives that make sense all around for proper checks and balances.

If you’re still reading at this point, you’re probably ready to do your part. So here’s how you get involved in saving the w̶o̶r̶l̶d̶ The Root Network.

HERE ARE THE WAYS YOU CAN PARTICIPATE IN THE ROOT NETWORK ECONOMY:

YOU CAN STAKE. This is the easiest way to get involved. Use ROOT tokens that you plan to hold anyway to secure the network and easily earn more.

YOU CAN NOMINATE. Nominate validators of your choice and share more rewards and responsibility. This means you’re giving a vote of trust to a specific node participant (someone with experience to run a node) who helps maintain the network’s security and operation by doing a good job in validating transactions and contributing to the health of The Root Network.

YOU CAN VALIDATE. Validating is for technical users. Like Bruce Wayne himself. This is where you can earn the highest rewards by having the most responsibility. Validators verify transactions and add new blocks on The Root Network. It utilizes the hardware part of securing the network. So if you’re eventually up for getting a Batmobile and you have the technical skill and experience, then this is for you.

CALLING ALL SUPERHEROES. STAKE NOW.