# Stake Relay

## RELAY and veRELAY: How Staking & Locking Work

Users can now obtain veRELAY in two ways: (1) by staking RELAY tokens, and (2) by locking RELAY tokens. Whichever you choose, you must claim your veRELAY tokens to receive benefits, and once you unstake or unlock your RELAY tokens, you will lose your veRELAY.

The locking model allows RELAY holders to maximize their investments and instantly benefit from long-term staking rewards.

### Staking

RelayChain offers RELAY holders the ability to stake their RELAY tokens; one of the various utility aspects that the token provides its holders. When you stake your RELAY tokens, you receive veRELAY tokens in return. veRELAY holdings are the primary determinant of how much each holder receives as a portion of protocol generated fees. The more RELAY a holder stakes, the more veRELAY they earn, and by extension a larger portion of protocol generated fees. The formula is simply described as follows: For every RELAY token a holder stakes, they will earn 0.014 veRELAY tokens per hour.

The maximum amount of veRELAY tokens a holder can earn is \~180 times the amount of RELAY tokens they staked. That maximum amount can only be reached after 18 months of continued staking. Unstaking RELAY instantly results in the loss of all accumulated veRELAY and the RELAY tokens are returned to the staker’s wallet.

### Locking

RELAY locking operates in a somewhat similar manner to staking, with the key difference being that users who lock their tokens can receive instant veRELAY tokens -- they don't have to wait to accumulate veRELAY tokens similar to staking. The amount of veRELAY received is determined by the amount of RELAY locked and the duration of the lock. The formula is simply described as follows: For every RELAY token a holder locks, they will receive 0.336 veRELAY per day locked.

The maximum amount of veRELAY a locker can initially earn is \~120 times the amount of RELAY tokens they locked. The maximum allowed locking period is approximately 357 days. RELAY holders who choose to lock their tokens can only create one locking position. However, they do have the option to extend their locking position or to add to a that position, if the original lock date has not expired. Keeping in mind that the lock duration can also not exceed 357 days in this case. Similar to staking, unlocking RELAY instantly results in the loss of all credited veRELAY and the RELAY tokens are returned to the locker’s wallet.

**Staking example**

Jane staked 1,000 RELAY to earn veRELAY. 1 RELAY generates 0.014 veRELAY per hour. Jane left her tokens staked for a period of 3 months (\~90 days) to earn veRELAY, and by extension a portion of generated protocol revenues. She will have earned 30,240 veRELAY at the end of those 3 months (1,000 x 90 x 24 x 0.014). That amount is not instantly credited, she slowly accumulates it every hour.

Jane may choose to add to her staking position at anytime by increasing the amount of RELAY she has staked. She can also continue to keep her RELAY staked past the 3 months period. The maximum veRELAY she can earn with her original 1,000 staking position is 181,440 veRELAY over a period of 18 months (1,000 x 540 x 24 x 0.014) which is approximately 180 times her RELAY staking position. If she unstakes her RELAY at anytime, she will lose all her accumulated veRELAY.

**Locking example:**

Joe locked 1,000 RELAY for 3 months (\~90 days) to get veRELAY. 1 RELAY generates 0.336 veRELAY per lock day. He was instantly able to obtain 30,240 veRELAY (1000 x 90 x 0.336 = 30,240 veRELAY). Joe is happy as he likes to get his veRELAY upfront and doesn’t want to slowly accumulate it every hour or bother about claiming his veRELAY every now & then like with staking. He is also now able to initially capture a larger portion of protocol generated revenues as he has received all his veRELAY upfront.

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