ChainStaking
Protocol Specification

The first gamified staking protocol on Solana. A new financial primitive where the staking mechanism itself is the game — not a layer added on top of it.

ChainStaking introduces a novel staking coordination protocol on Solana in which the staking mechanism itself functions as a sequential chain auction. Unlike existing yield protocols that treat staking as passive infrastructure, ChainStaking turns each staking action into a bid — where each new participant must outbid the last, all staked SOL generates real Solana network yield, and the distribution of that yield is determined entirely by participant decisions rather than random selection or time-weighted averages.

The result is a protocol where participation is active, outcomes are shaped by individual strategy and community coordination, and every participant has the opportunity to benefit from both their bid spread and the accumulated yield pool — without any party being able to modify, upgrade, or shut down the contract after deployment.

Solana native staking provides base yield in exchange for delegating SOL to a validator. This process is entirely passive — the staker receives a proportional share of validator rewards with no ability to influence outcomes, no competitive upside, and no interaction with other participants.

Prior attempts at gamifying yield — most notably PoolTogether — introduced the concept of using staking yield as a prize pool. However, these protocols gamify only the distribution of yield, not the staking process itself. The staking remains passive and unchanged. One randomly selected participant wins the yield; all others simply receive their principal back with no additional benefit from participation.

ChainStaking takes a fundamentally different approach. It gamifies the staking process itself. The amount of SOL staked, the order in which it is staked, the timing of breaks, and the final distribution of yield are all direct outcomes of how participants choose to act. There is no separation between the staking mechanism and the game — they are one and the same.

ChainStaking introduces what can be described as a Chain Auction — a new financial structure in which sequential bidding, real yield generation, and community coordination combine into a single on-chain mechanism. This structure has not previously existed in any form.

ChainStaking deploys 10 permanent, immutable on-chain chains. Each chain has a fixed spread percentage that determines the minimum bid increment required to enter after the previous participant. Chains never close, reset, or expire — they restart immediately after each break regardless of unstaking progress.

All chains begin at a minimum entry of 0.01 SOL. Each subsequent entry must be at least the previous entry amount multiplied by (1 + spread%). All SOL entering the protocol — whether through chain entries or community pot donations — is staked immediately upon receipt to a validator selected by the participant from an on-chain hardcoded list of trusted validators.

Any wallet may enter any chain at any time by staking the required entry amount. The entry amount is always the previous participant's staked amount multiplied by (1 + spread%). This ensures each new bid is strictly greater than the last.

The first entrant on any chain occupies a unique position: they may exit the chain and reclaim their staked SOL (minus fees) at any time, provided no other participant has entered after them. Once a second participant enters, all positions are locked until the chain breaks.

A single wallet may enter the same chain multiple times, each time at the current entry price. In the edge case where a single wallet is the only participant on a chain and breaks it, they collect all proceeds from that chain as both the leader and the only earlier staker.

All SOL entering the protocol — from both entries and community pot donations — is staked immediately with the validator selected by the depositing participant. However, the yield generated by each type of deposit flows to a distinct pool:

• Total yield pool: The aggregate staking rewards generated by entry stakes only. Determined by subtracting each entry account's principal from its current staked amount. This is the prize competed for at chain break.
• Community pot: Funded by direct donations AND by the staking yield those donations generate. Because donated SOL is staked immediately, the community pot grows organically over time — even without additional donations — as its staked balance accrues yield. This creates a natural, time-based pressure on the last holder.
• User principals: The original staked amount for each entry. Used to determine payouts at chain break.

This dual-pool structure means that the longer a chain runs, the more pressure builds from two directions simultaneously — the yield pool grows larger (making it more valuable to claim), while the community pot grows on its own (moving closer to the break target without any user action required).

A chain can be broken in one of two ways. Each results in a distinct distribution of the yield pool and community pot.

Regardless of break type, the first entry's payout is directed to the community pot rather than to a prior participant, as no prior participant exists. This seeds the community pot from the start of every chain.

When a chain breaks, all associated staking accounts must be unstaked before participants can claim their SOL. This unstaking process is open to any user — not just those who participated in the chain.

Any user can trigger the unstaking of up to 5 accounts at a time. For each account unstaked, the triggering user receives 0.01 SOL immediately from the flat fee reserve. This creates a community incentive to process unstaking efficiently without requiring the protocol to do so centrally.

New chains restart immediately after a break, regardless of unstaking progress on the previous chain. The unstaking process does not block or delay continued protocol activity.

ChainStaking includes an on-chain secondary market where participants can list their chain positions for sale at any asking price. This creates a liquid exit path for participants who wish to leave a chain before it breaks, and an alternative entry path for participants who wish to acquire a position at a negotiated price below the current chain entry cost.

When a position is sold, the buyer inherits the seller's position in the chain — including its staked amount and its place in the payout order. The seller receives the agreed asking price immediately. Position listings display both estimated profit scenarios (community break and manual break) so buyers can make informed decisions before purchasing.

The position marketplace also serves as a safeguard against hostile holding strategies. If a participant places an outsized bid that others cannot match, earlier stakers have the option to sell their positions for immediate liquidity rather than waiting indefinitely for a chain break. This prevents any single participant from effectively holding the chain hostage against the interests of other participants.

Solana natively auto-compounds staking rewards approximately every two days. Once rewards are unstaked and available, any user may additionally compound them back into the protocol manually. Compounded rewards are re-staked with a validator of the user's choosing and added to the yield pool, where they continue generating additional staking yield.

Compounding is entirely optional and permissionless — any wallet may trigger it for any available unstaked rewards in the protocol.

At the time of any staking action — entry or donation — participants select a validator from a hardcoded on-chain list of trusted validators. This list is immutable after deployment and cannot be modified by any party.

The ChainStaking smart contract is deployed without update authority. Once live, it cannot be modified, paused, upgraded, or shut down by any party — including the original developers. All logic is fixed at deployment.

This design choice is intentional. The protocol is meant to be a permanent, trustless primitive — one that participants can interact with indefinitely without reliance on any central operator.