The Basics

Introduction

Casper is a proof-of-stake blockchain network optimised for enterprise and developer adoption. The Casper Network is the first live blockchain built off the Correct-by-Construction (CBC) Casper specification, allowing the network to create sustainable new markets and unlock value by tokenising nearly any asset without compromising performance or security. Activity on Casper is governed by CSPR, the network’s native token, through the soon-to-be-launched governance portal. Casper launched its mainnet on March 31st, 2021.

Casper Labs

“Casper Labs is a Swiss-based AG that started working on the Casper blockchain codebase in October 2018 and facilitated the Casper Testnet throughout 2020 and 2021 until the mainnet launch. While the engineers at Casper Labs contribute new features to the codebase for the Casper blockchain, Casper Labs is also a fully staffed enterprise consultancy business providing support and services for its enterprise clients building on Casper.”

Casper Association

“The Casper Association is the not-for-profit, Switzerland-domiciled organisation responsible for overseeing the network and supporting its organic evolution and continued decentralisation. The Association membership comprises the independent validators which run nodes on the Casper Network.”

Tokenomics

Casper started with a Genesis supply of 10,000,000,000 (or 10 billion) tokens. There is currently 8% inflation annually, which means the total supply grows by the same percentage. This number is subject to change in the future. The inflation is solely used to reward validators & delegators. Transaction fees go to the validator that proposed the block, and these fees are not shared with delegators. The current total supply hovers around 12 billion CSPR.

Token Sale

Casper’s token sale was held on CoinList from March 23rd, 2021, till March 28th, 2021, with an extra community sale on April 7th, 2021. All public and validator sale tokens have been released and are circulating.

Staking

There are 100 active validators(producing blocks and earning rewards) at any given time, but there are plans to increase this number in the future (to possibly 200 or 250). Network-wide APY depends on how much CSPR out of the total supply is staked; 100% of the total supply staked would mean 8% APY, and it usually hovers around ~10% APY. Your first staking rewards will show up after ~4 hours. Unstaking takes 7-8 ERAs or 14-16 hours, during which you will NOT earn rewards.

Safety/Security

When staking CSPR with a validator, your tokens will stay in your custody. This means you can, at any point, undelegate, even when a validator goes offline or becomes inactive. The worst thing that would happen is that you wouldn’t receive any new rewards, so choosing the proper validator is essential. There is no slashing active on Casper.

Things to consider when selecting a validator:

Commission – How much commission does the validator charge? The higher this number, the fewer rewards you earn.
Node Uptime – Is the uptime of their node as close to 100% as possible? Uptime can impact your rewards.
Trust – Is it a transparent validator? Do I know who they are? Do I know what they stand for? Are they verified independently? It’s crucial that the validator is around for the long term and is committed to reliability and security. You don’t want a node to go offline and not notice it; you’ll be earning 0 rewards!
Contact – How easily can you reach the validator? Do they have a support group? In case you need help with anything staking-related, you want to be able to reach the validator easily.
Communication – Do they communicate issues, important updates and changes on time?
Extras – What else do they offer? Do they support projects in the Casper Ecosystem through partnerships and sponsorships? Do they provide educational material such as tutorials? Do they organise events and giveaways? Extras can be the difference between a good and a great validator.

Useful Links

Explorers

CSPR.live | scansper.com | div3.in | Casperstats

Wallets

Ledger – Hardware wallet; must be used with, for example, CSPR.live or CasperHolders. Full Ledger Live support will follow.

Casper Wallet – Official Casper wallet; can be used with CSPR.live or stand-alone, available on Brave/Chrome/Edge/Firefox/Safari and on Android and iOS.

CasperDash – Decentralised wallet offered as a browser extension for Chromium-based browsers (such as Chrome, Brave and Edge) & as an app for Android and iOS

Torus Wallet – Wallet that supports social logins

Burrito Wallet – Mobile wallet originally marketed in the Korean market

Validators

Overview – overview of all active validators on CSPR.live

Speedy Staking – Node 1 | Node 2

Official Casper resources

Casper Language groups

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Last updated 3 months ago