The words you will meet
This app uses the plainest accurate word it can. Where the industry’s word differs, here is what each one actually means. You should be able to read a block explorer without us.
- Proof of Stake
- Older networks like Bitcoin pick who confirms transactions by making computers race to solve puzzles, which uses enormous amounts of electricity. Proof-of-Stake networks instead ask participants to lock up the network's own token as a guarantee of honest behaviour. Those who lock up tokens help confirm transactions and are paid for it. If they misbehave, part of what they locked up is taken away.
- See alsoValidatorStakingSlashing
- Validator
- A validator is a server, running continuously, that checks and confirms batches of transactions. The network pays it for this work. Running one properly means keeping it online around the clock, keeping its signing keys safe, and upgrading it when the network changes. Sentinel operates the validators, which is the part that requires expertise and hardware.
- See alsoProof of StakeUptimeSlashing
- Delegate
- On most Proof-of-Stake networks you do not have to run a validator yourself. You can point your tokens at someone else's validator. This is called delegating. The validator's influence grows, it earns more, and it shares those earnings with you. This is the word this app uses, and it is also the word you will see on a block explorer or in the network's own documentation, because it is the more precise description of what happens: you are not running anything, you are backing someone who does.
- See alsoValidatorStakingCommission
- Staking
- Staking means locking tokens so they back a validator's work. It covers two different things: a validator committing its own tokens, and everyone else backing that validator (which is delegating). Since you are doing the second, this app says delegating rather than staking, but staking is the word you will meet most often elsewhere and the two are used interchangeably in practice. Either way the rewards are not interest: they depend on how the network is performing and how much is staked across it in total.
- See alsoDelegateRewardsUnbonding
- Unbondingin this app: “the waiting period after you undelegate”
- When you stop delegating, the network does not release the tokens immediately. It holds them for a set period (anywhere from none at all to about 30 days, depending on the network) so that anyone who misbehaved can still be penalised. During unbonding your tokens earn no rewards and cannot be withdrawn or moved. This is a rule of the blockchain itself, not a policy we chose, and nobody can shorten it. Each pool shows its own period before you commit anything.
- See alsoStakingSlashing
- Slashing
- Proof-of-Stake networks enforce good behaviour by confiscating part of a validator's stake when it fails. Going offline for a long stretch usually costs a small amount. Signing two conflicting blocks, which suggests an attack, costs far more. Crucially, the penalty applies to everyone delegated to that validator, not just the operator. This is the main way delegated money can be lost, and it is why validator operation is a real job rather than a passive one.
- See alsoValidatorUptimeStaking
- Commission
- Every validator takes a cut of the rewards it earns before distributing the remainder to the people delegated to it. This pays for servers, monitoring and the people who keep it running. Our commission is set per pool and shown before you delegate anything. We also route a second slice into an infrastructure fund that pays for launching validators on new networks.
- See alsoValidatorRewards
- Rewards
- Networks pay validators from two sources: newly created tokens, and fees paid by people using the network. The amount varies constantly with network activity, total amount staked, and the validator's own performance. Because it varies, Sentinel pays out at a daily rate it sets and reviews rather than passing through each day's raw figure, and a reserve absorbs the difference. What the network pays and what you are paid are related, but they are not the same number on any given day.
- See alsoEpochCommissionAPR
- Epochin this app: “reward period”
- Networks settle rewards in chunks of time rather than continuously. We record what a validator actually received for each period, then divide the sharable portion between everyone delegated to that pool, in proportion to the amount each person delegated. You can see the exact split for every period against your own position.
- See alsoRewards
- APRin this app: “indicative yearly rate”
- Annual Percentage Rate is the usual way staking returns are quoted, but it is always backward-looking: it takes what a network has recently paid and extends it over a year. Actual rewards change with network inflation, how much is staked in total, and validator performance. Treat any APR figure, including ours, as a rough comparison tool between networks rather than a number you will receive.
- See alsoRewards
- Uptime
- Validators are expected to be available continuously. Missing blocks means missing the rewards for them, and a long enough outage triggers a slashing penalty that everyone delegated to that validator shares. This is why validator operation involves redundant servers, monitoring and someone on call.
- See alsoValidatorSlashing
- Custodial
- Sentinel is custodial: we hold the assets and you hold an account with us. That makes it far simpler to use (no wallet, no seed phrase to lose), but it means you are trusting us to be honest and competent. The alternative, non-custodial staking, means keeping your own keys and delegating directly from your own wallet. It removes that trust requirement, and requires you to manage the keys safely yourself.
- See alsoLedgerValidator
- Ledger
- Money on this platform never moves by simply changing a number. Each movement is recorded as two or more entries that cancel out: value leaving one account and arriving in another. Because of that, the total across all accounts is always exactly zero, and every balance can be rebuilt from scratch by replaying the entries. If those two figures ever disagreed, it would mean a bug, and the platform would stop rather than paper over it.
- See alsoCustodial
- USDTin this app: “stablecoin”
- Balances on this platform are denominated in USDT, a token that aims to hold a value of roughly one US dollar. It is used so that amounts stay meaningful without the swings of a volatile token. It is issued by a private company rather than a government, which is its own risk worth understanding.
- TRC-20in this app: “tron network”
- USDT exists on several blockchains, and they are not interchangeable. TRC-20 means USDT on the Tron network, which has the lowest transfer fees of the common USDT rails and is the most widely used. Sending USDT on the wrong network to an address expecting another is the single most common way people lose funds, which is why the deposit screen names the network prominently.
- See alsoUSDT
Something here still unclear? That is a fault in the explanation, not in you. Tell us which word and we will rewrite it. The FAQ covers the questions people ask most.