What are the phases of SKALE's mainnet release?

SKALE Mainnet Phases

Below is a description of the current planned mainnet phases of the Skale Network. These are subject to change. 

Phase 1: Kilimanjaro 1 - Planned Q2 2020 

Phase 1 will last for 90 days and focuses on launching the network and establishing the network’s security and stability. The network and the SKL token will be functional, but strictly limited to a limited number of actual uses of the network and token. This period of time will be referred to as the “Initial Use Only Period.”

As explained more fully below, SKL tokens will be distributed only to users or for intended use of sidechains, and token transfers will be restricted only to actually using the tokens within the network for their intended use -- i.e., delegation or validation, and paying for elastic sidechains. 

Code Status and Auditing 

The Skale network is a fully open source network with code developed from open source contributions. Developer code contributions stem from individuals, organizations, and core team from SKALE Labs, Inc. 

The SKALE Network code base is under audit from two top auditing firms. Results will be published and shared with the community. 

Functional Scope 

Network Validation 

The SKALE Networks compute and storage capacity during Phase 1 will be provided by independent validators who are incentivized to accept delegation and secure the network.

Users who own SKL tokens can stake the tokens in order to validate for the SKALE Network. This can be done in two ways: 

1) Delegating to a SKALE Network Validator

2) Becoming a SKALE Network Validator to Stake 

Full staking functionality will be available in Phase 1, which includes the ability for anyone with technical expertise to become a validator and accept delegation to secure the SKALE Network. In addition, token holders wishing to delegate will be able to freely choose a Validator of their preference whether they are on the Activate platform or not. 

Both Validators and Delegators will earn rewards for staking to validate the network during Phase 1, which will be received periodically on a 30 basis. All rewards will be locked and non-transferable for both Validators and Delegators until at least the end of the first minimum staking period, which is 90 days. 

The protocol based staking requirement for both Validators and Delegators in Phase 1 will be: 

• 3-month 
• 6-month 
• 12-month 

Sidechain Deployment 

The SKL Token can also be used to deploy a SKALE Chain, but can only be done by receiving a grant from the N.O.D.E. Foundation during Phase 1. 

The N.O.D.E. Foundation has a dApp innovator program that gives grants to dApps to deploy SKALE Chains during Phase 1 (and beyond). The network will have functionality that allows grant recipients (dApps) to deploy a chain for 6 or 12 months, if they are comfortable and ready to do so. All grants will be locked in a Smart Contract and added directly to the MainNet to ensure tokens are used for their purpose and that no tokens are moving in a liquid manner during the Initial Use Only Period. 

Slashing 

During the first 6 months of MainNet only collusion related double spend attacks will be penalized with slashing. The slashed tokens will be moved to an escrow smart contract where the infraction will be evaluated by a decentralized committee of technical security experts. These experts will vote via multi-sig wallet and can return funds during this period. Further details will be provided to the community soon. This 6 month period will repeat until the community votes on chain to change the mechanics. 

With regards to managing the slashed stake allocation the team is currently evaluating two options: 1) slashed stake’s get burned or 2) slashed stake gets allocated to a community growth fund. This will be determined prior to network launch via community input. 

Out of Scope - Token Transferability 

As noted above, during the Initial Use Only Period of Phase 1, tokens will only be permitted for actual, approved usage within the network. Tokens will be in a transferless state meaning that all distributed tokens at launch (Early Supporters who intend to use the tokens & Public Launch Participants) and rewards for validating the network will have transfer restrictions at the wallet level. The tokens and rewards will remain non-transferable for at least the 90-day Initial Use Only Period, and, even then, regardless of mainnet phase, users cannot transfer their tokens until they satisfy proof of use. 

Transfer restrictions for Early Supporters and Public Launch Participants means that such participants will not be able to use their tokens to deploy S-Chains in the normal, planned manner, as that would inevitably result in both the transfer and liquidation of SKL tokens in a user’s wallet. 

These users will be able to use their tokens to deploy S-Chains in Phase 2, once the network has reached sufficient stability and security. 

Phase 2: Kilimanjaro 2 - Planned Q3 2020 

Once Phase 1 has established network security and stability over the first 90 days, Phase 2 will commence and enable full token and network functionality, including paying directly with tokens for S-chains.

Token holders who have satisfied the minimum 90-day Proof of Use requirements will be able to transfer their tokens. This allows for more people to buy tokens to run nodes in the network, secure the network through delegation and run dApps on SKALE Sidechains. 

At this stage, the network will be open to validators who either: 

1. Have completed objective goals in a prior Test Net and get approval from the Community committee (alternative scenario detailed above). 
2. No approvals needed but have enough stake to run a node. 

This decision on which route will likely be policy oriented to maintain compliance with decentralization requirements and will include performance and security objectives. 

Further Network Updates -- Everest Release and Beyond 

The SKALE Network is an open source project that will continually evolve with community engagement and code contributions. The network will likely have new features and advances as the system evolves over time. These changes and updates will be supported via decentralized open source developer ecosystem with focused support from vendors to the network such as SKALE Labs, Inc. and other entities, individuals, and organizations.