Earn Program Rules

1. INTRODUCTION AND PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

These Earn Program Rules set out the conditions under which Coinmate allows you to voluntarily enter a program aimed at earning rewards from your crypto-assets (the “Earn Program”).

The Earn Program allows you to voluntarily exercise the rights and options associated with your crypto-assets (participation in the Proof-of-Stake mechanism). You choose to participate on an individual basis, you are not required to use it, and you are informed of the risks before activation. By activating it, you grant your express consent to the staking of your crypto-assets.

Technically, the Earn Program consists of participation in “Proof of Stake” consensus mechanisms in third-party blockchain networks. Staking is a process that allows users to support the operation and security of a network by locking (delegating) their crypto-assets. Transaction validators are selected by the network based on the ownership and locking of these underlying crypto-assets. When a block of transactions is successfully validated or a smart contract condition is met, the network grants a reward (the “Reward”).

Your instruction to place crypto-assets into the Earn Program does not in any way change your ownership right to those assets. Crypto-assets placed into the Earn Program remain your property. Coinmate continues to provide their custody (where applicable through sub-custodians) in accordance with these Terms; however, you as the client assume the specific technological and economic risks associated with their deployment into the network, which are not attributable to Coinmate (see below).

Participation in the Earn Program is strictly optional (opt-in). By entering (activating) the Earn Program in the user interface of the Platform, you grant us your express, prior, and informed consent for your eligible crypto-assets (or a portion thereof) to be transferred out of the standard custody regime and, on our behalf or through third-party providers, locked (staked) in the relevant blockchain networks or protocols.

2. ELIGIBLE CRYPTO-ASSETS AND REWARDS

The list of crypto-assets supported for the Earn Program, as well as any minimum or maximum limits for participation, the Reward, and other important information, are available here. We reserve the exclusive right to remove any crypto-asset from the Earn Program at any time or to suspend the program as a whole.

Rewards in the Earn Program are not guaranteed and the rate of return for individual crypto-assets may change. Unless expressly stated otherwise, the annual percentage rates of Rewards published on our Platform are only an estimated annual historical rate based on the Rewards we have generated for the given crypto-asset in the course of providing these services, and these rates change over time.

If you decide to place your crypto-assets into the Earn Program and Coinmate actually and demonstrably receives the relevant Reward from the network or a third party, we will transfer to you the corresponding portion of that Reward. However, the amount of the Rewards you receive and the timing of their distribution will:

(a) be determined according to the methodology for calculating and distributing Rewards published on the Platform;

(b) vary depending on the protocol of the staked crypto-asset;

(d) be further detailed in your Account on the Platform.

You agree that your Rewards will be paid and credited to your Account in Czech koruna (CZK) or euros (EUR), even where the Rewards are obtained from the network or a third party in crypto-assets.

Coinmate reserves the right to charge transaction fees and/or a commission as a share of the generated Rewards, which we will deduct before crediting the Reward to your Account. Details of our fees are available on the Platform (here) and may be changed by us at any time.

We reserve the right to refuse your instruction to place assets into the Earn Program or to remove them (unstaking), without being liable for any losses you incur, in particular in cases where (i) the network, the Protocol, or our partners are experiencing a service outage or scheduled maintenance, (ii) there is an insufficient balance on your account, or (iii) we suspect a breach of security or AML rules.

3. LOCK-UP AND ACCOUNT CLOSURE

The commencement and termination of participation in the Earn Program may be subject by the Protocol to a so-called unbonding period. During this time you will not be able to dispose of, sell, or withdraw the relevant crypto-assets from the Platform in any way. The time required to release the assets shown on the Platform is only indicative. Coinmate is not liable for any unexpected extension of this period caused by the characteristics of the Protocol.

If you have a portion of your crypto-assets placed in the Earn Program subject to an unbonding period, we will not be able to close your Coinmate user account before the assets are fully released. If, in connection with the closure of the account (for any reason, whether by the client or by Coinmate), you become entitled to an unpaid Reward after the date of termination of the contractual relationship, you expressly waive this claim.

4. RISKS, SLASHING, AND LIMITATION OF LIABILITY

You acknowledge that participation in the Earn Program requires the movement of assets from our secured wallets to the smart contracts of staking Protocols or to third-party validators. The client assumes the risk of failure of such a smart contract, network, or validator, where such failure is not attributable to Coinmate; a circumstance inherent in the operation of the blockchain network or Protocol that Coinmate does not control is considered non-attributable in particular.

Please note that staking itself is not a separately regulated or licensed service under the MiCA Regulation; Coinmate does not guarantee its outcome, in particular the achievement of Rewards or the behaviour of the network or Protocol. This is without prejudice to the fact that the custody and administration of your crypto-assets, to which the Earn Program relates, remains a regulated service for which Coinmate is responsible to the extent attributable to it (see below). By activating the Earn Program, you expressly acknowledge and accept the staking risks set out in this article (in particular slashing, technological, market, liquidity, and lock-up risks).

Networks and Protocols undergo regular updates (e.g. hard forks) that may change the technical rules, affect the distribution of Rewards, or extend the unbonding period. Coinmate is not liable for any losses you incur as a result of such Protocol updates.

If a third-party network or Protocol determines that a validator operated incorrectly or in breach of the rules, a penalty may be applied consisting of the loss of part or all of the staked crypto-assets (a “slashing penalty”). The client bears the risk of losing staked crypto-assets and related rewards where the loss arose as a result of: (a) the client’s act or omission; (b) a defect, maintenance, error, update, or failure at the level of the blockchain network or protocol that Coinmate does not control; (c) the action of a hacker or other malicious party against the underlying protocol; (d) slashing, an outage, or the failure of the network, the Protocol, or a third party providing staking; or (e) force majeure. This does not apply to the extent that such loss is attributable to Coinmate; for a loss attributable to Coinmate, Coinmate is liable up to the market value of the affected crypto-asset at the time of the loss. Where a loss under points (a) to (e) arose in relation to the crypto-assets of several clients participating in the Earn Program for the same crypto-asset, this loss is borne proportionately by the affected clients, in proportion to their share of the total volume of the given crypto-asset actually staked by Coinmate at the time the loss occurred. A loss attributable to Coinmate is borne by Coinmate and is not distributed among clients.

5. GOVERNANCE AND VOTING RIGHTS

Some Protocols contain network governance rules and voting mechanisms that are linked to staked crypto-assets. By using the Earn Program, you agree that Coinmate or its partners are entitled to make all governance decisions concerning the locked assets. You hereby expressly authorise us and our partners to exercise all voting rights on your behalf. We are not liable for any governance decisions that could adversely affect the market value of your assets.