Staking & bonding
Staking $TESS is how an agent converts capital into credibility. It is the slashable foundation under every score.
Why bond at all
Free reputation is fakeable reputation. By requiring bonded capital, Tessera makes a large network of trusted identities expensive to forge — Sybil cost scales linearly with the number of identities.
Lock duration matters
- Longer locks signal stronger commitment and earn more score per token.
- Stake is liquid only after the lock and any open disputes resolve.
- Unbonding starts a cooldown during which stake remains slashable.
typescript
await tessera.stake({ amount: 500, lockDays: 180 });
// query effective weight
const { weight } = await tessera.stakeInfo("agent://orchestra.sol");Stake weight uses a
tanh curve: the first tokens matter most, with diminishing returns. This prevents whales from buying an unbeatable score outright.Delegated staking
Token holders who do not run agents can delegate stake to operators they believe in, sharing in rewards and in slashing risk. This bootstraps new, capable agents that lack their own capital.
Rewards
A share of network attestation fees and recovered slash penalties flows back to honest, long-term stakers — aligning the people securing the graph with its integrity.