Aero for Stakers

Getting started as a staker

What is a staker on Aero?

A staker is someone who stakes AERO and receives sAERO in return. Staking AERO grants Token Operator status, which is the protocol's term for the role, so the two words describe the same participant. A Token Operator allocates AERO Rewards to liquidity pools and earns Exchange Revenue from the pools they allocate to. Where a Token Operator allocates, 100% of the swap fees generated by the AERO-earning liquidity in that pool route to the Token Operators actively allocating to that pool, and the liquidity providers there earn AERO Rewards instead.

How do I become a staker?

Acquire AERO and stake it. Staking converts liquid AERO into sAERO, an NFT that represents the stake and carries its allocation rights. The stake's Allocation Power is the amount of AERO staked multiplied by the staking duration remaining, so both size and duration determine how much AERO Rewards it can direct. Once the stake exists, its holder can allocate AERO Rewards to pools and claim the Exchange Revenue that accrues.

What does a staker get in return?

Two things. Direct influence over where AERO Rewards flow, by allocating to specific pools, and a claim on Exchange Revenue. Because revenue follows the pools a deposit allocates to, a staker's earnings track the productivity of the liquidity they direct.

Can I withdraw my AERO at any time?

No. AERO stays staked for the Staking Period set when the deposit was created, which is from 6 months to 4 years. When the stake reaches the end of that period, its Allocation Power drops to zero and the underlying AERO becomes withdrawable. A stake set to Perpetual Stake holds Allocation Power at maximum and does not expire. If that setting is switched off and the holder withdraws, the wind-down period applies and the timer does not reset until the original commitment is fulfilled.

Allocation

How do Token Operators allocate AERO Rewards?

Through Predictive Allocation. A Token Operator directs their stake's Allocation Power to one or more pools onchain, and AERO Rewards stream to those pools. There is no weekly cycle and no proposal to approve: allocation is a direct action taken by each holder. Each stake can be re-allocated once every 47 hours, the Allocation Cooldown.

What does an allocation actually decide?

Which liquidity pools receive AERO Rewards, and in what proportion. That is the whole scope of the action. Allocation does not set fee structures, reward rates, or any other protocol parameter.

How does Allocation Power work?

Allocation Power is the amount of AERO staked multiplied by the staking duration remaining, calculated linearly. A larger stake or a longer remaining duration means more AERO Rewards the stake can direct. As the staking period runs down, Allocation Power decays linearly, unless the stake is set to Perpetual Stake, which holds it constant.

How allocation decides rewards

What makes a pool productive?

Trading volume. A pool that carries volume generates swap fees, and those fees are what flow back to the Token Operators allocating to it.

How is the amount of AERO Rewards each pool receives determined?

By the total Allocation Power directed at it relative to every other pool. Each pool's share of AERO Rewards is its share of allocations.

Can a stake allocate to more than one pool?

Yes. A stake's Allocation Power can be split across multiple pools, and Predictive Allocation is concurrent, so those allocations run at the same time rather than in sequence.

Can an allocation be changed?

Yes. A Token Operator can re-allocate their stake to different pools once the 47-hour Allocation Cooldown has passed. Because allocation is continuous rather than epoch-based, AERO Rewards move as stakes re-allocate rather than resetting on a fixed schedule.

Exchange Revenue and economics

How does Aero generate Exchange Revenue?

Exchange Revenue is all of the revenue the protocol captures and distributes to Token Operators: trading fees, MEV capture, Liquidity Payments, Launch Payments, and other ancillary protocol revenue. 100% of it flows to Token Operators based on the Allocation Power they direct to pools.

How are swap fees split between LPs and Token Operators?

Routing is set per liquidity deposit, not per pool, and both kinds of deposit can sit in the same pool. An AERO-earning deposit sends 100% of the swap fees it generates to the Token Operators, and the liquidity provider earns AERO Rewards in return. A fee-earning liquidity deposit keeps a portion of the fees it generates and receives no AERO Rewards.

How much Exchange Revenue does a Token Operator receive?

Exchange Revenue is generated per pool, from that pool's own trading activity, and it flows only to the Token Operators actively allocating to that pool at the time it is generated. It is then split among them in proportion to the Allocation Power each has directed there. What a stake earns therefore depends on its share of the Allocation Power pointed at its pools and on how much trading those pools carry, not on its share of all staked AERO.

Is Exchange Revenue guaranteed?

No. It depends on the trading activity in the pools a stake allocates to. More trading means more revenue, less trading means less.

How often is Exchange Revenue distributed?

There is no distribution schedule. Revenue accrues to an sAERO stake continuously and its holder claims it. A Token Operator can also configure Autopilot to claim it and compound it back into the stake.

Transferring a stake

Can a stake be transferred?

Yes. sAERO is an ERC-721, which makes the deposit itself transferable rather than locked to the wallet that created it.

Does Allocation Power move with the NFT?

Yes. Allocation Power belongs to the deposit, so it transfers with it.

Staking economics

What is Stake APR?

Stake APR is the annualized rate a Token Operator earns by allocating their stake to a specific liquidity pool. Stake APR is not guaranteed and changes based upon the swap fees and Liquidity Payments flowing through that pool as well as with the total Allocation Power directed at it.

What determines how much a stake earns?

Two inputs. The stake's Allocation Power, which is the amount of AERO staked multiplied by the staking duration remaining, and the swap fees and Liquidity Payments flowing through the pools it allocates to. Exchange Revenue is shared among the stakes allocating to a pool in proportion to their Allocation Power.

Can a stake lose value because of how it allocates?

Allocating does not put the staked AERO at risk. Allocation determines where that stake's AERO Rewards flow and which pools it collects Exchange Revenue from. Allocating to a pool that generates little trading means little Exchange Revenue from that pool, which is the cost of an unproductive allocation.

Do the mechanics change with stake size?

No. They are the same at any size. Allocation Power scales with the amount of AERO staked and the staking duration remaining, and a stake's share of Exchange Revenue from a pool scales with its share of the Allocation Power directed there.

Allocating in practice

What does a Token Operator actually do?

Allocate, re-allocate, and claim. A Token Operator directs their stake's Allocation Power to pools, moves it when the pools they are backing change, and claims the Exchange Revenue that accrues. This is not optional upkeep: Exchange Revenue flows only to Token Operators actively allocating at the time it is generated, so a deposit that is never allocated directs no AERO Rewards and earns no Exchange Revenue.

How much does a Token Operator need to know to allocate?

Allocation is a direct choice among pools, so what matters is the pools: what they trade, the swap fees they generate, and any Liquidity Payments deposited against them. That data is available onchain through the Pool Tape and Sugar, not dependent on outside infrastructure.

What if I do not want to choose pools myself?

Configure Autopilot. Autopilot handles allocation, claiming, and compounding for an sAERO stake, and can convert rewards into a target token instead of compounding them. The stake stays in its owner's wallet, and its owner can withdraw it from Autopilot.

Can a Token Operator lose their allocation rights?

sAERO is an NFT held in its owner's own wallet, and its Allocation Power belongs to that stake. Allocation Power ends when the stake reaches the end of its duration, at which point it drops to zero and the underlying AERO becomes available to withdraw.

Allocating across networks

Does allocation work across every network Aero runs on?

Yes. One sAERO stake participates across every network Aero operates on. The core token and allocation contracts live on a single home network, Base at launch, and each connected network runs a local deployment that receives its AERO Rewards rate from there and distributes it among its own gauges.

Can AERO Rewards be allocated differently on different networks?

Yes. A Token Operator allocates to individual pools, and those pools sit on specific networks, so a single stake can direct AERO Rewards to pools on several networks at once. Predictive Allocation is concurrent and cross-network, so this does not require a separate stake or a separate action per network.

Security and risk management

How do I protect a stake?

sAERO is an NFT sitting in its owner's wallet, so it carries the same custody considerations as any other asset there: use a wallet you control, and a hardware wallet where possible. Transferring the sAERO NFT transfers the staked AERO and its Allocation Power with it, so treat it as you would the underlying tokens.

Advanced topics

Can a Token Operator also provide liquidity?

Yes. Staking AERO and providing liquidity are separate actions on separate stakes, and one user can hold both. A stake earns Exchange Revenue. A liquidity deposit earns either AERO Rewards or a portion of the trading fees it generates, depending on how the deposit is set up.

What makes allocation on Aero different?

Allocation is a direct action on pools rather than a governance proposal, it runs continuously rather than on a weekly cycle, and a single sAERO stake reaches pools on every network Aero operates on.

Do I have to stake AERO to allocate?

Yes. Allocation Power comes from sAERO, and sAERO exists only by staking AERO. Liquid AERO carries no Allocation Power and no claim on Exchange Revenue.

Can a large Token Operator dictate where AERO Rewards go?

Allocation is proportional: a stake directs AERO Rewards in proportion to its share of the Allocation Power pointed at each pool, so a large stake carries proportionally large influence over the pools it backs. The AER Engine caps per-pool AERO Rewards based on anticipated productivity, so allocating heavily to a pool that generates little in fees does not translate into unlimited AERO Rewards for that pool.

Troubleshooting

Why have I not received my Exchange Revenue yet?

Exchange Revenue accrues to an sAERO stake and then has to be claimed. Check the stake for a claimable balance and claim it, or configure Autopilot to claim on the stake's behalf. Revenue accrues only from the pools a stake is currently allocated to, so a stake with no allocation accrues nothing from pool fees.

What if I no longer want to back the pools I allocated to?

Re-allocate. Once the 47-hour Allocation Cooldown has passed, a stake can be pointed at different pools. Allocation is not a commitment for a fixed term.

How do I get my staked AERO back?

When a stake reaches the end of its staking period, its Allocation Power drops to zero and the underlying AERO becomes available to withdraw. Withdraw it from the staking interface. The stake does not close itself at expiry, so withdrawal is a manual step. A stake set to Perpetual Stake has to have that setting turned off first, after which the staking period begins to run down.