▶️Signalling Intent

Overview

Signalling Intent is a feature of the Quicksilver protocol that allows stakers to inform the protocol about their preferred validator(s) for staking on their behalf. The protocol will then attempt to stake in accordance with the staker's preferences, aiming to preserve sovereignty and user choice.

Initial Deposit

When a user deposits with Quicksilver, they will be prompted to choose up to 8 validators to stake with. The user is further prompted to submit equal stake, or a custom allocation. When transferring an existing delegation to Quicksilver using LSM, the composition of the transferred delegation will be used. This signal represents the delegator's initial staking preferences, known as Intent.

Further Deposits

When subsequent deposits are made, the validator selection they make in that transaction is only applied to the value of that deposit. The user's overall intent is weighted as such:

(Existing Intent * Existing Delegation Weight) + (Incoming Intent * Incoming Delegation Weight)

Changing Signal

Delegators can change their Intent at any time to reflect their desire to redelegate their stake. To modify the Intent, delegators must submit a MsgSignalIntent transaction on the blockchain. This transaction informs the Quicksilver protocol about the delegator's updated staking preferences. A MsgSignalIntent is applied to the entire weight of the user's delegation.

Epochly Rebalancing

At regular intervals (epochs), the Quicksilver protocol calculates the aggregate intent of all qAsset holders for a given chain. This aggregate intent is used to determine how the delegations controlled by Quicksilver should be rebalanced to align with the collective preferences of the stakers.

Please note that due to limitations in concurrent redelegations, the rebalancing process is eventually consistent. This means that it may take some time (up to 21 days) for the delegations to fully converge upon the aggregate intent. The protocol will gradually move delegations over this period to achieve the desired state.

Limitations

• The rebalancing process is subject to limitations in concurrent redelegations.

• It may take up to one unbonding period (14-28 days) for delegations to fully align with the aggregate intent.

• The aggregate intent is a continually moving target.