https://support.token.im/hc/en-us/articles/360021933754-COSMOS-Staking-FAQ

1.What is a Delegator?

As an ATOM delegator, you can stake your tokens with one or more Validators. In exchange for delegating you will earn a percentage of network transaction fees and also receive additional ATOMs from continuous inflation called block provision.

2.What is a Validator?

COSMOS Hub validators participate in consensus by broadcasting cryptographic signatures, or votes, to commit blocks. [[tendermint]] requires a fixed known set of validators, where each validator is identified by their public key. Validators attempt to come to consensus one block at a time, where a block is a list of transactions.

3.Why should I delegate my ATOM?

If an ATOM token holder chooses not to delegate to a Validator, they will neither receive a percentage of network transaction fees nor block provisions, and their percentage to the total amount of ATOMs will decrease over time from inflation.

4.What are the rewards for delegating ATOM?

• Block rewards: about 7%~20% annual yield of the total ATOM supply
• Transaction fees: transactions on the [[cosmos network]] are subject to transaction fees similar to other existing blockchains. Unlike current blockchains, the [[COSMOS Network]] plans to accept a multitude of tokens for the purpose of payment of transaction fees.

5.When is the delegation taking effect? And how long does it take to start earning rewards after delegating?

Delegating and rewards are effective immediately.

6.How do I check my rewards? And can rewards be unbound any time?

You can check your real-time rewards on the home page of the Staking DApp. Delegation can be unbound at any time.

7.How to get details about Validators?

Go to Staking DApp, select the validator on the top, then choose one validator to view additional information.

8.Can I change a Validator at any time?

Of course. You can change a validator any time after you staked. And it will take immediate effect.

9.Can I unbound my ATOM after having delegated? And how long does it take to receive my ATOM?

Of course you can. And you will get your ATOM back after 21 days.

10.Will the Validator charge a commission?

The rewards of the validator is distributed between the validator and delegator. Validators may take some of the rewards as a commission before distributing the rewards to the delegator.

11. What risks do I take for delegating my ATOM to validators？

When evaluating Validators to stake with, you can think about three distinct buckets of questions: missed earnings, slashings, and commission rate.

• With missed earnings, you don’t lose any money but you don’t make as much as you could.
• With slashings, you lose money.
• With a higher commission rate, you receive less from the Validator.