# Octant FAQ

The organization leading Octant is Golem Foundation (opens new window), which was created from the Golem compute project (opens new window). You can read about this transition in this post (opens new window).

# Why do you use the GLM token?

The GLM token (opens new window) is the native token to the Golem ecosystem. The community crowdfunded the project in 2016 (opens new window) with an ETH-GLM swap.

# Can we use another token?

At this time GLM is the only token you can use to engage with Octant.

# Where do I get GLM tokens?

That might depend on your jurisdiction, but GLM is widely available on most exchanges, decentralised and otherwise. You can view all of the markets where you can acquire GLM here (opens new window).

# How is Octant funded?

Golem Foundation contributes by staking 100,000 ETH from its treasury. Every 90 days, a portion of these staking rewards is allocated to the Octant reward pool.

# How is the size of the Octant reward pool determined?

Initially, the transfer of staking rewards from the Golem Foundation to Octant depended on the percentage of the total GLM supply locked by Octant users (opens new window) — the more GLM locked in the Octant contract, the greater the portion of the Foundation’s staking rewards directed to the Octant community. However, in Epoch Three, we shifted to a predetermined split (opens new window):

70% of the staking yield contributes to Octant's Total Rewards budget, split evenly between Individual Rewards and Matched Rewards.
25% of the staking yield goes to the Golem Foundation, helping cover expenses like validator management, Octant administration, development, marketing, and other initiatives.
5% of the staking yield bolsters the Octant Community Fund.

# How are User Rewards calculated?

Your rewards are based on two things: the amount of GLM you lock and how long you keep it locked. Simply put, if you lock 1% of the total GLM supply, you'll earn 1% of the staking reward. But timing matters due to Octant's time-weighted average system. As an example, if you begin with 100 GLM and add another 1000 GLM halfway through the epoch, the rewards will reflect an average of these amounts.

For optimal rewards, lock as much GLM as you're comfortable with and maintain that lock in Octant throughout the entire 90-day epoch.

To get a clearer picture of potential rewards, check out Octant’s in-app Reward calculator. It'll guide you in making smart locking decisions.

# Are there any fees associated with locking, unlocking, allocation decisions, and withdrawals?

Locking, unlocking, and rewards withdrawals happen on-chain; therefore, there are gas fees involved in executing them. Allocation decisions are conducted off-chain and are free. You can change your allocation decision as many times as you wish while the allocation window is open, without incurring any financial costs.

To ensure tamper-proofing and transparency of the allocation decisions, we provide access to our server code in open-source form (opens new window) and will share the voting results after closing the allocation window. This will allow the results of the allocation process to be reproduced locally and compared with those received from us.

# Can I unlock my GLM tokens at any time?

Yes, Octant’s GLM time-locking mechanism is non-custodial. You retain full control over your funds and can unlock your GLM at any time. However, please be aware that if your effective locked balance drops below 100 GLM, no rewards will be calculated.

# What happens if I lower my lock-in before the end of an epoch?

If you reduce your lock before the current epoch ends, your time-weighted average will adjust to the smallest locked amount. Additionally, please note that you need an effective locked balance of at least 100 GLM to earn Octant rewards.

# What does "effective locked balance" mean?

It's the amount of your locked GLM that qualifies for user rewards. Right now, that's set at 100 GLM. You can check this balance in the Earn tab of the Octant app.

# Why is there a discrepancy between my "Current locked balance" and the "Effective locked balance"?

Octant uses a time-weighted average system. The earlier you lock in your GLM during the epoch, the more aligned these two values will be.

# I locked GLM in Octant but saw no rewards. Why?

If you didn't receive rewards after locking GLM in Octant, it's probably because your effective locked balance was under the 100 GLM threshold. To boost your chances of getting rewards next time, consider locking a larger amount of GLM for the upcoming epoch or retaining them in Octant for a longer duration.

# Can I propose a potential Octant beneficiary project?

Yes, absolutely. The process for this is outlined here.

Please note that being shortlisted as a potential beneficiary is just the first step to receiving funding. To attract donations, public goods projects included in the funding round will need to engage with the Octant community, promote their projects and missions, and actively contribute to vibrant discussions.

# Are there any limits to the number of eligible projects to which one can allocate rewards?

You can distribute your user rewards between as many eligible projects as you like.

# Are there any restrictions on the amount of funding a project can get?

There is no minimum funding threshold. The maximum funding cap is set at 20% of the Matched Rewards pool. Users can still donate to projects that have reached the cap, but these donations will not receive additional matching.

# How are the Matching Rewards distributed among projects?

Starting from Epoch 4, Octant uses a quadratic funding formula with a sliding scale leverage, based on each user's Uniqueness Quotient (UQ). UQ is determined by the user's Gitcoin Passport score (opens new window), with those scoring 15 or higher receiving maximum matching funds. As an anti-Sybil measure, users with scores below 15 have their donations scaled down by 90%.

# Where can I check my Octant Uniqueness Quotient?

You can check your Octant Uniqueness Quotient in the Home view of the app. If your score is below 15, you have two options to increase it:

Add new Gitcoin Passport stamps to your locking address.
Delegate the score from a different address that you own with a higher Gitcoin Passport score.

Important note: To maximize your matching leverage, improve your score before making your first allocation. Boosting your score after your first allocation will not increase your leverage for the ongoing allocation window. Also, please do not try to boost your score by adding GTC staking stamps. Following community feedback, they are no longer counted toward your UQ score.

# When calculating the Uniqueness Quotient score, the app is checking the allowlist. What is it?

In Epoch 4, as a courtesy to our community, we created a special allowlist for all known non-Sybil Octant users (opens new window). Users on the allowlist received a 21-point boost to their Passport score, ensuring they would receive the maximum available matching for their donations. In Epoch 5, based on community feedback, we’ve extended the allowlist (opens new window) to include all new users from our recent community-building initiatives.

# I have a Gitcoin Passport score of 15+, but my Octant Uniqueness Score is 0. Why?

If your Gitcoin Passport (GP) score is 15+ but your Octant Uniqueness Score (UQ) is 0, it likely means the system has flagged your account as a Sybil. To protect the integrity of Octant’s funding mechanism, we’ve partnered with the Gitcoin Passport team to run Sybil Account Detection on all Octant GLM-locking addresses before each Allocation Window. This process flags addresses suspected of belonging to the same owner to prevent manipulation of the matching fund.

Accounts flagged as Sybil are placed on a timeout list for the current Allocation Window. These accounts are assigned a UQ score of 0, and their donations do not receive matching.

If you’re on the timeout list, you won’t be able to delegate a passing Passport score from another address or increase your UQ score by adding more stamps. However, you can dispute your placement and re-verify your account. Any changes will take effect in the next Allocation Window.

# What happens if I miss an allocation window?

If you neither donate nor claim your user rewards before the allocation window ends, the funds will be transferred to the Golem Foundation. Please consider joining our Discord (opens new window), and following us on Twitter (opens new window) and Farcaster (opens new window) to make sure you never miss an allocation window. We’ll be using these channels to inform our community about all upcoming dates of interest. Octant’s allocation windows occur every 90 days and last two weeks. If you follow our reminders, you should have plenty of time to make your allocation decisions.

# Octant is using its own staking solution, where can I read more about the technical aspects of this?

We are solo staking (opens new window). Our current setup utilizes a nethermind and nimbus client pair, and our system runs on a number of hardened Qubes OS (opens new window) boxes which enhance security through isolating the network stack from clients, among other techniques. We leverage widely-used monitoring tools, including prometheus, grafana, and beaconchain, to keep an eye on system performance and maintain optimal operation.

# How can I check the status of Golem Foundation's validators?

At the moment, the easiest way to check the status of our validators is by using the beaconchain API (opens new window).

Chose the /api/v1/validator/eth1/{eth1address} option, click on the "Try it out" button, enter the 0x4f80Ce44aFAb1e5E940574F135802E12ad2A5eF0 address and click "Execute" to see the list of our validators.

We are working on our own validator endpoint that will make this information much more easily available to the Octant community.

# Has Octant undergone a security audit?

Yes, our smart contracts were audited by the Least Authority (opens new window). The auditors did not identify any issues in the current design and implementation of Octant's smart contracts. You can read their full report at the Least Authority website (opens new window).

# What’s the role of the community in Octant?

We see the development of Octant as an interactive, participatory process. We will continuously seek ways to improve the platform's design, consulting our choices with the community. In the first stage of the project, Octant users can engage in the following activities:

funding public goods projects through individual allocations,
proposing eligibility criteria for potential donation recipients,
submitting potential donation recipients,
proposing experiment designs and governance mechanisms.

# How can I get involved in the Octant community?

The quickest way to become involved in the Octant community is by joining our Discord (opens new window). You can engage with other community members there, ask questions, submit proposals, and discus governance ideas with like-minded people.

# What if my question isn’t answered in the FAQ?

If you still have lingering questions or uncertainties about Octant, please refer to our Documentation (opens new window) for a thorough overview of the project. Feel free to engage with us on our Discord (opens new window) as well.

To contact Golem Foundation use the email address listed at this site (opens new window).

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