Time-based Balance and RPL Price Submissions (RPIP-35)

RPIP-35 makes Balance and RPL Price submissions time-based. This allows for a predictable time between last price update and reward snapshot, among other benefits.

Outcome if vote passes

RPIP-35 will be implemented in a future smart contract release Once implemented, the prices and balances oDAO duties will be performed on a consistent and predicable timing.

Rationale

Nodes that have under 10% collateral in terms of RPL staked are not eligible for rewards. This value, called their "effective stake", is calculated at the time of the interval's end and is a function of the ETH:RPL ratio, which is reported by the Oracle DAO. This means the last price update prior to the end of the interval determines whether or not a node is above 10% collateral and eligible for rewards at that interval. If a node is not eligible, the owner has until the end of the interval to "top up" by staking enough RPL to bring the node back above 10%. The issue here is that this "top up window" (the time between the final RPL report and the end of the interval) is somewhat uncertain and fluctuates from interval to interval. One of the more common pain points we see in the community is from people who are close to the 10% mark (or under it) and ask what the window is for the current interval; unfortunately, it's not easy to give them a direct answer due to the way the price and balance reporting periods are currently calculated.

This change removes the uncertainty associated with this timing by shifting price and balance intervals from a number based on blocks to a number based on seconds, which has parity with the way rewards intervals are calculated today. Essentially it means prices and balances will be reported at the same time each day without exception. It standardizes the timing of both functions to make them easier to predict.

Context

Full RPIP Forum thread