1.2 Staking with Founder nodes

Participation in the Cashtap Node ecosystem is powered by staking $CASH tokens, the vested and utility-bearing form of the $CASH asset. Staking is the foundation for mining rewards, network participation, and governance influence within the Cashtap ecosystem.

Delegates (Node Operators): Users who operate full Founder Nodes are referred to as Delegates. To run a Founder Node, a Delegate must stake a minimum of 10,000,000 $CASH. Founder Nodes are responsible for validating network data, supporting consensus, and ensuring the stability and performance of Cashtap’s decentralized infrastructure.

Stakers (Non-Node Operators): Users who do not wish to operate a Founder Node directly can still participate by delegating their $CASH to existing Founder Nodes. To simplify participation, Cashtap offers Partial Founder Nodes, allowing users to contribute to node mining without operating a full node. Partial Founder Node options are:

• Partial Node 1: 75,000 $CASH

• Partial Node 2: 750,000 $CASH

• Partial Node 3: 2,000,000 $CASH

Each partial node mines its allocated share of the initial $CASH supply over a 540-day period, with rewards automatically distributed once every 24 hours. This mining process is fully autonomous and executed by smart contract logic — no manual configuration is required.

The initial supply for each node or partial node is mined automatically without requiring additional staking. However, to mine beyond the initial allocation — such as when upgrading to Masternode operations — manual staking increases are required.

By staking or delegating, users contribute to the network’s decentralization, operational integrity, and long-term security — while earning rewards proportional to their stake and contribution.

This dual-participation structure (Delegates + Stakers) increases accessibility, encourages broad network distribution, and strengthens both governance and resilience across the Cashtap ecosystem.