How Cosmic Signature works
Participants make gestures during a Performance Cycle, and every gesture shapes the cycle’s Signature. When the Cycle Finalization Time expires, the cycle can be finalized and allocations distribute across a fixed set of tracks — including the Signature Allocation, Anchor Distributions, and Protocol Guild.
Lifecycle of a Performance Cycle
Every cycle follows this sequence from open to finalization.
- ETH
- ETH + RWLK
- CST
48-hour window: only the Final Gesture participant can finalize
Allocation tracks- Signature Allocation25%
- Chrono-Warrior8%
- Stellar Selection4%
- Anchor Distribution6%
- Public Goods7%
- Compounding Cycle Reserve50%
The cycle opens
A new Performance Cycle opens. The ETH and CST Gesture Costs each fall through a Calibration Window; the CST window starts from a 12-hour reference that changes with participation. The Cycle Reserve starts with what the previous cycle carried forward.
Participants gesture
Each gesture adds the current time increment to the Cycle Finalization Time. An ETH gesture shortens the CST Calibration Window by about 0.398%; a CST gesture lengthens it by about 0.4%.
The Cycle Finalization Time expires
When the countdown reaches zero, the participant who made the Final Gesture has 48 hours to finalize the cycle. After that, anyone may finalize, and whoever does receives the Signature Allocation. Until finalization runs, a new gesture extends the clock and becomes the Final Gesture.
The cycle finalizes
Finalization distributes every allocation. The participant who finalizes receives the Signature Allocation: 25% of the Cycle Reserve, 1,000 CST and a Cosmic Signature NFT.
Stellar Selections
The ETH Stellar Selection chooses 3 recipients, who share 4% of the Cycle Reserve. The NFT Stellar Selection chooses 10, and the Anchored-NFT Stellar Selection chooses 10 among anchored Random Walk NFTs; each of them receives 1,000 CST and a Cosmic Signature NFT. Each gesture adds one entry, and the ETH and NFT selections are made from all of the cycle’s entries, so one entry can be selected more than once.
The next cycle begins
The remaining 50% of the Cycle Reserve rolls forward as the Compounding Cycle Reserve, and the next cycle opens with fresh Calibration Windows.
Signature #000024
Cycle 1
Every cycle ends in a Signature
Every gesture shapes the cycle’s artwork. When the cycle finalizes, its Signature is imprinted as a Cosmic Signature NFT and goes, with the Signature Allocation, to whoever finalizes the cycle. For the first 48 hours after the countdown reaches zero, only the participant who made the Final Gesture can.
View this SignatureWhat a gesture can lead to
Each gesture takes part in several allocation tracks of its cycle.
Dynamic Participation CST
A gesture may imprint CST. The amount follows the square root of the time since the previous gesture: a gesture right after another can imprint 0 CST, and a longer quiet period imprints more.
Stellar Selection entry
Each gesture records one entry. When the cycle finalizes, 3 entries are selected at random to share 4% of the Cycle Reserve in ETH.
Cosmic Signature NFT selection
Another 10 entries are selected to receive 1,000 CST and a Cosmic Signature NFT each. The same address can be selected more than once, and no number of entries guarantees a selection.
Signature Allocation
The participant who made the Final Gesture may finalize the cycle and retrieve 25% of the Cycle Reserve in ETH, 1,000 CST and a Cosmic Signature NFT.
What a gesture costs
Know these before you pay for a gesture with ETH or CST.
- The spend is not returned
- ETH paid for a gesture joins the Cycle Reserve, and CST paid is burned. Neither comes back when someone gestures after you.
- The ETH cost steps up
- Each ETH gesture raises the next ETH Gesture Cost by 1%. It falls only in the ETH Calibration Window that opens each cycle.
- Gas is paid separately
- Every gesture is an Arbitrum transaction, so you also pay a network fee in ETH. Your wallet shows it before you confirm.
Gesture only with funds you can afford to part with.Read the risk disclosures
Getting started
From connecting a wallet to your first gesture, in three steps.
- Step 1
Connect your wallet
- Press the connect button at the top right of the page.
- Use a wallet that supports Arbitrum, such as MetaMask. Arbitrum is an Ethereum Layer 2 with lower fees and faster transactions.
- Switch to the Arbitrum network when your wallet asks, then approve the connection.
- Once you are connected, your address appears in the header.
- Step 2
Check the Gesture Cost
- Check the current Gesture Cost in ETH or CST before you commit.
- Review the Participation CST preview; it changes with the time since the previous gesture.
- Make sure your wallet holds the Gesture Cost plus a little ETH for the network fee, which your wallet shows before you confirm.
- Step 3
Make your gesture
- Choose ETH or CST. An ETH gesture can carry a Random Walk NFT for a 50% ETH Gesture Cost reduction, once per NFT.
- Press the gesture button, which names the method and the cost (for example “Gesture with ETH”), and confirm the transaction in your wallet.
Need ETH on Arbitrum first? How to add ETH on Arbitrum
Good to know
Details that are easy to miss.
- Two Calibration Windows
- The ETH Gesture Cost falls through its Calibration Window once, as each cycle opens. The CST Gesture Cost starts a new window after every CST gesture: from twice the cost just paid (at least 200 CST) down to zero.
- Each Random Walk NFT works once
- A Random Walk NFT reduces one ETH gesture by 50%, and cannot reduce another after that. Using it is separate from anchoring it.
- Use a separate wallet
- A burner wallet keeps your protocol activity apart from your main holdings. The Audits page lists what has been reviewed and verified.
Ready to make your first gesture?
Join the active Performance Cycle. Connect your wallet and make your first gesture to start imprinting CST and shaping the cycle’s Signature.