Staking User Agreement

1. Overview


1.1

The Staking Service (the “Service”) is offered by BALANCE NETWORK Ltd. (“BALANCE NETWORK”) that allows one obtain yield by staking digital assets. BALANCE NETWORK is responsible for the product design management and the operation of the Service. In order to use the Service, you should read and abide by the Staking User Agreement (this “Agreement”). Please be sure to read carefully, fully understand the terms and conditions, and choose to accept or not accept this Agreement.


1.2

Unless you have read and accepted all the terms of this Agreement, you are not authorized to use the Staking and its corresponding Services. Your acceptance of this Agreement and your use of the Service represents that you have read and agreed to this Agreement and that this Agreement is legally binding on you.


2. Definition


  • T Day: A nature day based on UTC 24:00 time.
  • Staking: The User will stake and freeze a certain amount of an agreed digital asset in the BALANCE NETWORK Pool. After staking, the User will not be able to trade the staked and frozen digital asset in the User’s Account.
  • Redemption: The redemption of the staked and frozen digital asset takes T+N days to deliver to transfer to the User’s Account or Wallet.
  • Transfer-in: The User transfers a certain amount of a digital asset in the User’s Account or Wallet to the User’s relevant sub-account for Staking.
  • Transfer-out: The User transfers a certain amount of a digital asset from the User’s BALANCE NETWORK Account or Wallet to the User’s relevant sub-account.
  • Staking Period: The time period for the User to stake the digital asset. If you stake your digital asset on T Day (UTC) and redeem it between 0:00 to 24:00 on T+N Day, your staking period is n-1 days. If you choose a fixed staking period, it is agreed that after the staking period expires, the User can redeem the staked digital asset into the User’s Account. If the staking period is flexible, the User can redeem the staked digital asset at any time to the User’s Account.


3. Eligibility to Use the Service


3.1

You understand and confirm:

  • You have agreed to abide by the “BALANCE NETWORK Terms of Service” and you are eligible and not to be prohibited from using the Services defined therein;
  • If you are registering the Service in your personal capacity, in order to effectively accept this Agreement, you must be at least 18 years old, with full civil rights and civil capacity, and have all the necessary authorities and abilities to sign this Agreement. Once signed, it is binding on you;
  • If you are registering to use the Service on behalf of a legal entity, in order to effectively accept this Agreement, you declare and guarantee that (i) such legal entity is legally established and valid in accordance with applicable laws; (ii) you are duly authorized by the legal entity to have the right to act on their behalf
  • You have the experience and risk tolerance of using the service, and have the experience and knowledge to invest in non-guaranteed digital currency products;
  • In order to use the Service, you have the ability to perform operations on the Internet;
  • This Agreement does not conflict with the laws of your country or region, and you promise that you will comply with the laws of your country or region;
  • You are the legal owner of the digital assets in your BALANCE NETWORK Account and guarantee that the sources of these digital assets are legal.

3.2

You agree and promise:

  • You will not use the Service for any illegal purposes, including but not limited to illegal gambling, money laundering, fraud, extortion, extortion, data breaches, terrorist financing, and any other violent activities or any businesses prohibited by the law.
  • You will not conduct, initiate or promote any forms of market manipulation or other forms of illegal conduct, including but not limited to illegal gambling, money laundering, fraud, extortion, extortion, data breach, terrorist financing, and any other violent activities or businesses prohibited by the law.

3.3

You understand and accept the risks that may arise to you and the related losses you may suffer from using the Service, including but not limited to:

  • The risks you may suffer from the risks associated to the inability to trade the staked digital assets. You are willing to bear the funding risks and potential financial losses caused by staking;
  • The expected yield displayed on BALANCE NETWORK website is the theoretical estimation of yield instead of the actual yield guaranteed or promised by BALANCE NETWORK. The actual yield may vary from the expected yield. Your final yield will be based on the actual yield you receive. BALANCE NETWORK will deduct the cost, fees, and expenses related to the operation of Staking (including but not limited to the server fees, electricity fees, etc.) as well as the handling fees for Staking from your actual yield of Staking to determine your final yield. BALANCE NETWORK does not make any guarantee or promise to the actual yield that you may receive;
  • High price fluctuations of digital assets and their derivatives may cause significant or total losses in a short period of time;
  • Technical anomalies may occur, which may delay or prevent you from using the Service or performing related transactions and result in losses of your digital assets;
  • Market anomalies may occur, which may result in losses of your digital assets;
  • In order to maintain the overall health of the market, BALANCE NETWORK is required to add, remove, or change the policies, the terms of this Agreement or other relevant service agreements or terms from time to time. Such behavior may benefit or harm individual customers like you.


4. Use of this Service


4.1

You can make commands, such as staking, redeem, etc. through the BALANCE NETWORK User page. Once the command is set, you will not be able to cancel or edit it

4.2

When your assets are successfully locked up, you agree to entrust and authorize BALANCE NETWORK to perform certain actions to certain amount of digital assets in your account, including but not limited to node voting and digital asset gain.

4.3

Staking rules: If a User stakes an asset before 24:00 on T-1 day (UTC), the User’s yield will be calculated starting from the T Day. From the T+1 day, the yield will be settled and distributed on a daily basis. All profits will be distributed to your Account.

4.4

Redemption rules: If a User selects “flexible access” for the staking period, the User can redeem after entering the redemption command. The redeemed digital asset might take T+N days to arrive at the User’s account depending on the token type. If the staking period is fixed, the User should redeem after it expires. The redeemed digital assets may arrive at the User’s account after T+N days depending on the token type. You understand and agree that between the redemption date and the actual arrival date, you will not be able to make any profits, transfer or other commands to the redeemed digital assets. You understand and accept that the actual date for the redeemed digital assets to arrive at your account may vary. The arrival time shown on the website is final.

4.5

Default Settlement: If a User requests to redeem the digital assets frozen for Staking before the expiration of the Staking Period, BALANCE NETWORK will deduct all the profits of Staking distributed to the User under relevant order from the User’s Principal for Staking. “Principal” means certain amount of digital assets being frozen in the User’s Account for the purpose of using the Staking service.


5. Liabilities


5.1

You agree and accept that the User’s estimated yield displayed on BALANCE NETWORK website is an estimation but not a guaranteed or promised actual yield. The actual yield may not meet or may be lower than the estimated yield. Your final yield will be based on your actual yield. BALANCE NETWORK does not promise or guarantee your estimated yield or actual yield you will receive.

5.2

You agree and accept that when you redeem your assets, the time it takes for the digital assets to arrive at your account may vary and the arrival on displayed on the website is final. BALANCE NETWORK shall not be liable for any losses caused by the digital asset arrival time difference

5.3

You agree and accept that BALANCE NETWORK reserves the right to amend the content of this Agreement anytime in its sole discretion. BALANCE NETWORK shall not be liable to any losses due to your misunderstanding of this Agreement, or your delay of reading the amendments to this Agreement.

5.4

You agree and accept that if the BALANCE NETWORK platform cannot function properly or the Service is interrupted due to the following conditions, such that you are unable to use the Services or cannot make commands or perform related trading operations, including but not limited to failure, delay, interruption, no system response, delayed system response or any other abnormal circumstances, BALANCE NETWORK shall not be liable to any losses. These circumstances include but limited to:

  • Service suspension for maintenance as announced by BALANCE NETWORK;
  • System failure to transmit data;
  • Force majeure or accidents, such as typhoon, earthquake, tsunami, flooding, plague, power outage, war, turmoil, government actions, terrorist attacks, etc., that lead to the suspension of the BALANCE NETWORK platform;
  • Service interruption or delay due to hacking, computer virus, technical adjustment or failure, website upgrade, banking issues, temporary closure due to government regulations, etc.;
  • Service interruption or delay caused by the computer system being damaged, defective or unable to perform normally;
  • Losses due to technical problems that cannot be predicted or solved by existing technical forces in the industry;
  • Losses to you or other third parties due to the fault or delay of the third party;
  • Losses to you or other third parties due to changes in laws and regulations or government orders;
  • Losses to you or other third parties due to force majeure or accidents caused by other unforeseeable, unavoidable and unsolvable objective circumstances.

You agree and accept that the above reasons may lead to abnormal transactions, market interruptions and other possible abnormal circumstances, BALANCE NETWORK reserves the right to refuse to execute your commands based on the actual circumstance. You understand and agree that BALANCE NETWORK shall not be liable to any of your losses (including but not limited to direct or indirect losses, actual losses or loss of possible yield, etc.).

5.5

You agree and accept that BALANCE NETWORK shall not be liable for any losses caused by the risks described in Section 3.2 of this Agreement (including but not limited to any direct or indirect losses, actual losses or possible loss of profits).


6. Mandatory Measures


You agree and accept that BALANCE NETWORK strictly prohibits unfair trading practices. BALANCE NETWORK reserves the right to exercise control over your account or shut down your account if you perform the following actions:

  • Price manipulation or any other malicious market behaviors;
  • Harming other Users or BALANCE NETWORK using the loopholes of the Service or other unreasonable means;
  • Participation in any activities that BALANCE NETWORK regards as harmful to the market;
  • Violation of law and regulations.

In order to eliminate any adverse effects on the overall market, BALANCE NETWORK reserves the right to take the following measures at its sole discretion, including but not limited to the closing down of your account, restricting or canceling your commands. You understand and agree that BALANCE NETWORK shall not be liable for any losses (including but not limited to any direct or indirect losses, actual losses or losses of possible profits) incurred by you in connection with the above measures.


7. Indemnification


7.1

You shall take every possible measure to protect BALANCE NETWORK from any damages arising out of your use of the Service or other actions related to your BALANCE NETWORK account, otherwise you should be liable to BALANCE NETWORK.

7.2

You hereby agree to defend, indemnify and hold BALANCE NETWORK harmless from any claim or demand (including reasonable legal fees) made or incurred by any third party against BALANCE NETWORK due to or arising out of your breach of this Agreement, your improper use of the Service, your violation of any law or the rights of a third party and/or the actions or inactions of any third party to whom you grant permissions to use your BALANCE NETWORK account or access our website, software, system (including any network and servers used to provide any of the Service) operated by us or on our behalf, or any of the Services on your behalf.


8. Miscellaneous


8.1

The contents of this Agreement also include BALANCE NETWORK's various system specifications, other agreements or rules in the annex to this Agreement, and other relevant agreements and rules regarding the Service that BALANCE NETWORK may issue from time to time. Once the above content is officially released, it is an integral part of this Agreement, and you should also abide by it. In the event of any conflict between the above content and this Agreement, this Agreement shall prevail.

8.2

BALANCE NETWORK reserves the right to unilaterally modify this Agreement (including the above contents) if necessary. Such modification could happen at any time without prior notice. If any changes are made, the revised contents shall be posted on BALANCE NETWORK's website immediately. Please check the latest information posted therein to inform yourself of any changes. Your continued use of or access to the Service following the posting of any changes constitutes acceptance of those changes. If you do not accept the revised content, you should stop using the Services.

8.3

You should carefully read the Agreement, and any document referred to in Section 8.1 and 8.2 of this Agreement that constitute the contents of this Agreement. If there is anything that you do not understand in the Agreement and any document referred to herein, you should contact BALANCE NETWORK and seek for clarification. Unless otherwise instructed by BALANCE NETWORK, any formal communication and document transfer between you and BALANCE NETWORK should be undertaken through email. You are also able to contact BALANCE NETWORK telephonically as informal communication. Any formal communication between you and BALANCE NETWORK should, unless otherwise agreed, be made in the English language. In the event of any discrepancy between the communication in English and that in a foreign language, the English version shall prevail. In the event of any discrepancy between any formal and/or informal communications and the Agreement, the Agreement shall prevail.

To BALANCE NETWORK:

Email: [email protected]

8.4

If any provisions of this Agreement shall be invalid, illegal or unenforceable, the validity, legality and enforceability of the remaining provisions shall not in any way be affected or impaired in any way. However, if any provisions of this Agreement shall be invalid, illegal or unenforceable under any such applicable law in any jurisdiction, it shall, as to such jurisdiction, be deemed modified to conform to the minimum requirements of such law, or if for any reason it is not deemed so modified, it shall be invalid, illegal or unenforceable only to the extent of such invalidity, illegality or limitation on enforceability without affecting the remaining provisions of this Agreement, or the validity, legality or enforceability of such provision in any other jurisdiction.

8.5

The failure of our enforcement of any right or provision of this Agreement will not be deemed a waiver of such right or provision.

8.6

This Agreement, your use of the Services, any claim, counterclaim or dispute of any kind or nature whatsoever arising out of this Agreement, directly or indirectly, shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with the laws of England and Wales without regard to the principles of conflicts of laws thereof.

8.7

Jurisdiction and Dispute Resolution (a) You acknowledge and agree that in the event of any dispute, controversy, difference or claim, including the existence, validity, interpretation, performance, breach or termination of the Terms or any dispute arising out of or relating to the Terms (“Dispute”), the parties shall first refer the Dispute to proceedings at the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre (“HKIAC”) in accordance with HKIAC’s Mediation Rules in force for the time. (b) If the Dispute has not been settled upon the signing of a settlement agreement within ninety (90) days following the filing of a request for mediation set forth in above paragraph (a) of Clause 8.7, such Dispute shall be referred to and finally resolved by arbitration administered by the HKIAC) under the HKIAC Administered Arbitration Rules in force when the Notice of Arbitration is submitted. The law of this arbitration clause shall be the laws of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of People’s Republic of China (“Hong Kong”). (c) You agree that the seat of arbitration shall be Hong Kong. The number of arbitrators shall be three (3). BALANCE NETWORK shall appoint one (1) arbitrator and you shall appoint one (1) arbitrator. The third arbitrator shall be appointed by the Chairman of the HKIAC. Such arbitrators shall be freely selected, and the parties shall not be limited in their selection to any prescribed list. The arbitration proceedings shall be conducted in English. (d) You agree that BALANCE NETWORK shall not be required to give general discovery of documents, but may be required only to produce specific, identified documents which are relevant and material to the outcome of the Dispute. (e) Any arbitral award shall be final and binding upon the parties hereto and shall be enforceable in any competent court which has jurisdiction.

8.8

You shall not transfer, novate or assign this Agreement, and the rights and obligations hereunder, in whole or in part, without the prior written consent of BALANCE NETWORK. BALANCE NETWORK has the right to transfer, novate or assign any rights or obligations under this Agreement by serving written notice on you, which takes effect upon the delivery of such notice.

8.9

The headings of all the terms of this Agreement are for reading convenience only and have no actual meaning and cannot be used as a basis for interpretation of the meaning of this Agreement.

8.10

Balance Network. Ltd. has the sole and final discretion of interpretation of this Agreement.