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Astrolune
ConsensusNov 6, 20253 min read

The operational bond is not stake

A node may post funds as public evidence of infrastructure spend. It affects one reward bucket and carries no consensus weight — that is the line that keeps PoTB from becoming Proof of Stake.

Astrolune Core

The block reward splits three ways: 60% equally across the committee, 25% by earned weight, and 15% by the operational bond. It is the last bucket that invites the question, so the specification answers it directly: the bond buys a share of that 15% and nothing else. It does not enter the weight formula.

That distinction is the whole design. If capital could buy weight, PoTB would be Proof of Stake wearing a different name. Because it cannot, the bond is only ever evidence — a public signal that an operator's infrastructure spend is serious — and never a claim on consensus.

The bond does not increase consensus weight. That is what keeps this from being Proof of Stake wearing a different name.