Terms of Use.

1. Acceptance of terms

These Terms of Use ("Terms") form a binding agreement between you and NodeStake ("NodeStake", "we", "our", "us"). By accessingnodestake.org(the "Site"), using our public RPC, snapshot, peer, addrbook, relayer or other public endpoints (the "Public Infrastructure"), or by delegating to a NodeStake validator (the "Validator Services" and together with the Site and the Public Infrastructure, the "Services"), you confirm you have read, understood and agreed to these Terms. If you do not agree, do not use the Services.

2. Definitions

• "Blockchain" — any public, decentralised network on which NodeStake operates a validator or infrastructure node.
• "Delegation" — the on-chain action by which a token holder assigns voting and staking weight to a validator without transferring ownership.
• "Rewards" — staking rewards distributed by a Blockchain protocol to validators and their delegators.
• "Slashing" — protocol-level economic penalty automatically imposed by a Blockchain when a validator misbehaves (e.g. double-signs, exceeds downtime thresholds).
• "Unbonding" — the protocol-defined waiting period during which un-delegated stake earns no rewards and remains slashable.
• "Commission" — the percentage of Rewards a validator retains as a service fee, set per Blockchain and visible on-chain.
• "User", "you" — any individual or entity accessing the Services.

3. Eligibility

By using the Services you represent and warrant that:

• You are at least 18 years old and have the legal capacity to enter into this agreement.
• You are not a Sanctioned Person (see Section 11) and are not located in, organised under the laws of, or ordinarily resident in any Restricted Territory listed in Section 11.
• Your use of the Services and the source of any assets you delegate is lawful in every jurisdiction that applies to you.
• You are acting on your own behalf, or you have authority to bind the entity for which you act.

4. Services

NodeStake operates Proof-of-Stake validator nodes, IBC and cross-chain relayers, public RPC / gRPC / REST endpoints, snapshot and addrbook services, and related infrastructure across the networks listed at /networks. Some networks support direct delegation through links published on this Site; in those cases the actual delegation transaction is signed by you, in your wallet, against the underlying Blockchain.

We may add, modify, suspend or discontinue any Service or any supported network at any time. We will use reasonable effort to announce material changes in advance via the blog or direct communication to active customers.

5. Non-custodial nature of the Services

NodeStake is a non-custodial operator. We never hold, request or have access to your private keys, seed phrases, mnemonics or signing devices. Delegation, redelegation, unbonding and reward claim are on-chain actions executed and signed by you. We do not act as a money service business, custodian, broker, exchange or fiduciary in relation to your assets, and nothing in these Terms creates any such role.

6. Fees and Commission

For Validator Services, our fee is the validator Commission set per Blockchain. The Commission is published on-chain and is deducted from Rewards before they are distributed to delegators by the protocol. We may change the Commission within the limits of the relevant Blockchain protocol; where the protocol requires advance notice, we follow it (typically at least 24 hours, and we voluntarily target longer notice where feasible).

The Public Infrastructure (free public RPC, snapshots, peers, addrbooks, etc.) is provided at no charge on a best-effort basis. Private-tier endpoints, white-label validator and custom infrastructure engagements are governed by separate commercial agreements that take precedence over these Terms.

7. Risks you accept

By using the Services you acknowledge and accept the following risks. This list is illustrative and not exhaustive.

• Slashing. A Blockchain may slash a validator's stake — including the stake of all delegators to that validator — for double-signing, downtime or other infractions. We operate redundant signing infrastructure and have an unbroken no-slashing record, but no operator can eliminate this risk.
• Unbonding lock-ups. Most Blockchains impose an Unbonding period (commonly 14–28 days) during which un-delegated stake earns no Rewards and remains slashable. We do not control these protocol parameters.
• Network failure or attack. A Blockchain may experience downtime, consensus failure, chain halts, hard forks, 51% attacks, MEV exploitation or other events that affect the value or availability of your stake.
• Smart-contract risk. For chains where staking flows through smart contracts (e.g. EVM chains, liquid staking integrations), bugs or exploits in third-party contracts can cause partial or total loss.
• Market and liquidity risk. Token prices are volatile; Rewards are paid in the Blockchain's native token and may be worth less than expected.
• Regulatory risk. The treatment of staking under tax, securities and AML law is evolving and varies by jurisdiction. You are responsible for your own compliance.
• Governance risk. NodeStake participates in on-chain governance on every Blockchain we secure. Where this is not consistent with your view, you may undelegate or, on protocols that support it, override our vote.
• Wallet and key management. Loss, theft or compromise of your wallet, seed phrase or signing device may result in total loss of your assets — this risk lies entirely with you.

8. Public Infrastructure — best-effort, no SLA

Public RPC, gRPC, REST, snapshots, peers and addrbooks are provided "as is" and "as available" with no service level commitment. We may rate-limit, geofence, suspend or withdraw any public endpoint at any time. Production workloads should not rely on the public tier — see our private tier for SLA-backed access governed by a separate agreement.

9. Your obligations

• Comply with all laws applicable to your use of the Services and to the assets you delegate.
• Provide accurate information in any communication or onboarding form, and keep it up to date.
• Keep your wallet, seed phrase and signing devices secure. Confirm validator addresses before broadcasting any transaction.
• Pay all taxes, duties and similar levies arising from your use of the Services and from any Rewards you receive.
• Not rely on the Services as a substitute for legal, financial, tax, accounting or investment advice.

10. Prohibited use

You will not, and will not authorise any third party to:

• Use the Services for any purpose that is unlawful in your jurisdiction or in ours.
• Engage in scraping, denial-of-service, traffic flooding or any conduct that degrades the Services for other users.
• Bypass, attempt to bypass or interfere with rate limits, authentication, geofencing or other access controls.
• Reverse-engineer, decompile or disassemble any non-open-source software we make available.
• Introduce malware, exploits or other harmful code into the Services.
• Use the Services to attack any third party, including the Blockchains we operate on.
• Misrepresent any affiliation with, endorsement by, or sponsorship from NodeStake.
• Use the Services to launder funds, finance terrorism, evade sanctions or commit fraud.

We may suspend or terminate access for any user who breaches this section, with or without notice.

11. Sanctions, KYC and AML

You represent and warrant that:

• You are not the subject of, and not 50%-or-more owned by, any individual or entity subject to sanctions administered by the US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), the UK Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI), the European Union, the United Nations Security Council or any other applicable sanctions authority (a "Sanctioned Person").
• You are not located in, ordinarily resident in, or organised under the laws of any country or territory that is the subject of comprehensive sanctions, currently including (without limitation) the Crimea, so-called Donetsk and Luhansk regions, Cuba, Iran, North Korea and Syria (each a "Restricted Territory").
• The assets you delegate are lawfully owned by you and not derived from criminal activity.

For institutional engagements we may carry out KYC / KYB and sanctions screening before, during and after onboarding. We may decline to provide, suspend or terminate Services if we are unable to satisfy ourselves of your status under this section.

12. No professional advice

Nothing on the Site or in the Services is legal, financial, investment, tax, accounting or other professional advice. Content we publish is informational only. We do not owe you any fiduciary duty in connection with the Services. You are solely responsible for evaluating whether to use the Services and for obtaining independent professional advice as appropriate.

13. Disclaimer of warranties

To the maximum extent permitted by law, the Services are provided "AS IS" and "AS AVAILABLE", with all faults, and without warranty of any kind, whether express, implied or statutory.

We disclaim all warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, non-infringement, accuracy, reliability, compatibility, security, freedom from viruses or uninterrupted availability. We do not warrant that any Blockchain we operate on will continue to function, that any Rewards will accrue, that any transaction will be included on-chain, or that any third-party wallet, custodian, bridge, smart contract or relayer will perform as expected.

14. Limitation of liability

To the maximum extent permitted by law, in no event will NodeStake, its affiliates, officers, employees, agents or service providers be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, exemplary or punitive damages, lost profits, lost revenue, lost data, business interruption or loss of goodwill, however arising and on any theory of liability, even if we have been advised of the possibility of such damages.

Our aggregate liability to you for all claims arising out of or relating to the Services is limited to the greater of: (a) the fees actually paid by you to NodeStake under a separate written agreement in the six (6) months preceding the event giving rise to the claim, and (b) USD 100. Where you are a free user of the Public Infrastructure or of the Site only, our aggregate liability is limited to USD 100.

Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits any liability that cannot lawfully be excluded or limited, including liability for fraud, gross negligence or wilful misconduct.

15. Indemnification

You agree to defend, indemnify and hold harmless NodeStake and its affiliates, officers, employees and agents from and against any claim, demand, loss, liability, damage, fine, penalty or expense (including reasonable legal fees) arising out of or related to (a) your use of the Services, (b) your breach of these Terms, (c) your violation of any law or the rights of any third party, and (d) the assets you delegate or transactions you broadcast.

16. Intellectual property

The Site, the brand, the logos and all content we publish (other than third-party marks identified as such) are owned by NodeStake or its licensors and protected by intellectual-property law. We grant you a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable licence to access and use the Site for personal, non-commercial purposes. All rights not expressly granted are reserved. Use of the NodeStake name, mark and lockups is subject to our brand guidelines at /company/brand-kits.

Open-source components we publish are licensed separately under the licence shipped with each repository.

17. Third-party services and Blockchains

The Services interact with third-party Blockchains, wallets, bridges, relayers, smart contracts and tools. We do not control those third parties and are not responsible for their behaviour, availability, security or content. Your use of any third-party service is governed by the terms of that third party.

18. Term and termination

These Terms apply from the moment you first access the Services and continue until terminated. You may stop using the Services at any time and, if you have delegated stake, undelegate via the relevant Blockchain. We may terminate or suspend your access at any time, with or without cause and with or without notice, including for breach of these Terms. The sections that by their nature should survive termination — including 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 19, 20 and 21 — will survive.

19. Modifications

We may amend these Terms from time to time. Material changes will take effect 30 days after we post the updated version on this page; non-material changes take effect immediately. Your continued use of the Services after the effective date is your acceptance of the revised Terms. If you do not agree, stop using the Services.

20. Governing law

These Terms and any dispute arising out of or in connection with them are governed by the laws of the jurisdiction in which NodeStake is established, without regard to its conflict-of-laws rules.

21. Dispute resolution

We try to resolve disputes informally first. Before commencing any formal proceedings, please email legal@nodestake.org with a concise description of the dispute and what you would like to happen. If we cannot resolve it within 60 days, the dispute will be settled by final and binding arbitration conducted in English by a single arbitrator, under internationally-recognised arbitration rules and at a seat we select in good faith.

No class actions. To the extent permitted by law, you may bring claims only on your own behalf, not as part of any class or representative proceeding.

Time limit. Any claim must be brought within one (1) year of the event giving rise to it, or it is forever barred.

22. Notices

Notices to you may be sent by email to the most recent address you have given us, or by posting on the Site. Notices to us must be sent to legal@nodestake.org with a copy by post to the address shown in the Privacy Policy.

23. Miscellaneous

• Severability. If any provision is held invalid or unenforceable, the rest of the Terms remain in force.
• No waiver. Our failure to enforce any right is not a waiver of that right.
• Assignment. You may not assign these Terms. We may assign or transfer them, in whole or in part, without restriction.
• Force majeure. We are not liable for any failure or delay caused by an event beyond our reasonable control, including chain-level events, internet or upstream-provider outages, war or natural disasters.
• Entire agreement. These Terms, the Privacy Policy and any applicable separate written agreement form the entire agreement between you and NodeStake regarding the Services and supersede any prior understanding.
• No partnership. Nothing in these Terms creates any agency, partnership, joint venture or employment between you and NodeStake.

24. Contact

Questions about these Terms? Email legal@nodestake.org. For privacy-specific enquiries see the Privacy Policy. For security disclosures see security@nodestake.org.