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vesting

Abstract​

This document specifies the internal x/vesting module of Humans.ai.

The x/vesting module introduces the ClawbackVestingAccount, a new vesting account type that implements the Cosmos SDK VestingAccount interface. This account is used to allocate tokens that are subject to vesting, lockup, and clawback.

The ClawbackVestingAccount allows any two parties to agree on a future rewarding schedule, where tokens are granted permissions over time. The parties can use this account to enforce legal contracts or commit to mutual long-term interests.

In this commitment, vesting is the mechanism for gradually earning permission to transfer and delegate allocated tokens. Additionally, the lockup provides a mechanism to prevent the right to transfer allocated tokens and perform Ethereum transactions from the account. Both vesting and lockup are defined in schedules at account creation. At any time, the funder of a ClawbackVestingAccount can perform a clawback to retrieve unvested tokens. The circumstances under which a clawback should be performed can be agreed upon in a contract (e.g. smart contract).

For Humans.ai, the ClawbackVestingAccount is used to allocate tokens to core team members and advisors to incentivize long-term participation in the project.

Contents​

  1. Concepts
  2. State
  3. State Transitions
  4. Transactions
  5. AnteHandlers
  6. Events
  7. Clients

References​

Concepts​

Vesting​

Vesting describes the process of converting unvested into vested tokens without transferring the ownership of those tokens. In an unvested state, tokens cannot be transferred to other accounts, delegated to validators, or used for governance. A vesting schedule describes the amount and time at which tokens are vested. The duration until which the first tokens are vested is called the cliff.

Lockup​

The lockup describes the schedule by which tokens are converted from a locked to an unlocked state. As long as all tokens are locked, the account cannot perform any Ethereum transactions that spend HEART using the x/evm module. However, the account can perform Ethereum transactions that don't spend HEART tokens. Additionally, locked tokens cannot be transferred to other accounts. In the case in which tokens are both locked and vested at the same time, it is possible to delegate them to validators, but not transfer them to other accounts.

The following table summarizes the actions that are allowed for tokens that are subject to the combination of vesting and lockup:

Token StatusTransferDelegateVoteEth Txs that spend HEART**Eth Txs that don't spend HEART (amount = 0)**
locked & unvested❌❌❌❌✅
locked & vested❌✅✅❌✅
unlocked & unvested❌❌❌❌✅
unlocked & vested*✅✅✅✅✅

*Staking rewards are unlocked and vested

**EVM transactions only fail if they involve sending locked or unvested HEART tokens, e.g. send HEART to EOA or Smart Contract (fails if amount > 0 ).

Schedules​

Vesting and lockup schedules specify the amount and time at which tokens are vested or unlocked. They are defined as periods where each period has its own length and amount. A typical vesting schedule for instance would be defined starting with a one-year period to represent the vesting cliff, followed by several monthly vesting periods until the total allocated vesting amount is vested.

Vesting or lockup schedules can be easily created with Agoric’s vestcalc tool. E.g. to calculate a four-year vesting schedule with a one year cliff, starting in January 2022, you can run vestcalc with:

vestcalc --write --start=2022-01-01 --coins=200000000000000000000000aheart --months=48 --cliffs=2023-01-01

Clawback​

In case a ClawbackVestingAccount's underlying commitment or contract is breached, the clawback provides a mechanism to return unvested funds to the original funder. The funder of the ClawbackVestingAccount is the address that sends tokens to the account at account creation. Only the funder can perform the clawback to return the funds to their account. Alternatively, they can specify a destination address to send unvested funds to.

State​

State Objects​

The x/vesting module does not keep objects in its own store. Instead, it uses the SDK auth module to store account objects in state using the Account Interface. Accounts are exposed externally as an interface and stored internally as a clawback vesting account.

ClawbackVestingAccount​

An instance that implements the Vesting Account interface. It provides an account that can hold contributions subject to lockup, or vesting which is subject to clawback of unvested tokens, or a combination (tokens vest, but are still locked).

type ClawbackVestingAccount struct {
    // base_vesting_account implements the VestingAccount interface. It contains
    // all the necessary fields needed for any vesting account implementation
    *types.BaseVestingAccount `protobuf:"bytes,1,opt,name=base_vesting_account,json=baseVestingAccount,proto3,embedded=base_vesting_account" json:"base_vesting_account,omitempty"`
    // funder_address specifies the account which can perform clawback
    FunderAddress string `protobuf:"bytes,2,opt,name=funder_address,json=funderAddress,proto3" json:"funder_address,omitempty"`
    // start_time defines the time at which the vesting period begins
    StartTime time.Time `protobuf:"bytes,3,opt,name=start_time,json=startTime,proto3,stdtime" json:"start_time"`
    // lockup_periods defines the unlocking schedule relative to the start_time
    LockupPeriods []types.Period `protobuf:"bytes,4,rep,name=lockup_periods,json=lockupPeriods,proto3" json:"lockup_periods"`
    // vesting_periods defines the vesting schedule relative to the start_time
    VestingPeriods []types.Period `protobuf:"bytes,5,rep,name=vesting_periods,json=vestingPeriods,proto3" json:"vesting_periods"`
}

BaseVestingAccount​

Implements the VestingAccount interface. It contains all the necessary fields needed for any vesting account implementation.

FunderAddress​

Specifies the account which provides the original tokens and can perform clawback.

StartTime​

Defines the time at which the vesting and lockup schedules begin.

LockupPeriods​

Defines the unlocking schedule relative to the start time.

VestingPeriods​

Defines the vesting schedule relative to the start time.

Genesis State​

The x/vesting module allows the definition of ClawbackVestingAccounts at genesis. In this case, the account balance must be logged in the SDK bank module balances or automatically adjusted through the add-genesis-account CLI command.

State Transitions​

The x/vesting module allows for state transitions that create and update a clawback vesting account with CreateClawbackVestingAccount or perform a clawback of unvested funds with Clawback.

Create Clawback Vesting Account​

A funder creates a new clawback vesting account defining the address to fund as well as the vesting/lockup schedules. Additionally, new grants can be added to existing clawback vesting accounts with the same message.

  1. Funder submits a MsgCreateClawbackVestingAccount through one of the clients.
  2. Check if
    1. the vesting account address is not blocked
    2. there is at least one vesting or lockup schedule provided. If one of them is absent, default to instant vesting or unlock schedule.
    3. lockup and vesting total amounts are equal
  3. Create or update a clawback vesting account and send coins from the funder to the vesting account
    1. if the clawback vesting account already exists and --merge is set to true, add a grant to the existing total vesting amount and update the vesting and lockup schedules.
    2. else create a new clawback vesting account

Clawback​

The funding address is the only address that can perform the clawback.

  1. Funder submits a MsgClawback through one of the clients.
  2. Check if
    1. a destination address is given and default to funder address if not
    2. the destination address is not blocked
    3. the account exists and is a clawback vesting account
    4. account funder is same as in msg
  3. Transfer unvested tokens from the clawback vesting account to the destination address, update the lockup schedule and remove future vesting events.

Update Clawback Vesting Account Funder​

The funding address of an existing clawback vesting account can be updated only by the current funder.

  1. Funder submits a MsgUpdateVestingFunder through one of the clients.
  2. Check if
    1. the new funder address is not blocked
    2. the vesting account exists and is a clawback vesting account
    3. account funder is same as in msg
  3. Update the vesting account funder with the new funder address.

Convert Vesting Account​

Once all tokens are vested, the vesting account can be converted to an ETHAccount

  1. Owner of vesting account submits a MsgConvertVestingAccount through one of the clients.
  2. Check if
    1. the vesting account exists and is a clawback vesting account
    2. the vesting account's vesting and locked schedules have concluded
  3. Convert the vesting account to an EthAccount

Transactions​

This section defines the concrete sdk.Msg types that result in the state transitions defined on the previous section.

CreateClawbackVestingAccount​

type MsgCreateClawbackVestingAccount struct {
    // from_address specifies the account to provide the funds and sign the
    // clawback request
    FromAddress string `protobuf:"bytes,1,opt,name=from_address,json=fromAddress,proto3" json:"from_address,omitempty"`
    // to_address specifies the account to receive the funds
    ToAddress string `protobuf:"bytes,2,opt,name=to_address,json=toAddress,proto3" json:"to_address,omitempty"`
    // start_time defines the time at which the vesting period begins
    StartTime time.Time `protobuf:"bytes,3,opt,name=start_time,json=startTime,proto3,stdtime" json:"start_time"`
    // lockup_periods defines the unlocking schedule relative to the start_time
    LockupPeriods []types.Period `protobuf:"bytes,4,rep,name=lockup_periods,json=lockupPeriods,proto3" json:"lockup_periods"`
    // vesting_periods defines thevesting schedule relative to the start_time
    VestingPeriods []types.Period `protobuf:"bytes,5,rep,name=vesting_periods,json=vestingPeriods,proto3" json:"vesting_periods"`
    // merge specifies a the creation mechanism for existing
    // ClawbackVestingAccounts. If true, merge this new grant into an existing
    // ClawbackVestingAccount, or create it if it does not exist. If false,
    // creates a new account. New grants to an existing account must be from the
    // same from_address.
    Merge bool `protobuf:"varint,6,opt,name=merge,proto3" json:"merge,omitempty"`
}

The msg content stateless validation fails if:

  • FromAddress or ToAddress are invalid
  • LockupPeriods and VestingPeriods
    • include period with a non-positive length
    • describe the same total amount

Clawback​

type MsgClawback struct {
    // funder_address is the address which funded the account
    FunderAddress string `protobuf:"bytes,1,opt,name=funder_address,json=funderAddress,proto3" json:"funder_address,omitempty"`
    // account_address is the address of the ClawbackVestingAccount to claw back from.
    AccountAddress string `protobuf:"bytes,2,opt,name=account_address,json=accountAddress,proto3" json:"account_address,omitempty"`
    // dest_address specifies where the clawed-back tokens should be transferred
    // to. If empty, the tokens will be transferred back to the original funder of
    // the account.
    DestAddress string `protobuf:"bytes,3,opt,name=dest_address,json=destAddress,proto3" json:"dest_address,omitempty"`
}

The msg content stateless validation fails if:

  • FunderAddress or AccountAddress are invalid
  • DestAddress is not empty and invalid

UpdateVestingFunder​

type MsgUpdateVestingFunder struct {
    // funder_address is the current funder address of the ClawbackVestingAccount
    FunderAddress string `protobuf:"bytes,1,opt,name=funder_address,json=funderAddress,proto3" json:"funder_address,omitempty"`
    // new_funder_address is the new address to replace the existing funder_address
    NewFunderAddress string `protobuf:"bytes,2,opt,name=new_funder_address,json=newFunderAddress,proto3" json:"new_funder_address,omitempty"`
    // vesting_address is the address of the ClawbackVestingAccount being updated
    VestingAddress string `protobuf:"bytes,3,opt,name=vesting_address,json=vestingAddress,proto3" json:"vesting_address,omitempty"`
}

The msg content stateless validation fails if:

  • FunderAddress, NewFunderAddress or VestingAddress are invalid

ConvertVestingAccount​

type MsgConvertVestingAccount struct {
    // vesting_address is the address of the ClawbackVestingAccount being updated
    VestingAddress string `protobuf:"bytes,2,opt,name=vesting_address,json=vestingAddress,proto3" json:"vesting_address,omitempty"`
}

The msg content stateless validation fails if:

  • VestingAddress is invalid

AnteHandlers​

The x/vesting module provides AnteDecorators that are recursively chained together into a single Antehandler. These decorators perform basic validity checks on an Ethereum or SDK transaction, such that it could be thrown out of the transaction Mempool.

Note that the AnteHandler is called on both CheckTx and DeliverTx, as Tendermint proposers presently have the ability to include in their proposed block transactions that fail CheckTx.

Decorators​

The following decorators implement the vesting logic for token delegation and performing EVM transactions.

VestingDelegationDecorator​

Validates if a transaction contains a staking delegation of unvested coins. This AnteHandler decorator will fail if:

  • the message is not a MsgDelegate
  • sender account cannot be found
  • sender account is not a ClawbackVestingAccount
  • the bond amount is greater than the coins already vested

EthVestingTransactionDecorator​

Validates if a clawback vesting account is permitted to perform Ethereum transactions, based on if it has its vesting schedule has surpassed the vesting cliff and first lockup period. Also, validates if the account has sufficient unlocked tokens to execute the transaction. This AnteHandler decorator will fail if:

  • the message is not a MsgEthereumTx
  • sender account cannot be found
  • sender account is not a ClawbackVestingAccount
  • block time is before surpassing vesting cliff end (with zero vested coins) AND
  • block time is before surpassing all lockup periods (with non-zero locked coins)
  • sender account has insufficient unlocked tokens to execute the transaction

Events​

The x/vesting module emits the following events:

Create Clawback Vesting Account​

TypeAttibute KeyAttibute Value
create_clawback_vesting_account"from"{msg.FromAddress}
create_clawback_vesting_account"coins"{vestingCoins.String()}
create_clawback_vesting_account"start_time"{msg.StartTime.String()}
create_clawback_vesting_account"merge"{strconv.FormatBool(msg.Merge)}
create_clawback_vesting_account"amount"{msg.ToAddress}

Clawback​

TypeAttibute KeyAttibute Value
clawback"funder"{msg.FromAddress}
clawback"account"{msg.AccountAddress}
clawback"destination"{msg.DestAddress}

Update Clawback Vesting Account Funder​

TypeAttibute KeyAttibute Value
update_vesting_funder"funder"{msg.FromAddress}
update_vesting_funder"account"{msg.VestingAddress}
update_vesting_funder"new_funder"{msg.NewFunderAddress}

Clients​

A user can query the Humans.ai x/vesting module using the CLI, gRPC, or REST.

CLI​

Find below a list of humansd commands added with the x/vesting module. You can obtain the full list by using the humansd -h command.

Genesis​

The genesis configuration commands allow users to configure the genesis vesting account state.

add-genesis-account

Allows users to set up clawback vesting accounts at genesis, funded with an allocation of tokens, subject to clawback. Must provide a lockup periods file (--lockup), a vesting periods file (--vesting), or both.

If both files are given, they must describe schedules for the same total amount. If one file is omitted, it will default to a schedule that immediately unlocks or vests the entire amount. The described amount of coins will be transferred from the --from address to the vesting account. Unvested coins may be "clawed back" by the funder with the clawback command. Coins may not be transferred out of the account if they are locked or unvested. Only vested coins may be staked.

humansd add-genesis-account ADDRESS_OR_KEY_NAME COIN... [flags]

Queries​

The query commands allow users to query vesting account state.

balances

Allows users to query the locked, unvested and vested tokens for a given vesting account

humansd query vesting balances ADDRESS [flags]

Transactions​

The tx commands allow users to create and clawback vesting account state.

create-clawback-vesting-account

Allows users to create a new vesting account funded with an allocation of tokens, subject to clawback. Must provide a lockup periods file (--lockup), a vesting periods file (--vesting), or both.

If both files are given, they must describe schedules for the same total amount. If one file is omitted, it will default to a schedule that immediately unlocks or vests the entire amount. The described amount of coins will be transferred from the --from address to the vesting account. Unvested coins may be "clawed back" by the funder with the clawback command. Coins may not be transferred out of the account if they are locked or unvested. Only vested coins may be staked.

humansd tx vesting create-clawback-vesting-account TO_ADDRESS [flags]

clawback

Allows users to create a transfer unvested amount out of a ClawbackVestingAccount. Must be requested by the original funder address (--from) and may provide a destination address (--dest), otherwise the coins return to the funder. Delegated or undelegating staking tokens will be transferred in the delegated (undelegating) state. The recipient is vulnerable to slashing, and must act to unbond the tokens if desired.

humansd tx vesting clawback ADDRESS [flags]

update-vesting-funder

Allows users to update the funder of an existent ClawbackVestingAccount. Must be requested by the original funder address (--from). To perform this action, the user needs to provide two arguments:

  1. the new funder address
  2. the vesting account address
humansd tx vesting update-vesting-funder VESTING_ACCOUNT_ADDRESS NEW_FUNDER_ADDRESS --from=FUNDER_ADDRESS [flags]

convert

Allows users to convert their vesting account to the chain's default account (i.e EthAccount). To perform this action a user needs to provide one argument:

1.the vesting account address

humansd tx vesting convert VESTING_ACCOUNT_ADDRESS [flags]

gRPC​

Queries​

VerbMethodDescription
gRPChumans.vesting.v1.Query/BalancesGets locked, unvested and vested coins
GET/humans/vesting/v1/balances/{address}Gets locked, unvested and vested coins

Transactions​

VerbMethodDescription
gRPChumans.vesting.v1.Msg/CreateClawbackVestingAccountCreates clawback vesting account
gRPC/humans.vesting.v1.Msg/ClawbackPerforms clawback
gRPC/humans.vesting.v1.Msg/UpdateVestingFunderUpdates vesting account funder
GET/humans/vesting/v1/tx/create_clawback_vesting_accountCreates clawback vesting account
GET/humans/vesting/v1/tx/clawbackPerforms clawback
GET/humans/vesting/v1/tx/update_vesting_funderUpdates vesting account funder