EXPANSION STAKING TERMS

About the Expansion Staking
1. The Customer of the Company may use the Company's expansion service staking (hereinafter "Expansion Staking") after concluding these expansion service staking terms with the Company (hereinafter "Expansion Staking Terms"). The Expansion Staking is only available for the Customers using the Company's Expansion Service, and thus, to Customers which have accepted the Expansion Service Terms.
2. The Expansion Staking allows the Customer to Stake the Customer's own Crypto-Assets, which have been purchased through and are held within the Expansion Service, in order to potentially earn a Reward. When the Customer decides to Stake their Crypto-Assets, the Customer's Crypto-Assets will participate in transaction validation on the Proof-of-Stake Protocol, and all the potential Rewards are generated solely by this native staking.
3. Once these Expansion Staking Terms have been accepted by the Customer, these Expansion Staking Terms shall become an integral part of the Agreement, as it is defined in the Terms of Service. By using the Expansion Staking, the Customer warrants that they have familiarized themselves with the Expansion Staking Terms and accept them as legally binding.
4. The Company provides the Expansion Staking on an "as it is" basis and without any other warranties than what are explicitly specified in these Expansion Staking Terms. The Company disclaims all other warranties, express or implied, made to the Customer or any third party, including without limitation, any warranties regarding the quality, suitability, merchantability, or otherwise, of any service or any goods provided incidental to the Expansion Staking or service under these Expansion Staking Terms or the Agreement.
5. These Expansion Staking Terms use the following additional definitions:
  - "Delegated Staking Method" means a method where a Stake is formed by delegating the Crypto-Assets to a third-party validator or node operator participating in a Proof-of-Stake Protocol, allowing the validator to perform transaction validation on behalf of the delegator, without transferring the Crypto-Assets.
  - "Proof-of-Stake Protocol" means a blockchain protocol that employs the "Proof-of-Stake" consensus mechanism to validate transactions within the protocol. In the Expansion Staking, all supported Proof-of-Stake Protocols operate through the Delegated Staking Method.
  - "Reward" means a potential compensation paid from a Stake in the Expansion Staking.
  - "Slashing Penalty" means any penalty assessed by the Proof-of-Stake Protocol for unavailability or slow, incorrect or malicious performance, including losing of the Stake and/or a potential Reward in part or in whole. A Slashing Penalty may result from the actions of the Company, but may also occur independently of any fault of the Company, for example, due to errors or failures in the underlying Proof-of-Stake Protocol (see sections 2.4 and 11.2 below).
  - "Stake" means the Customer's Crypto-Assets in the Expansion Staking which the Customer has decided to lock into staking for the duration of a Staking Period to participate in transaction validation on the Proof-of-Stake Protocol through the Delegated Staking Method. Once the Crypto-Asset is locked in Stake, the Customer cannot sell it through the Expansion Exchange Service. For clarity, once the Staking Period is terminated, the Customer can sell the Crypto-Asset previously subject to the Stake through the Expansion Exchange Service.
  - "Staking Period" means a period of time where the Customer's Crypto-Assets are locked into Expansion Staking as Stake.
6. The Customer acknowledges that the Company uses services of a or multiple third parties in order to provide the Expansion Staking to the Customer, including the Outsourcing Partner in accordance with the Expansion Service Terms (hereinafter "Subcontractor" or "Subcontractors").
7. All terms and definitions not defined in these Expansion Staking Terms shall have the same meaning as in the Agreement. If a term or a definition would be defined both in these Expansion Staking Terms and the Agreement, the meaning of these Expansion Staking Terms shall prevail for the purposes of the Expansion Staking.
Notification of the Risks in the Expansion Staking
1. The Customer confirms and agrees that the Customer has already read and familiarized theirself with Company's risk notification visible in the Terms of Service.
2. In addition to the risks visible in the Terms of Service, the Expansion Staking is also considered a high-risk service, which main risks contain:
  - blockchain risks (e.g. as blockchain technology relies on decentralized decision-making, the rules of the Crypto-Assets subject to Stake may change during the Staking Period, without any action or decision made by the Company. These changes may affect the value of such Crypto-Assets and/or lead to the immediate suspension or modification of Expansion Staking, even during the Staking Period),
  - legal risks (e.g., the legal status of staking services is currently not fully established, and changes in legislation or new interpretative guidance issued by regulatory authorities may affect the Company's or its Subcontractor's ability to offer Expansion Staking),
  - counterparty/credit risks (e.g. if a Subcontractor or a counterparty of the Company or Subcontractor's counterparty would default or stop fulfilling its contractual and/or legal obligations, there is a risk that the Customer's funds would be lost in whole or in part and/or there might be significant delays in providing the Expansion Staking),
  - operational risks (e.g. staking services require typically more complex arrangements than traditional Crypto-Asset exchange services, whereby this could result in losses or delays for the Customer),
  - slashing risks (e.g. using of proof-of-stake Crypto-Assets for Stake involves depositing or assigning these assets either directly within the blockchain or to third-party companies, whereafter these assets are used to validate transactions on the network, earning rewards in the process, and hence, there is a risk involved: if there is a failure or malicious action in the validation process, a Slashing Penalty might reduce the Stake and/or the Stake may be lost even entirely), and
  - smart contract risks (e.g. Proof-of-Stake Protocols rely on smart contracts and thus vulnerabilities or bugs in the smart contract code(s) can be exploited, leading to loss of funds, unintended actions, or system malfunctions, and since smart contracts are immutable, such issues cannot be easily rectified, if at all, once they occur).
3. The list of risks listed in section 2.2 is not exhaustive, and many additional risks not listed above and even unpredictable risks may be associated with both Crypto-Assets and the Expansion Staking.
4. Due to the inherent risks associated with Expansion Staking and Crypto-Assets in general, using the Expansion Staking carries a significant risk of capital loss, potentially up to the full amount of the Crypto-Assets subject to Stake and the estimated potential Reward. For clarity, if the Stake or Reward is subject to a Slashing Penalty, the Company may not be liable to compensate the resulting loss to the Customer (see section 11.2).
5. The Customer explicitly understands and accepts that the Company may need to halt, end or modify the Expansion Staking without advance warning if, at the sole discretion of the Company, it is necessary due to legal or regulatory demands or actions taken by the Subcontractor(s) or for another justified (e.g. business) reason, as solely determined by the Company. If this happens, the Crypto-Assets and/or Stake and/or Reward belonging to the Customer may be locked and inaccessible until the situation is sorted out.
6. By using the Expansion Staking, the Customer acknowledges and accepts the risks pertaining to the Expansion Staking and Crypto-Assets in general.
Crypto-Assets available on Expansion Staking
1. The Company has the sole discretion to decide what possible Crypto-Assets are offered in the Expansion Staking from time to time and are disclosed in the Service. All the Crypto-Assets available for Stake shall be Crypto-Assets utilizing Proof-of-Stake Protocol.
2. The Company may decide, or be required due to reasons outside of its control, such as changes in the blockchain protocol of a Crypto-Asset, to stop offering Expansion Staking for certain Crypto-Assets. In such an event, the Staking Period shall be terminated in accordance with Section 12 of these Expansion Staking Terms.
3. Because of the utilization of Subcontractors, Expansion Staking is only available for the Crypto-Assets bought through Expansion Exchange Service and held in the Expansion Custody Service.
Use of Subcontractors in the Expansion Staking
1. The Company will use independent Subcontractors to provide Expansion Staking (e.g. for management of staking operations). Because Subcontractors operate independently, the Company does not have direct control over how they operate. Subcontractors may also engage their own subcontractors or outsourcing partners. Any reference to Subcontractors in these Expansion Staking Service Terms shall be deemed to include such subcontractors' own subcontractors and outsourcing partners.
2. For the avoidance of doubt, regardless of whether the Company uses a third party to provide the Expansion Staking Service (e.g. Subcontractors), the contractual relationship for Expansion Staking is exclusively formed between the Company and the Customer, and the Customer shall remain the sole owner of the staked Crypto-Assets. Therefore, any questions, requests or complaints regarding the Expansion Staking shall be made to the Company and in no case to the Subcontractor.
3. For the Expansion Staking to function properly, some of the Customer's data must be shared or transmitted. Customer hereby authorizes the Company and any of its Subcontractor(s) to share data needed for the operation of the Expansion Staking.
4. If a contractual relationship between the Company and Subcontractor(s) would cease, the Customer acknowledges and agrees that the Company may not be able to provide the Expansion Staking and/or the Order as it normally would since the Company might need to find a new Subcontractor or Subcontractors to be able to fulfill the Order. If the Company is able to fulfill an Order after such an event, the Customer acknowledges and agrees that the prevailing market prices, Rewards, and/or fees may differ significantly from the prices prior to such event and/or the Order might not be fulfilled.
5. If the Customer loses access to their Account (e.g., by forgetting their password), they must re-authenticate to the Service using the strong authentication methods currently offered by the Company (e.g., online banking credentials or mobile certificate).
Making Orders in the Expansion Staking
1. The Customer can use the Expansion Staking by placing an Order via the Service. The Order shall always contain the Customer's Instructions as is required by the Company from time to time.
2. If the Instructions lack the necessary information required by the Company or are not received by the Company for any reason, they will be considered invalid and will not lead to an Order.
3. Once a valid Order is made by the Customer, the Company shall confirm the Order to the Customer in writing via the Service and the Company may commence the fulfillment of the Order in accordance with the Instructions and these Expansion Staking Terms.
4. As the Expansion Staking is only available in the Service, the Order can be only fulfilled in connection to the Customer's Account.
Fulfillment of Orders
1. If the Company accepts the Order, the Customer explicitly understands and accepts that the Company, or the Subcontractor(s), delegates Customer's Crypto-Asset(s) on behalf of the Customer to Proof-of-Stake Protocol, using Delegated Staking Method. Thus, when the Customer places an Order on Expansion Staking, the Customer automatically grants the Company permission to act on their behalf to form the Stake. This is to ensure the successful completion of the Order. Specifically, the Company is authorized by the Customer to:
  - delegate and lock the Customer's Crypto-Assets on the Expansion Service Account,
  - pool the Customer's Crypto-Assets with other Crypto-Assets if it is needed in the Expansion Staking and
  - take up any other similar action necessary for the provision of Expansion Staking, as decided by the sole discretion of the Company.
2. The Company may in its sole discretion accept or reject any Order and any such acceptance or rejection shall be effective upon determination by the Company. Please note that an accepted Order by the Company does not obligate the Company to fulfill the Order, whereby the Company may unilaterally decide to return the accepted Order to the Customer and not execute the Order.
3. The Company shall use its best endeavors to fulfill accepted Orders. However, the Company does not guarantee that an Order can be fulfilled in its entirety since the fulfillment of the Order is contingent upon factors outside the Company's reach (e.g. Subcontractors).
4. While considering the provisions in these Expansion Staking Terms, the Customer understands and agrees that there are situations where the Company might be unable to offer Expansion Staking. This can happen even if an Order has already been accepted. Examples of such situations include, but are not limited to:
  - the price of the Crypto-Asset in an Order is subject to an exceptional price movement and high volatility over a short period of time,
  - the Crypto-Asset in the Order is not available for Expansion Staking, for any reason whatsoever,
  - the Expansion Staking is unavailable due to a planned or unplanned system disruption,
  - operational or technical issues that hinder the Company's and/or Subcontractor's ability to provide the Expansion Staking in accordance with the Agreement, and
  - default of the Company, Subcontractors or a third party that has material effects on the functions of the Company or a Subcontractor or to the functioning of the Expansion Staking.
5. The Customer agrees and understands that in the event of a market disruption of any kind (e.g. high price volatility, halts in trading, liquidity shortages and regulatory actions), the Company may, in its sole discretion, do one or more of the following: (i) suspend access to the Expansion Staking, or (ii) prevent the Customer from completing any actions via the Expansion Staking. The Company is not liable for losses in any form suffered by the Customer resulting from such actions or circumstances. Following such an event, the Customer agrees and understands that the prevailing market prices may differ significantly from the prices prior to such event and/or the Order might not be fulfilled.
6. The Customer agrees and understands that due to the inherent processes of the Expansion Staking, Order fulfillment may entail a certain time delay on the part of the Company.
Reward and Reporting
1. After the Stake is formed, the Customer may receive a Reward based on their Stake. This Reward will be in the same Crypto-Asset that the Customer staked. After the Stake has been terminated by the Customer or the Company, the Company will transfer the potential Reward(s) to the Customer's Expansion Service Account. For clarity, following the termination of the Stake, the Customer may also again sell the previously staked Crypto-Assets through the Expansion Service.
2. Reward is calculated as a percentage of the Stake (minus the Company's fees and Subcontractor(s) fees as per section 8), but this percentage varies based on market conditions during the Staking Period and/or rules of Proof-of-Stake Protocol. Thus, the Company cannot assure a fixed reward percentage, or the Staking Period might not produce any Reward at all, and the rate shown to the Customer when placing the Order might not be the final Reward received.
3. The Company will provide information in the Expansion Staking about the Stake and the amount of Reward in the Service. For avoidance of doubt, since the Company cannot assure a fixed reward percentage, or the Staking Period might not produce any Reward at all, information provided during Staking Period might not be the final Reward received.
4. The Company reserves the right to unstake the Customer's Stake during the Staking Period for reasons such as Subcontractor actions, regulatory demands, legal obligations or other similar reasons, solely determined by the Company. The Company aims to provide the Customer with a written notice at least 20 days before the unstaking.
Fees
1. The Company shall charge the Customer a fee for using the Expansion Staking from the start of the Staking Period and until the Customer (or the Company) terminates the Staking Period. In connection with the provision of the Expansion Staking, the Company is required to pay fees to the Subcontractor(s). Such fees are to be paid exclusively by the Company and are deducted before the Company's fee is charged from the Customer and the final rewards are paid to the Customer. The Customer shall only be informed of the total fee they pay directly to the Company for the use of the Expansion Staking Service.
2. The Customer shall pay a fee to the Company in accordance with the Service Price List.
Rights and Obligations of the Customer
1. Given the personal nature of the Expansion Staking, solely the Customer shall have the right to use the Expansion Staking, whereby when using the Expansion Staking, the Customer shall always be the principal, and not an agent acting on behalf of a third party, in the Expansion Staking, unless otherwise is expressly agreed in writing between the Company and the Customer.
2. The Customer warrants that the Customer is capable of assessing the risks involved in the Expansion Staking and that the Customer understands and accepts that every action the Customer makes in the Expansion Staking, including the action to use the Expansion Staking, shall be based solely on the Customer's own discretion and decisions.
3. The Customer warrants that all the Crypto-Assets locked in the Stake for the purpose of using the Expansion Staking are owned by the Customer. The Customer further represents and warrants that the Customer shall not, without prior written consent from the Company, pledge, encumber, or otherwise use any Crypto-Assets in the Expansion Staking as collateral for any loan, debt, or other obligation incurred by the Customer or any third party.
4. The Customer shall be solely responsible for its decisions, including the decision to make an Order, in the Expansion Staking and ensuring that its use of the Expansion Staking is in compliance with the applicable laws.
5. The Customer shall be solely responsible for its own reporting obligations in connection to the Expansion Staking (e.g. tax reporting). Moreover, the Company does not give any advice relating to the taxation of Crypto-Assets and none of the Company's communications should be understood as such. The Customer is always responsible for determining what taxes the Customer might be liable to, and how they apply, when using the Service and it is the responsibility of the Customer to report and pay any taxes that may arise from using the Service.
6. The Customer is solely responsible for paying any taxes arising from their earnings or use of the Expansion Staking and the Service.
7. The Customer may not use the Expansion Staking for market manipulation of any kind or improper and/or malicious intent.
8. The Customer has the right to request the Company to electronically provide a report concerning the Customer's Crypto-Assets subject to Stake. The report shall include the type and balance of the Crypto-Assets, their market value at the time of reporting, and any transfers of the Crypto-Assets that occurred during the reporting period.
Rights and Obligations of the Company
1. The Company is obligated to: i) segregate the Customer's Crypto-Assets from those of other customers; and ii) segregate the Customer's Crypto-Assets from the Company's own Crypto-Assets, as required under the MiCA.
2. The Company is obligated to maintain appropriate records of the Expansion Staking operations, including all Orders and Rewards.
3. The Company is obligated to ensure that Crypto-Assets subject to Stake are held in custody and administered as described in Section 5 of the Expansion Service Terms.
4. In the event of a slashing risk materializing, including the materializing of Slashing Penalty, the Company is obligated to provide the Customer with a transparent explanation of the cause, to the extent permitted by applicable contracts and legislation binding the Company.
5. The Company shall not provide the Customer with any advice relating to Expansion Staking and nothing in the Company's communication with the Customer shall be interpreted as advice related to Expansion Staking or Crypto-Assets in general.
6. The Company shall not be obliged to provide the Customer with assistance in ensuring the Customer's compliance with applicable laws (e.g. tax reporting).
7. The Company does not guarantee the market value of the Stake nor does the Company have the ability to control the market value of the Customer's Crypto-Assets after the Staking Period. The Company does not guarantee that the Customer is able to receive and/or gain any Reward from Expansion Staking.
8. The Company shall have a right, at the sole discretion of the Company, to cancel any Order if it detects or suspects that the Customer uses or may use the Expansion Staking for illegal activities, with improper and/or malicious intent or for market manipulation of any kind. Where the Company cancels an Order, the Company shall not be obliged to provide an explanation to the Customer why the Order was cancelled.
9. Please note that the Company has the right to unilaterally establish prerequisites for the use of the Expansion Staking (e.g. minimum or certain amount of the Stake). For clarity, additional prerequisites, independent of the Company, may also arise from the technology and/or other rules regarding the Crypto-Asset subject to the Stake.
Limitation of Liability
General limitation of liability
1. The Company shall not be liable for any loss, damage, claim or other similar matter arising directly or indirectly of (a) rejection or non-execution of any Instruction or Order, (b) delay in the execution of an Order, (c) the Customer's compliance or non-compliance with legislation and/or these Expansion Staking Terms, (d) the Customer's capability or lack thereof to assess risks involved in the Expansion Staking, (e) actions or inactions of a Subcontractor or a third party (e.g. custody solution providers, banks, brokers, telecommunications infrastructure or exchanges), (f) any Subcontractor or a third party becoming insolvent (e.g. If a custody service provider were to act as a Subcontractor for the Company and it were to become insolvent, it might not be able to fulfill its financial obligations to the Company and/or the Customer; this refers primarily to the safeguarding and return of the Customer's Crypto-Assets, and failure to meet these obligations could result in financial losses for the Customer), (g) losses directly due to the Customer's actions, (h) failure in the Crypto-Asset's or other smart contract (e.g. hack or exploit), (i) critical delay in the Crypto-Asset's protocol (e.g. halt or leak), (j) loss of the Stake or Reward from events beyond the Company's reasonable control (force majeure, such events might include but are not limited to any acts of a common enemy, the elements, earthquakes, floods, fires, epidemics, and the inability to secure products or services from other persons or entities), (k), any impact arising from changes in laws, regulations, or regulatory policies that affect the Company's ability to provide services or the Customer's ability to engage in the Expansion Staking, and (l) any matters for which the Customer is responsible.
Slashing Penalty
1. Without limiting the provisions of Section 11.1 in any way and with specific reference to Sections 2.2 and 6.1, the Company emphasizes that the formation of a Stake requires the use of Delegated Staking Method. Because of the use of Delegated Staking Method, Expansion Staking does not provide the same functionality as the Custody Service or Expansion Custody Service offered by the Company, as the Crypto-Assets subject to Stake are no longer fully under the control of the Company nor its Subcontractor(s). During the Staking period, the Stake may be subject to losses due to the realization of the Slashing Penalty. The formation of a Stake via Delegated Staking Method is a prerequisite for the Customer to earn Rewards, which cannot be obtained without exposure to potential Slashing Penalty.
  With respect to the Slashing Penalty, the Company:
  1. shall not be liable in any way for the partial or total loss of the Crypto-Assets subject to Stake, for any resulting damages or losses, or for any other consequences suffered by the Customer, if the realization of the Slashing Penalty arises from reasons not caused by the actions of the Company. Such situations may include, but are not limited to, the following events that could trigger the Slashing Penalty:
    - Correlated slashing, where multiple validators are penalized simultaneously due to, for example, a software bug, a widespread disruption in cloud services, or other large-scale technical or systemic issues;
    - Protocol-defined conditions, such as exit queues before funds are released, forced removals from the validator system, or automatic reward reductions executed under the rules of the blockchain network without the Company's influence;
    - Network-level or external disruptions, such as a 51% attack, a critical software error, or a blockchain fork, which may result in the imposition of Slashing penalties by the network.
  2. shall be liable, up to the amount specified in Section 11.5, for the partial or total loss of Crypto-Assets subject to Stake if the realization of the Slashing Penalty is caused by the Company's gross negligence or wilful misconduct.
General limitations
1. The Company shall not be responsible for and shall not pay any amount of incidental damages, regardless of whether the Company was advised of the risk of such damage in advance.
2. All claims relating to the Expansion Staking shall be made within two (2) months from the date of the event giving rise to the claim; otherwise, the claim shall be considered waived and the Company shall have no further liability.
3. The Company's total liability under or relating to this Agreement, regardless of the cause or form of action, and whether before or after its termination, shall not exceed total fees of the Expansion Staking that Customer has paid to the Company within the 12 months immediately preceding the events giving rise to any claim, unless such amount is related to Company's material breach of its obligations under this Agreement and is a result of the Company's gross negligence or willful misconduct. This provision does not apply in the situation described in Section 11.2.2, in which case the Company's liability is limited to the market value of the lost Crypto-Asset, either partially or in full, at the time of the loss.
Term and Termination
1. The Customer may use the Expansion Staking while these Expansion Staking Terms are valid, and these Expansion Staking Terms shall remain valid indefinitely. The Staking Period lasts until terminated by the Customer or Company.
2. The Customer may at any time terminate an on-going Staking Period via the Service. Once the Staking Period is terminated, the Company shall pay the Customer the Reward that has accrued up until the termination date of the Staking Period in accordance with these Expansion Staking Terms and, without undue delay, unlock the Customer's staked Crypto-Assets on the Expansion Service Account. The Customer is free to use the Expansion Staking any time after the termination of the on-going Staking Period, provided that the Customer has valid Expansion Staking Terms with the Company. The Company may require the Customer to accept the Expansion Staking Terms before the Customer is able to give a new Order to the Company.
3. If the Customer terminates the Agreement, these Expansion Staking Terms are terminated immediately and in accordance with Section 12.2 above. After the termination of these Expansion Staking Terms, the Customer may not use the Expansion Staking without concluding the Agreement and these Expansion Staking Terms again with the Company.
4. The Company may immediately terminate these Expansion Staking Terms and any on-going Staking Period, if it is necessary due to legal or regulatory demands or actions taken by the Subcontractor(s) and/or relevant authorities or if there is a another justified (e.g. business) reason solely determined by the Company. Additionally, the Company can immediately terminate these Expansion Staking Terms and any on-going Staking Period if the Customer breaches these Expansion Staking Terms. These kinds of breaches may be, for example:
  - the Customer uses the Expansion Staking in any manner that violates applicable law,
  - the Customer's use of the Expansion Staking infringes the intellectual property or privacy rights of a third party, or
  - the Customer transmits or attempts to transmit any harmful code to a staking node.
5. The following sections shall remain in force even after the termination of these Expansion Staking Terms 1, 2, 9, 10.5, 10.6, 10.7, 10.8, 11 and 12.4.