🚀 Votex Quick Start Guide

⚙️ The Vault Gauge System

This guide gives validators a practical understanding of how The Vault Gauges work and how to use them effectively with Votex in under five minutes.

⏱️ What You Need to Know in 5 Minutes

Gauges allow validators to receive stake through a weekly voting mechanism. Validators acquire voting power, votes are cast, and stake is distributed for the following epoch. This process repeats weekly.

🧭 What Are Gauges?

Gauges are a vote based stake allocation system.

• Validators acquire voting power
• Votes are cast for a specific epoch
• Stake is distributed based on vote share
• Votes expire after one week and must be renewed

This creates a predictable, transparent way to attract stake through market pricing.

📊 Key Numbers at a Glance

• Voting epochs last 7 days
• A minimum commitment of 2 to 3 weeks is recommended
• The stakebot runs every 3 hours
• Initial impact is visible after one week when using Votex
• Delta updates appear within 3 hours of a new epoch starting
• Full stake distribution typically completes within 6 to 8 days

🔁 The Quick Process

Step 1

Buy Votes

• Visit:
  https://votex.so/daos
• Confirm voting is open
  Voting is available six days per week and closes on the final day of the epoch
• Purchase votes for your validator
  Any wallet can be used and it does not need to remain consistent week to week

Step 2

Wait for the Next Epoch

• Check the epoch countdown at:
  https://tribeca.so/gov/vault/gauges
• Votes always apply to the next epoch after purchase
• Example
  Votes purchased during Epoch 20 apply to Epoch 21

Step 3

Check Your Delta

• Visit:
  https://thevault.finance/validators
• Locate your validator and review the delta column
• Deltas typically appear within three hours of the new epoch starting

Step 4

Wait for Stake Distribution

• Stake is processed through a priority queue
• First time or large stake allocations may take slightly longer
• Continue monitoring your validator page for updates

Step 5

Repeat Weekly

• Votes only last one week
• To retain or grow stake you must vote again for the next epoch
• Most validators see the strongest results after two to three consecutive weeks

💰 Budget Planning and ROI

Estimating Returns

Expected earnings =
Stake amount × Commission rate × APY ÷ 52

Cost =
USDC spent on votes

If expected earnings exceed cost the strategy is profitable

Understanding Voting Power

Your voting power =
Your spend ÷ Total spend for the epoch

Example
$1,000 ÷ $1,200 total spend = 83 percent of voting power

⚠️ Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Only voting for one week and stopping before results compound
• Expecting instant stake distribution
• Forgetting to vote again when a new epoch begins
• Confusing Solana epochs with gauge voting epochs
• Assuming the same wallet must be used every week

🔗 Quick Links

Buy votes
https://votex.so/daos

Check epoch timing
https://tribeca.so/gov/vault/gauges

View validator deltas
https://thevault.finance/validators

Stakebot transparency data
https://github.com/SolanaVault/stakebot-data

Analytics dashboard
https://dune.com/kagren0/the-vault-validators

🏁 Stake Priority Rules

Stake is processed in the following order.

• First priority
  Direct stake combined with gauge stake
• Second priority
  Undirected stake
• Within each priority tier validators with larger deltas are processed first.

🗓️ Example Timeline

Day 0 Monday
Votes are purchased during Epoch 20

Later on Day 0
Votex casts votes on your behalf

Day 7 Monday
Epoch 21 begins

Within 3 hours
Your delta appears on the dashboard

Day 7 to Day 13
Stakebot distributes stake across validators

Day 14
Votes must be renewed for Epoch 22

🤝 Need Help?

For deeper explanations review the Gauge documentation.
If you still need assistance reach out to our Discord support directly.

✅ Ready to Start?

Visit
https://votex.so/daos

Purchase your first votes and begin participating in the gauge system.