Using the compound estimator before you stake

Staking on Realio Network is not as liquid as holding tokens on an exchange. Once you delegate, your tokens are bonded — and if you decide to unstake, there is a 7-day unbonding period before they become freely transferable again. This is not a reason not to stake; it is a reason to be intentional about how much you stake and for how long. The compound estimator at compound.teshy.com is designed exactly for this: model your position before you commit, so you go in with clear expectations rather than discovering the math after the fact.

The three inputs

The estimator takes three inputs, each adjustable with a slider or direct entry:

The principal field accepts both a dollar amount and a token quantity. Enter $10,000 and the estimator uses the current token price to display results in both USD and token terms — useful because staking rewards are paid in tokens, and the USD value of those rewards fluctuates with price. Enter a token quantity directly if you prefer to work in native units.

The APR slider runs from 1% to 40%. Current Realio Network staking APRs have typically ranged between 4% and 10%, so for most purposes you’ll be working in that band. The wider range is there for modeling: if you want to see what your position looks like at a more optimistic or more conservative APR assumption, you can explore the full distribution. The estimator is clear that APR is variable — it’s set by network parameters and governance, not locked in at the time of delegation.

The duration selector runs from one to five years in annual increments. Each increment adds a bar to the projected value chart, letting you see the year-by-year trajectory of your position rather than just the final number. This matters: a 6% APR over one year is a modest gain; the same rate over five years with daily compounding starts to look meaningfully different from simple interest.

Reading the bar chart

The bar chart is the estimator’s primary output. Each bar represents the total projected value of your position at the end of that year — original principal plus accumulated rewards, assuming rewards are restaked at the same frequency you selected. The bars grow faster than a straight line because compounding means each period’s reward is calculated on a larger base than the period before it. The difference between the final bar and a straight-line extrapolation from year one is your compounding boost — the number the estimator displays explicitly at the bottom of the chart.

Compounding frequency — daily, weekly, or monthly

The estimator lets you choose how often you compound — how often you claim and restake rewards. The three options correspond to real-world delegation patterns: daily, weekly, or monthly. Here is how the math breaks down at 6% APR on $10,000 over 5 years:

Daily compounding wins, but only marginally at these APR levels. The difference between daily and monthly compounding at 6% over five years is approximately $12 on a $10,000 principal. At higher APRs — say, 15% — the gap widens to around $180 on the same principal over the same duration. The practical implication: if your platform makes daily restaking easy and fee-free, do it. If it involves manual transactions with gas costs, the math may not justify the frequency; weekly or monthly is close enough.

What the estimator cannot tell you

The estimator is a planning tool, not a prediction. There are two things it explicitly cannot account for and that you should hold in mind alongside any projection it gives you.

First, APR is variable. The Realio Network sets staking reward parameters through governance, and those parameters change over time as total stake, inflation schedules, and network economics evolve. The APR you enter into the estimator is your assumption, not a locked rate. Running the model at a few different APR levels — your base case, a lower scenario, and an upper scenario — gives you a range of outcomes that is more honest than a single projection.

Second, the estimator works in token terms. If RIO or the token you’re staking changes in USD price over your holding period, the dollar value of your rewards will differ from what the estimator shows. This is not a bug; it’s inherent to any crypto position. Think of the estimator as showing you the token math, and apply your own price assumptions separately.