Unlock & Penalty Mechanics

Last updated: Apr 29, 2026

This page explains how rewards unlock and how early exit penalties are calculated.

Unlocking Rewards

Rewards unlock after the full 12-month program period.
Unlock occurs once the program ends.
Rewards unlock linearly over 3 months after the program ends.

Unstaking SNX

After staking SNX you may unstake at any time, but there may be a penalty on your SNX rewards and there is a 7-day cooldown.

Early Exit Penalty

If you unstake before the program ends:

Penalty applies to earned rewards only
Principal SNX is never penalized
Penalty decreases linearly over time:
- Day 1: 100%
- End of program: 0%

Penalty is calculated at the time of exit.

Early Exit Penalty Example

Assumptions: 100 SNX staked, ~50% APY (≈50 SNX rewards over the full program).

Unstaking at 3 months (25% through program):

Rewards earned: 12.5 SNX
Penalty: 75% → 9.38 SNX forfeited
Net rewards: 3.13 SNX
Total received: 100 SNX + 3.13 SNX = 103.13 SNX

Unstaking at 9 months (75% through program):

Rewards earned: 37.5 SNX
Penalty: 25% → 9.38 SNX forfeited
Net rewards: 28.13 SNX
Total received: 100 SNX + 28.13 SNX = 128.13 SNX

Repaying 35% of your Debt to Unstake

If you stake SNX and have debt, you can either participate in Debt Jubilee to burn your debt, or pay 35% of your debt to unstake your SNX. The 35% path is a manual Support process, see Repaying 35% of your Debt to Unstake for eligibility and how to start.

sUSD Stakers

Staked sUSD was locked until April 19, 2026.

From April 20, 2026, unstaking is available, however it is currently only accessible via manual Support processing due to a UI issue.

To proceed, you must contact Support and follow the manual unstaking process.

👉 See: Manual Unstaking via Account NFT Transfer (sUSD & SNX)