These are the questions people ask most about Gatewayz yield-as-inference. In short: you delegate ADA from your own wallet to the Gatewayz stake pool, your ADA never moves, and 95% of the rewards your stake earns Gatewayz comes back as a USD discount that pays 99% of each AI request on Gatewayz while it lasts. The program is pre-launch, with a working demo on Cardano's preprod testnet. For the full mechanism, read How it works.
Frequently asked questions
Is my ADA safe when I delegate it to Gatewayz?
Your ADA never leaves your wallet. Delegation on Cardano assigns your stake to a pool without transferring your ADA, you can spend it at any time, and there is no lock-up. No Gatewayz smart contract holds it and Gatewayz has no way to move it. Its market price still moves, exactly as it would in your wallet anyway.
Can Gatewayz ever move or freeze my ADA?
No. Delegation is a native Cardano certificate on your own stake key, not a smart contract and not a deposit. Gatewayz never receives your keys, and linking your wallet is only a signed message proving you control the stake address. See Security for what Gatewayz can and cannot touch.
What is the difference between staking rewards and the inference discount?
Ordinary staking pays rewards in ADA, which you can hold, spend or sell. With Gatewayz, the pool keeps nearly all its rewards as pool fees, and 95% of your stake's share of those fees comes back as a USD discount on inference instead. The discount is not cash: it cannot be withdrawn, transferred or exchanged. Staking rewards vs an inference discount compares them in detail.
Do I still receive ADA staking rewards while delegated?
No. The Gatewayz pool takes nearly all of its rewards as its fee (a 99% margin plus Cardano's minimum fixed cost), so you do not receive ADA rewards while delegated to it. You receive the inference discount instead. If you would rather accumulate ADA, delegate to a pool that pays rewards out.
How is my discount calculated?
After each finished epoch, Gatewayz takes the pool fees it actually received and splits them across linked wallets by stake, then credits 95% of your share: 0.95 x pool fees x your stake / the pool's active stake. The result is converted to USD at the ADA price when it is recorded.
How much discount will my ADA produce?
It depends on how much you delegate, the blocks the pool mints and the ADA price. The calculator shows a range for your own amount from Cardano's recent network rewards; there is no promised rate. At its default inputs as of 2026-10-27, 100,000 ADA comes to roughly $32.91 to $34.45 of discount a month.
When does the first discount arrive?
Roughly two to three weeks after you first delegate. If you delegate in epoch N, your stake enters the snapshot at the start of N+1, becomes active in N+2, and that epoch's rewards are paid at the start of N+4. Each epoch is five days. Cardano epochs and reward timing explains why.
How does the discount appear on my bill?
On each request you pay 1% of the list price from your normal credits, and the other 99% is drawn from your discount balance until it runs out. Refunded requests return their discount to the balance, and requests after the balance runs out are billed at list price from credits.
What are the launch limits?
At most $5 of discount per account per day, and at most $50 per day across the whole program. The calculator applies the per-account limit as a cap of $150 a month. Limits may change.
Can the program pay out more than it receives?
No. Discounts are calculated only from rewards Gatewayz has actually received, never in advance. The program also pauses automatically if discounts granted ever exceed 95% of rewards received.
Who can take part?
Anyone outside the United States and Canada. The program is not available to US or Canadian persons, and every participant confirms they are not one before linking a wallet.
Which wallets work?
Any CIP-30 browser wallet can delegate and sign the linking message, including Lace, Eternl, Yoroi and Vespr. Linking requires a key-hash stake address starting stake1u; script stake addresses starting stake17 are not supported today.
Can my AI agents use the discount?
Yes. The discount sits on your Gatewayz account, so any request made with your API key, including your agents' requests, draws from it. An agent with its own Cardano wallet can also link that wallet itself through the API; see For agents.
How can I verify my discount?
Recompute it from public chain data. The verify script reads the pool's fees and your stake from Koios, a public Cardano API, and applies the same formula Gatewayz uses, so you can compare its result with your account history. Verify your discount has the command.
Does the discount expire?
No expiry is set today. If one is introduced, it will be announced before it applies.
Why is ADA the only asset that is live?
ADA supports native, non-custodial delegation, so the discount needs no smart contract and no lending. Other proof-of-stake assets are listed as coming so you can tell us which should come next; each has a page under Assets.
Why isn't Bitcoin listed?
Bitcoin has no native staking, so there is no protocol reward to turn into inference without lending it out or wrapping it, which changes the risk entirely. The same applies to other assets without native staking.
Can I use stablecoins?
Not yet. Stablecoins do not stake, so any yield would come from lending, which adds protocol risk. Gatewayz will only add Cardano stablecoins through a lending protocol with a published audit, and none has been selected. See Stablecoins.
Can the program change?
Yes. The reward share, the discount, the limits and the program itself can change or be paused. Discounts already credited stay on your account, and you can redelegate at any time if you do not like a change.
How do I leave?
Redelegate to another pool or stop delegating from your wallet at any time; leaving is never blocked. A redelegation takes effect in the epoch after next, and discounts already credited stay on your account.
Can I cash out or sell my discount balance?
No. The balance is non-transferable, usable only for inference on Gatewayz, and cannot be withdrawn, exchanged or cashed out.
How is the discount taxed?
Gatewayz does not give tax advice. How a staking delegation or an inference discount is treated depends on where you live and your circumstances, so consult your tax advisor.
Is the program live?
Not on mainnet yet. The program is built and switched off on mainnet, and a working demo runs on Cardano's preprod testnet with test ADA, by invitation. Apply on the main page to be walked through it.
Sources
- Cardano.org Glossary: Delegation, as of 2026-10-27
- Cardano.org: Stake your ada on Cardano, as of 2026-10-27
- Cardano Docs: Cardano node (Slots and epochs), as of 2026-10-27
- CIP-0030: Cardano dApp-Wallet Web Bridge, as of 2026-10-27
Discounts are a share of staking rewards Gatewayz actually received, can change at any time, and are not a guaranteed return. Not available to US or Canadian persons. Every participant must confirm they are not a US or Canadian person before linking a wallet. Not investment, legal or tax advice. Figures as of 2026-10-27. Program disclosures