# Utility

Darwin Token is an SPL‑20 asset issued on **Solana** that powers all economic activity within the Synthetic Darwin ecosystem. The token aligns platform incentives with user demand for task execution, compute, and privacy.

#### 1  Terminal Access Pass

Holding Darwin Token is the prerequisite for submitting optimisation or research tasks to the Synthetic Darwin Terminal. A lightweight access‑control smart contract checks the caller’s balance (or delegated allowance) before a task definition is accepted. Enterprises typically pre‑fund a dedicated wallet; individuals can pay per job.

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#### 2  Compute Metering

Every job consumes GPU / TPU time on Darwin’s federated compute mesh. A proprietary pricing oracle converts realtime spot‑compute costs into Darwin Token units. The user escrows the quoted amount in a per‑task smart‑contract vault; at job completion the platform withdraws the actual consumption fee.

* **Current accuracy:** internal calibration shows ±10 % variance between the pre‑quote and final charge. Users can top‑up the vault at any point; any unspent balance is automatically refunded.

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#### 3  Privacy Staking

By default, all task metadata, prompts, and model checkpoints are public—fueling community auditing and social alignment. Users who require confidentiality can **stake** Darwin Token against their job. While staked:

* Journals remain encrypted and withheld from public mirrors **for the duration of the stake**.
* Access keys are rotated every 24 h to minimise leakage risk.
* A slashing condition applies: proven policy violations (e.g., illicit content) forfeit the stake.

When the user **unstakes**, the privacy veil is lifted: all encrypted artefacts are automatically decrypted and published to the public mirrors. Unstaking initiates a **7‑day challenge window** that gives automated safety scanners and human reviewers time to flag policy violations before the data is released.

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#### Token‑Flow Summary

1. **Deposit** Darwin Token to open Terminal access.
2. **Escrow** compute fees in a task‑specific vault.
3. **(Optional) Stake** additional Darwin Token to keep artefacts private.
4. **Settle** consumption; refund or top‑up as needed.

This tri‑utility design creates constant, programmatic demand for Darwin Token while rewarding holders who actively participate in the network’s compute economy.