Levels and mining powerLink to this section

TL;DRLink to this section

A higher level gives a Miner more mining power.
Newly minted power and the extra power from a merge start earning only after later activation.
Merge cooldowns count completed Squeek blocks, not Ethereum blocks or elapsed time. Transfers don't restart them.

What does a higher level give you?Link to this section

Mining power determines your Miner's share of the rewards available to eligible Miners. The technical name for it is weight. Each level has more than twice the power of the level below, so merging two same-level Miners eventually gives the survivor more power than the two had together.

That increase can give you a larger share, but the amount still depends on the reward pool and everyone else's active power. Another owner's newly activated power can reduce your share without changing your Miner's level.

How it worksLink to this section

Minting schedules all of a new Miner's Level 1 power for later activation. Merging preserves the two inputs' combined active power, while scheduling the survivor's higher-level power for later. During that wait, the survivor keeps earning with the combined old power, and you can claim already-funded rewards.

Activation happens at scheduled round boundaries. A checkpoint processes earlier settled rounds before applying the new power, so waiting for the clock to reach the scheduled round isn't enough. The processing order also prevents new power from earning rewards for rounds before it was eligible.

Change	Power before activation	Power after activation
New mint	None	Level 1 power
Merge	Both inputs' combined active power	The survivor's new-level power
Transfer	Unchanged	Any existing scheduled change continues unchanged

Buying or receiving an already active Miner does not schedule a new activation. Its existing power stays active, and any pending change retains its original schedule.

How long does activation take?Link to this section

The configured activation period determines the possible starting rounds. New power uses the first eligible starting point strictly after the current round, or round 1 if the system hasn't started. Processing delays can make the change appear later, without moving its eligibility back to an earlier round.

For example, an illustrative three-round period gives starting rounds 1, 4, 7, and so on. A Miner minted during round 4 waits for round 7, and a checkpoint must process earlier rounds before applying its power. This illustrates the schedule, not a promised wait time; exact configuration bounds are in the Mining reference.

When can you merge again?Link to this section

Activation and cooldown are separate requirements. Both Miners must have no pending power change and have completed their own merge cooldowns before they can merge. They must also be at the same level below the maximum.

Minting and merging start cooldowns from the current number of completed Squeek blocks recorded on Ethereum. The Miner's new level determines how many additional blocks are required, and mergeable higher levels have longer cooldowns. This counts completed work, not elapsed time, Ethereum confirmations, or only the blocks whose rewards have already been funded.

Transfers don't reset or shorten a cooldown. One settlement can complete several Squeek blocks, so you aren't guaranteed a chance to act between them. At the maximum level, no further merge is allowed, regardless of the cooldown value shown in technical data.

Records verified work and tracks settled rounds and Squeek blocks on Ethereum. Calculates rewards from settled work, holds funded SQK, and pays eligible NFT owners. The Miner ERC-721 contract. Tracks NFT ownership and coordinates minting and merges with Mining. Applies Core or Mining upgrades authorized by its governing Timelock. Generates Miner NFT artwork from fixed onchain visual data. Queues governance operations and enforces a delay before they can be executed. The SQK ERC-20 contract. Enforces the lifetime supply cap; only Mining can mint SQK. Checks that visual data conforms to the required DotGrid format. When new mining power starts earning. Minting and merging schedule it for a later round, and a checkpoint must process the change. A reward update that processes settled work and scheduled mining-power changes. It can make rewards available but doesn't pay them to an owner's wallet. The Miner NFT permanently burned in a merge. Its unclaimed rewards move to the survivor, but its image is not combined or kept. SQK issued under the mining reward rules. You can direct a share of your Miner's rewards to fund SqueekFi projects. The physical mining device that records accepted wheel-magnet passages as work. It is separate from the virtual Miner NFTs. Squeekchain's record of accepted wheel-magnet passages. It doesn't prove animal identity and isn't how Ethereum reaches consensus. Combining two eligible same-level Miners you own into one higher-level Miner. One NFT is permanently burned; the survivor keeps both Miners' unclaimed rewards. The completed Squeek blocks a Miner must wait through before merging. It measures completed work, not elapsed time or Ethereum blocks; transfers don't reset it. The power used to calculate a Miner's share of rewards when eligible and active. A larger share of total power can mean a larger share of rewards. A ten-minute period used to group measured work. The device saves a completed round's work total when measurement remained uninterrupted. The transferable token used for mining rewards. It has a lifetime supply cap and is separate from the Miner NFT and the device's work count. A completed amount of settled work. Enough recorded work completes one Squeek block; it is not an Ethereum block. Squeek Miner NFTs earn SQK linked to recorded wheel activity. Owners can direct a share of those rewards to fund SqueekFi projects. Squeekchain's ecosystem for hamster-powered onchain finance. Miner owners can choose to fund projects with a share of their SQK rewards. The Miner NFT you keep in a merge. It gains a level, keeps its ID and image, and receives both Miners' unclaimed rewards. A Miner's recorded reward balance that hasn't been paid to a wallet. It stays with the NFT when ownership changes. One wheel-magnet passage that met the device's counting rules and was saved. It records work, not an amount of SQK.