Checkpoints and pending rewardsLink to this section

TL;DRLink to this section

A checkpoint processes settled work for rewards and applies scheduled mining-power changes.
You don't have to call one yourself to own a Miner or claim rewards that are already ready.
Anyone can call one, but the caller pays a network fee without a separate reward, and one call may not clear a backlog.

Why aren't all recorded rewards ready yet?Link to this section

Work settled on Ethereum still needs to be processed for rewards. A checkpoint is the transaction that does this: it processes settled rounds, calculates any new SQK, and applies mining-power changes when they're due. Until that happens, a work total can be ahead of the rewards ready to claim.

New power also has to wait for its scheduled round and for earlier rounds to be processed. Reaching that round on the clock doesn't by itself activate a newly minted Miner's power or a merge's increase. The checkpoint preserves the order, so new power can't earn rewards from before it was eligible.

Do you need to call a checkpoint?Link to this section

Not as a routine step for every owner. A checkpoint advances shared accounting, so its progress applies to eligible Miners regardless of who submits it. You don't need a separate call for each NFT, and a claim can pay already-funded rewards without running one.

Anyone may submit a checkpoint, including someone who owns no Miner. It requires no SQK spending approval, but the caller pays the Ethereum network fee and receives no separate payment for helping the system progress. Before choosing to call one, check whether progress is available and compare it with the estimated fee.

Looking up a reward balance doesn't run a checkpoint. Minting, merging, and claiming don't process a backlog either. Developers integrating an optional call should use the checkpoint procedure.

What can one call change?Link to this section

Each call processes a limited amount of settled work and scheduled activations. A large backlog can take several calls, and a processing limit can stop a call before a power change is applied. Later successful calls continue from the recorded progress rather than starting over.

A successful checkpoint can fund SQK, activate power, advance through rounds that pay nothing, or combine these outcomes. It doesn't pay NFT owners directly. You still need to claim separately to move ready SQK to your wallet.

Why might it create no SQK?Link to this section

Progress isn't a promise of payment. There may be no completed Squeek block, no eligible active mining power, a reward rate that has fallen to zero, or no remaining supply capacity. Processing empty rounds or applying an activation can also advance the system without creating tokens.

Rounds that pay zero are still processed once; their rewards aren't reserved for future Miners. Paying for another checkpoint can't recover them or increase the reward for the same work. How rewards work explains the pool and eligibility rules.

What happens during a pause or failure?Link to this section

A pause in Core, the settled-work contract, blocks checkpoints. That alone doesn't block claims of rewards already funded. If a required read, mint, or accounting check fails, the whole checkpoint is undone, while work already settled on Ethereum remains recorded.

A failed transaction can still cost a network fee. After a successful call, check the resulting progress rather than assuming the backlog is empty or a particular Miner has activated. Exact status fields, errors, and transaction checks stay in the Mining reference.

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.