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wip: update FAQ
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ekzyis committed Jan 24, 2025
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# Stacker News FAQ

To quickly browse through this FAQ page, click the chapters icon in the top-right corner. This will let you scroll through all FAQ chapter titles or search for a particular topic within this page.
_To quickly browse through this FAQ page, click the chapters icon in the top-right corner. This will let you scroll through all FAQ chapter titles or search for a particular topic within this page._

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## New Stackers Start Here

### What is Stacker News?

Stacker News is a forum (like Reddit or Hacker News) where you can earn sats for creating or curating content. Rather than collecting “upvotesthat are not redeemable or transferable on Reddit or Hacker News, on Stacker News you can earn sats.
Stacker News is a forum similar to Reddit or Hacker News. Unlike Reddit or Hacker News where you earn "upvotes" or "karma" that are not redeemable or transferable, on Stacker News you earn satoshis for creating and curating content.

### What Are Sats?
### What Are Satoshis?

Sats are the smallest denomination of Bitcoin. Just like there are 100 pennies in 1 dollar, there are 100,000,000 sats in 1 Bitcoin. On Stacker News, all Bitcoin payments and balances are denominated in sats.
A satoshi is the smallest denomination of bitcoin. Just like there are 100 pennies in 1 dollar, there are 100,000,000 satoshis in 1 bitcoin. Satoshis are commonly abbreviated as "sats". On Stacker News, all bitcoin payments are denominated in sats and use the Lightning Network.

### What Are Cowboy Credits?

Stacker News never takes custody of stackers' money to send it to someone else since that would be [money transmission](https://www.fincen.gov/money-services-business-definition).

To help new stackers get started without requiring them to [attach a lightning wallet](#attaching-a-wallet), stackers without an attached wallet will earn cowboy credits (CCs) when other stackers [zap](#zapping-on-stacker-news) their content. Stacker News will accept CCs instead of sats for any payment on the site at a 1:1 ratio. This means new stackers can use these earned CCs to pay for posts, comments, zaps, jobs, boosts, donations or even territories but cannot withdraw them.

If you need additional cowboy credits beyond what you've earned through zaps, you can always purchase them with sats at a 1:1 ratio [here](/credits).

### What Are Territories?

Every post on Stacker News belongs to a territory. Territories are topic-based communities where stackers gather to discuss shared interests and help them grow and thrive.

They are founded by stackers who pay us to receive the revenue they generate. Territories generate revenue because 70% of post, comment and boost fees and 21% of zaps go to the founder.

See the [section about territories](#territories) for more details or read [_Immortal Communities_](/items/746139) for our vision for territories.

### Do I Need Bitcoin to Use Stacker News?

No. Every new stacker can comment for free (with limited visibility) while they earn their first few sats. After a stacker has started earning sats for their content, subsequent posts and comments will incur a small fee to prevent spam and to encourage quality contributions. Many stackers earn enough sats from their posts and comments to continue posting on the site indefinitely without ever depositing their own sats.
No. Every new stacker can post or comment for free (with limited visibility) while they earn their first few CCs or sats. After a stacker has gained a balance, subsequent posts and comments will incur a small fee to prevent spam and to encourage quality contributions. Many stackers earn enough from their posts and comments to continue posting on the site indefinitely without ever buying CCs with sats.

Post and comment fees vary depending on the [territory](#territories).

### How Do I Earn Sats on Stacker News?

There are four ways to earn sats on Stacker News: zaps, daily rewards, referrals and territory revenue.

To earn sats via [zaps](#zapping-on-stacker-news) from fellow stackers, you need to [attach a wallet](#attaching-a-wallet) that can receive payments. Once you're setup, share interesting links, discussion prompts, or comments with the community. If another stacker finds value in what you shared, they also have attached a wallet, and nothing is preventing us from routing the lightning payment from them to you, you will receive real sats when they zap you. See the [section about zaps](#zapping-on-stacker-news) and [wallets](#attaching-a-wallet) for more details.

Post and comment fees vary depending on the [territory](#stacker-news-territories).
Stackers can also earn sats via daily rewards. Stacker News uses the revenue it generates from post, comment and boost fees, the job board and donations to reward stackers that contributed to the site with even more sats beyond the zaps they already receive. Contributions also include zapping content since they are used as a signal for ranking. **You do not need to attach a wallet to receive daily rewards in sats.** See the [section about rewards](#rewards) for more details.

### Why Is My Wallet Balance Going Up?
Another way to earn sats is via [referrals](/referrals/month). If a stacker signs up through one of your referral links, you will earn 10% of their rewards in perpetuity. Additionally, if a stacker clicks on your referral links the most on a day, you will also receive 10% of their rewards for that day. Your posts, comments and profile are implicit referral links. See the [section about referrals](#referrals) for more details.

When other stackers [zap](#zapping-on-stacker-news) your posts and comments, those sats go to you. Stackers who are actively contributing content and sats also earn extra sats as a daily reward. These sats come from the revenue generated by Stacker News from posting/commenting fees and boost fees.
The last way to earn sats is by founding a territory since they generate revenue. However, this is not a recommended way to earn sats for new stackers since it requires a lot of effort to be profitable. See the [section about territories](#territories) for more details.

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## Attaching A Wallet

### Why Should I Attach A Wallet?

tbd

### How Do I Attach A Wallet?

tbd

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## Funding Your Account

### How Do I Fund My Stacker News Wallet?
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## Stacker News Territories
## Territories

### What are Territories?

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