Terms of Use

These terms of use are entered into by and between You and Validation Cloud, a Swiss Corporation with its registered office at Dammstrasse 16, 6300 Zug (CHE-188.942.404) ("Validation Cloud" or "Company"). In the context of the operation and provision of infrastructure services through a fast, scalable, and intelligent blockchain-based platform, which may incorporate both on-chain and off-chain data sources, the following terms and conditions, together with any documents they expressly incorporate by reference (collectively, these "Terms of Use"), govern your access to and use of https://validationcloud.io through a user interface (“UI”) and/or an application programming interface (“API”) (the "Website"), including any content, functionality, and services offered whether as a guest or a registered user.

Please read the Terms of Use carefully before you start to use the Website. By using the Website or by clicking to accept or agree to the Terms of Use when this option is made available to you, you accept and agree to be bound and abide by these Terms of Use and our Privacy Policy, available at https://validationcloud.io incorporated herein by reference. If you do not want to agree to these Terms of Use or the Privacy Policy, you must not access or use the Website.

This Website is offered and available to users who are 18 years of age or older. By using this Website, you represent and warrant that you are of legal age to form a binding contract with the Company and meet all of the foregoing eligibility requirements. If you do not meet all of these requirements, you must not access or use the Website.

The Company may revise and update these Terms of Use from time to time in its sole discretion. Significant changes will go into effect 30 days following the publication of such changes at https://www.validationcloud.io/terms. All non-significant changes are effective immediately upon posting them on the Website, and apply to all access to and use of the Website thereafter.

Your continued use of the Website following the posting of the revised Terms of Use means that you accept and agree to the changes. You are expected to check this page frequently so you are aware of any updates, as they are binding on you.

The Company reserves the right to withdraw or amend this Website, and any service or material the Company provides on the Website, in its sole discretion and without notice. The Company will not be liable if for any reason all or any part of the Website is unavailable at any time or for any period. From time to time, the Company may restrict access to some parts of the Website, or the entire Website, to users, including registered users.

You are responsible for:

• Making all arrangements necessary for you to have access to the Website.
• Ensuring that all persons who access the Website through your internet connection are aware of these Terms of Use and comply with them.

To access the Website or some of the resources it offers, you may be asked to provide certain registration details or other information. It is a condition of your use of the Website that all the information you provide on the Website is correct, current, and complete. You agree that all information you provide to register with this Website or otherwise, including but not limited to through the use of any interactive features on the Website, is governed by the Privacy Policy, available at https://validationcloud.io/privacy, and you consent to all actions the Company takes with respect to your information consistent with our Privacy Policy.

The Website and its entire contents, features, and functionality (including but not limited to all information, software, text, displays, images, video, and audio, and the design, selection, and arrangement thereof), are owned by the Company, its licensors, or other providers of such material and are protected by United States and international copyright, trademark, patent, trade secret, and other intellectual property or proprietary rights laws.

These Terms of Use permit you to use the Website for your personal, non-commercial use only. You must not reproduce, distribute, modify, create derivative works of, publicly display, publicly perform, republish, download, store, or transmit any of the material on our Website, except as follows:

• Your computer may temporarily store copies of such materials in random-access memory (“RAM”) incidental to your accessing and viewing those materials.
• You may store files that are automatically cached by your web browser for display enhancement purposes.
• You may print one copy of a reasonable number of pages of the Website for your own personal, non-commercial use and not for further reproduction, publication, or distribution.
• If the Company provides desktop, mobile, or other applications for download, you may download a single copy to your computer or mobile device solely for your own personal, non-commercial use, provided you agree to be bound by our end user license agreement for such applications.
• If the Company provides social media features with certain content, you may take such actions as are enabled by such features or the platform hosting those features.

You must not:

• Modify copies of any materials or extracts from the Website.
• Use any illustrations, photographs, video or audio sequences, or any graphics related to any materials or extracts of the Website, as published or otherwise made available by Validation Cloud or a third party, separately from any accompanying text (where applicable), or present any materials or extracts from the Website in a misleading or inaccurate manner.
• Delete or alter any copyright, trademark, or other proprietary rights notices from copies of materials or extracts from this Website.

You must not access or use for any commercial purposes any part of the Website or any services or materials available through the Website.

If you wish to make any use of material on the Website other than that set out in this section, please address your request to: [email protected].

If you print, copy, modify, download, or otherwise use or provide any other person with access to any part of the Website in breach of the Terms of Use, your right to use the Website will stop immediately and you must, at our option, return or destroy any copies of the materials you have made. No right, title, or interest in or to the Website or any content on the Website is transferred to you, and all rights not expressly granted are reserved by the Company. Any use of the Website not expressly permitted by these Terms of Use is a breach of these Terms of Use and may violate copyright, trademark, and other laws.

The Company name, the Company logo, and all related names, logos, product and service names, designs, and slogans are trademarks of the Company or its affiliates or licensors. You must not use such marks without the prior written permission of the Company. All other names, logos, product and service names, designs, and slogans on this Website are the trademarks of their respective owners.

Details of the blockchain-related and non-blockchain-related products and services (which may incorporate both on-chain and off-chain data sources) available for purchase from Validation Cloud are set out in the Website (https://validationcloud.io or https://app.validationcloud.io, or https://ai.validationcloud.io). The Website may provide insights derived from both on-chain and off-chain data sources. The scope of data sources and analytical capabilities may be expanded or modified in future versions of the Website, including but not limited to the use of internally developed and/or hosted or third-party large language models (“LLM”).

All features, content, specifications, products and prices of products and services described or depicted by Validation Cloud are subject to change at any time without notice. Unless expressly noted, all units of measure and similar descriptions are approximate and are provided for convenience purposes only. The inclusion of any products or services in https://validationcloud.io or https://app.validationcloud.io, or https://ai.validationcloud.io at a particular time does not imply or warrant that these products or services will be available at any time. Occasionally, the delivery of a certain product or service may be delayed for a number of reasons. In such an event, the Company will make reasonable efforts to notify you of the delay and keep you informed of the revised delivery schedule. By placing an order, you represent that the products ordered will be used only in a lawful manner.

1. Subscription terms. The Company may offer you the ability to purchase subscriptions via https://validationcloud.io or https://app.validationcloud.io, or https://ai.validationcloud.io. Terms specific to a subscription will be disclosed to you at or prior to the time at which you purchase the subscription, and by purchasing the subscription you are agreeing to those terms.
   You may give us information about yourself when you purchase a subscription. The Company may need to send you email and text messages to provide you with important information. You authorize us to send those messages when you provide your contact details.

2.  Free trials and promotional periods. If a subscription commences with a free trial or a promotional period, you will have the right to cancel the subscription prior to the end of the trial or period. If the Comapny does not provide you with an online cancellation mechanism, then you may exercise this cancellation right by contacting us ([email protected]). If you do not cancel, we will bill you at the end of the free trial or promotional period, and your subsequent cancellation rights will be in accordance with the terms specific to the subscription.
3. Cancellation. Your cancellation rights, and the mechanism via which you may notify us of your decision to cancel, will be disclosed to you at or prior to the time at which you purchase a subscription.

The Company may require that you create an account to access https://validationcloud.io or https://app.validationcloud.io, or https://ai.validationcloud.io, including to make purchases. If we do so, you must provide accurate information about yourself when you create an account and ensure that you update us if that information changes. You must ensure that your login details remain confidential. You are responsible for any activity, including any purchases made, under your account. The Company reserves the right to terminate your account at any time and for any reason.

Suspension and/or Termination of Services and/or Account

Without excluding other coercive measures, Validation Cloud reserves the right to temporarily or permanently suspend or terminate access to the services and/or your account(s) under these Terms of Use in case of breach of these Terms of Use by unfair, fraudulent, criminal or harmful behavior of you, your affiliates or anyone else using knowingly or unknowingly the services for you or your account(s), and in particular but not exclusively, in the following cases:

• non-compliance with all or part of these Terms of Use;
• engaging in or attempting suspicious transactions;
• suspicion of fraudulent activity;
• login and password being transmitted to third parties;
• use of several distinct Accounts by the same Client;
• becoming subject to sanctions according to Sanctions Regulations (as defined below);
• legal or regulatory obligations, court decisions, injunctions or any administrative request that would justify suspending the service immediately;
• interference that may cause damage or degradation of Validation Cloud's or third parties' equipment;
• refusal by the Client to provide the information requested by Validation Cloud in the context of its legal and regulatory obligations relating to anti-money laundering (“AML”)/combating the financing of terrorism (“CFT”), to the extent applicable;
• fraudulent behavior by the Client, including infringement of Validation Cloud's intellectual property rights or misuse of services for purposes other than those stated in the contract;
• bankruptcy, reorganization, liquidation, dissolution or similar proceedings against the Client.

Further, Validation Cloud reserves the right to temporarily or permanently suspend or terminate access to the services and/or your account(s) or terminate the business relationship with you under these Terms of Use in case of you, your affiliates or anyone else using knowingly or unknowingly the services for you or your account(s):

• causing or threatening to cause even light non-compliance of Validation Cloud with AML-, counter-terrorism financing (“CTF”)- and/or Sanctions Regulations or any other applicable mandatory regulations or laws (including the refusal to provide Validation Cloud with the necessary documentation and information);
• causing or being subject to legal or regulatory obligations, court decisions, injunctions or any administrative request that would justify taking such measure immediately;
• engages in, contributes to, or is involved in interference that may cause damage or degradation of Validation Cloud's or third parties' equipment (including immaterial assets, such as software and the platform);
• bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, liquidation, dissolution or similar proceedings against you, your affiliates or anyone else using knowingly or unknowingly the services for you or your account(s).

In the above-mentioned cases, Validation Cloud informs you of the measure by email, to the email address associated with the account, indicating (i) the reason for the measure, (ii) its scope, (iii) its permanent or temporary nature and, in the latter case, (iv) its duration. In case of permanent suspension, you have a period of thirty (30) days to stop the use of the services. At the end of which any account of you will be deleted under the conditions set out above. If not allowed under applicable law or regulations, Validation Cloud will not inform you or only inform you once Validation Cloud is allowed to do so again.

Unless otherwise disclosed, you will only be entitled to a refund if the Company provides you with a service that does not match the product description of the service that you purchased. If that occurs, your exclusive remedy is to contact us for a refund. To begin the return process, please contact us.

You may use the Website only for lawful purposes and in accordance with these Terms of Use. You agree not to use the Website:

• In any way that violates any applicable federal, state, local, or international law or regulation (including, without limitation, any laws regarding the export of data or software to and from the US or other countries).
• For the purpose of exploiting, harming, or attempting to exploit or harm minors in any way by exposing them to inappropriate content, asking for personally identifiable information, or otherwise.
• To transmit, or procure the sending of, any advertising or promotional material without our prior written consent, including any “junk mail”, “chain letter”, “spam”, or any other similar solicitation.
• To impersonate or attempt to impersonate the Company, a Company employee, another user, or any other person or entity (including, without limitation, by using email addresses or screen names associated with any of the foregoing).
• To engage in any other conduct that restricts or inhibits anyone's use or enjoyment of the Website, or which, as determined by us, may harm the Company or users of the Website or expose them to any liability.

Additionally, you agree not to:

• Use the Website or any outputs generated through the use of the Website in any manner to develop or otherwise train models that compete with Validation Cloud and/or the Website;
• Publish, either generally or through any external sharing function provided by the Company, any output generated through the use of the Website or any services of the Company without explicitly citing Validation Cloud, or misrepresent the source of any output or its generation by artificial intelligence.
• Use the Website in any manner that could disable, overburden, damage, or impair the site or interfere with any other party's use of the Website, including their ability to engage in real time activities through the Website.
• Use any robot, spider, or other automatic device, process, or means to access the Website for any purpose, including monitoring or copying any of the material on the Website.
• Use any manual process to monitor or copy any of the material on the Website or for any other unauthorized purpose without our prior written consent.
• Use any device, software, or routine that interferes with the proper working of the Website.
• Introduce any viruses, trojan horses, worms, logic bombs, or other material that is malicious or technologically harmful to the Website.
• Attempt to gain unauthorized access to, interfere with, damage, or disrupt any parts of the Website, the server on which the Website is stored, or any server, computer, or database connected to the Website.
• Attack the Website via a denial-of-service attack or a distributed denial-of-service attack.
• Otherwise attempt to interfere with the proper working of the Website.

For the avoidance of doubt, the term Website shall refer to https://validationcloud.io, including both the UI and/or API through which access to and use of https://validationcloud.io are granted.

You represent and warrant that:

• You own or control all rights in and to any content, material, information, data, text, images, audio, video, or other works that you submit, post, upload, publish, display, or otherwise transmit to or through the Website, including but not limited to comments, feedback, suggestions, or other materials provided via interactive features or communication tools available on the Website (“User Contribution”) and have the right to grant the license granted above to us and our affiliates and service providers, and each of their and our respective licensees, successors, and assigns.
• All of your User Contributions do and will comply with these Terms of Use.

You understand and acknowledge that you are responsible for any User Contribution you submit or contribute, and you, not the Company, have full responsibility for such content, including its legality, reliability, accuracy, and appropriateness.

The Company is not responsible or liable to any third party for the content or accuracy of any User Contributions posted by you or any other user of the Website.

Outputs generated by the Website, whether via internally developed and/or hosted or third-party LLM, may not be unique and may also be provided to other users. Users retain rights to their User Contribution and own the output from the services provided through the Website based on the input, if applicable and subject to these Terms, but the Company does not guarantee exclusivity or copyrightability of outputs.

The Company has the right to:

• Remove or refuse to post any User Contributions for any or no reason at its sole discretion.
• Take any action with respect to any User Contribution that the Company deems necessary or appropriate in its sole discretion, including if the Company believes that such User Contribution violates the Terms of Use, including the Content Standards, infringes any intellectual property right or other right of any person or entity, threatens the personal safety of users of the Website or the public, or could create liability for the Company.
• Disclose your identity or other information about you to any third party who claims that material posted by you violates their rights, including their intellectual property rights or their right to privacy.
• Take appropriate legal action, including without limitation, referral to law enforcement, for any illegal or unauthorized use of the Website.
• Terminate or suspend your access to all or part of the Website for any or no reason, including without limitation, any violation of these Terms of Use.

Without limiting the foregoing, the Company has the right to fully cooperate with any law enforcement authorities or court order requesting or directing the Company to disclose the identity or other information of anyone posting any materials on or through the Website. YOU WAIVE AND HOLD HARMLESS THE COMPANY AND ITS AFFILIATES, LICENSEES AND SERVICE PROVIDERS FROM ANY CLAIMS RESULTING FROM ANY ACTION TAKEN BY ANY OF THE FOREGOING PARTIES DURING, OR TAKEN AS A CONSEQUENCE OF, INVESTIGATIONS BY EITHER SUCH PARTIES OR LAW ENFORCEMENT AUTHORITIES.

However, the Company does not undertake to review material before it is posted on the Website, and cannot ensure prompt removal of objectionable material after it has been posted. Accordingly, the Company assumes no liability for any action or inaction regarding transmissions, communications, or content provided by any user or third party. The Company has no liability or responsibility to anyone for performance or nonperformance of the activities described in this section.

These content standards apply to any and all User Contributions and use of Interactive Services. User Contributions must in their entirety comply with all applicable federal, state, local, and international laws and regulations. Without limiting the foregoing, User Contributions must not:

• Contain any material that is defamatory, obscene, indecent, abusive, offensive, harassing, violent, hateful, inflammatory, or otherwise objectionable.
• Promote sexually explicit or pornographic material, violence, or discrimination based on race, sex, religion, nationality, disability, sexual orientation, or age.
• Infringe any patent, trademark, trade secret, copyright, or other intellectual property or other rights of any other person.
• Violate the legal rights (including the rights of publicity and privacy) of others or contain any material that could give rise to any civil or criminal liability under applicable laws or regulations or that otherwise may be in conflict with these Terms of Use and our Privacy Policy, available at https://validationcloud.io/privacy.
• Be likely to deceive any person.
• Promote any illegal activity, or advocate, promote, or assist any unlawful act.
• Cause annoyance, inconvenience, or needless anxiety or be likely to upset, embarrass, alarm, or annoy any other person.
• Impersonate any person, or misrepresent your identity or affiliation with any person or organization.
• Involve commercial activities or sales, such as contests, sweepstakes and other sales promotions, barter, or advertising.
• Give the impression that they emanate from or are endorsed by us or any other person or entity, if this is not the case.

If you believe that any User Contributions violate your copyright, please contact Validation Cloud at [email protected] with a notice of copyright infringement.

The information presented on or through the Website is made available solely for general information purposes. The Company does not warrant the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of this information. Any reliance you place on such information is strictly at your own risk. The Company disclaims all liability and responsibility arising from any reliance placed on such materials by you or any other visitor to the Website, or by anyone who may be informed of any of its contents.

This Website may include content provided by third parties, including materials provided by other users, bloggers, and third-party licensors, syndicators, aggregators, and/or reporting services. All statements and/or opinions expressed in these materials, and all articles and responses to questions and other content, other than the content provided by the Company, are solely the opinions and the responsibility of the person or entity providing those materials. These materials do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the Company. The Company is not responsible, or liable to you or any third party, for the content or accuracy of any materials provided by any third parties.

The Company may update the content on this Website from time to time, but its content is not necessarily complete or up-to-date. Any of the material on the Website may be out of date at any given time, and the Company is under no obligation to update such material.

Information About You and Your Visits to the Website

All information the Company collects on this Website is subject to our Privacy Policy https://validationcloud.io/privacy. By using the Website, you consent to all actions taken by us with respect to your information in compliance with the Privacy Policy.

Linking to the Website and Social Media Features

You may link to the Website, provided you do so in a way that is fair and legal and does not damage our reputation or take advantage of it, but you must not establish a link in such a way as to suggest any form of association with, or approval or endorsement of the Company without our express consent.

This Website may provide certain social media features that enable you to:

• Link from your own or certain third-party websites to certain content on this Website.
• Send emails or other communications with certain content, or links to certain content, on this Website.
• Cause limited portions of content on this Website to be displayed or appear to be displayed on your own or certain third-party websites.

You may use these features solely as they are provided by us, and solely with respect to the content they are displayed with and otherwise in accordance with any additional terms and conditions we provide with respect to such features. Subject to the foregoing, you must not:

• Establish a link from any website that is not owned by you.
• Cause the Website or portions of it to be displayed on, or appear to be displayed by, any other site, for example, framing, deep linking, or in-line linking.
• Link to any part of the Website other than the homepage.
• Otherwise take any action with respect to the materials on this Website that is inconsistent with any other provision of these Terms of Use.

You agree to cooperate with the Company in causing any unauthorized framing or linking immediately to stop. The Company reserves the right to withdraw the linking permission without notice.

The Company may disable all or any social media features and any links at any time without notice at its sole discretion.

Links from the Website

If the Website contains links to other websites and resources provided by third parties, these links are provided for your convenience only. This includes links contained in advertisements, including banner advertisements and sponsored links. The Company has no control over the contents of those sites or resources, and accepts no responsibility for them or for any loss or damage that may arise from your use of them. If you decide to access any of the third-party websites linked to this Website, you do so entirely at your own risk and subject to the terms and conditions of use for such websites.

Geographic Restrictions

The Company provides this Website for use only by persons located in Switzerland. The Company makes no claims that the Website or any of its content is accessible or appropriate outside of Switzerland. Access to the Website may not be legal by certain persons or in certain countries. If you access the Website from outside Switzerland, you do so on your own initiative and are responsible for compliance with local laws.

You accept and acknowledge that Validation Cloud may be subject to regulations in particular on AML regulations ("AML Regulations"), CTF regulations ("CTF Regulations") and/or further international sanctions ("Sanctions Regulations"), each in Switzerland as well as in other competent jurisdictions. You therefore commit and ensure to support Validation Cloud in all actions and deliver all information and documentation requested by Validation Cloud in its full discretion in order to ensure compliance of Validation Cloud with aforementioned regulations and any other regulations applicable to Validation Cloud. Validation Cloud may also terminate any services or your account in its full discretion if required for compliance with the aforementioned regulations.

You may not use the Website or purchase any Validation Cloud service in or for the benefit of a country, organization, entity, or person embargoed or blocked by any government, including those on sanctions lists identified by the United States Office of Foreign Asset Control ("OFAC").

The Company does not claim, and cannot guarantee that the Website or any other product is or will be appropriate or available for use in any particular location or jurisdiction, complies with the laws of any location or jurisdiction, or complies with laws governing export, import, or foreign use.

Due to certain sanctions, the Company does not allow customers with internet protocol (“IP”) addresses originating in sanctioned regions or countries to create accounts or boot endpoints.

In a blockchain that operates on a Proof-of-Stake ("PoS") consensus mechanism, staking is the act of locking up a certain amount of cryptocurrency to participate in creating blocks, validating transactions, and maintaining the security and integrity of the blockchain, and receiving staking rewards in consideration for providing such services ("Staking"). Respective staking rewards ("Staking Rewards") are usually distributed in the form of digital assets by the relevant distributed ledger or blockchain network on which Validation Cloud provides its non-custodial staking services to you ("Staking Services").

Validation Cloud as a non-custodial staking service provider allows you to participate in Staking without giving up control of your private keys or assets. Validation Cloud sets up, maintains and operates the infrastructure needed for the Staking Services, like running the collection of server hard-and software required for maintaining a current copy of the distributed ledger or blockchain for a digital asset and for producing or validating new blocks ("Validator Nodes"), but your coins remain in your control in your own wallet. Validation Cloud will not have access to your private keys and/or your staked assets.

How it works:

1. Connection: You connect your wallet containing the stakeable assets to Validation Cloud's platform. This is often done using a secure protocol that ensures the platform cannot access your funds. In the discretion of Validation Cloud, you may be required to log into your account or create an account to access and connect to Staking Services.

2. Creation: After connecting your wallet, you can trigger through Validation Cloud's platform the creation of the required number of Validator Nodes.

3. Initiation: Then, you can initiate the Staking by actions depending on the specific distributed ledger or blockchain network, such as triggering the deposit to a protocol's staking smart contract or delegation, nomination or similarly "pointing" of your stakeable assets towards an available Validator Node. Importantly, regardless of the specific distributed ledger or blockchain, you are never transferring ownership of your assets or private keys to Validation Cloud, but you are simply assigning the staking power of your stakeable assets to Validation Cloud as the Validator Node operator.

4. Staking Operations: Validation Cloud is managing and operating the Validator Node and performs all the necessary operations like validating transactions or participating in the PoS consensus mechanism on behalf of you.

5. Staking Rewards: When the Validator Node successfully participates in creating a new block or validating transactions and in transaction processing, it earns Staking Rewards. The Staking Rewards are usually distributed proportionally to the amount of assets staked. The Staking Rewards are usually split by smart contract functionality into Validation Cloud's commission for the Staking Services and your part of the Staking Rewards, which is directly routed to your indicated withdrawal wallet.

6. Security: Because this is non-custodial, you retain control over your staked assets.

7. Withdrawal: When you want to unstake your assets, you can do so by connecting your wallet again to Validation Cloud's platform (after logging into your account, if required by Validation Cloud) and then order Validation Cloud to trigger the unstaking. Please note that depending on the specific distributed ledger/blockchain, there may be an "unbonding period", which is a set amount of time that you must wait before you can access your staked assets.

In connection with these Terms of Use and the services to be provided thereunder, you undertake to:

• cooperate with Validation Cloud in order to provide, without undue delay, all the information and documentation requested at the sole discretion of Validation Cloud;
• cooperate with Validation Cloud in the proper performance of these Terms of Use and the services thereunder;
• not to violate any applicable laws or regulations through the use of the services;
• assume sole responsibility for all administrative, social and fiscal formalities as well as the payment of contributions, taxes and duties of any kind for which you are liable due to the use of the services;
• indemnify Validation Cloud against any claims, actions, demands and/or complaints whatsoever arising from your breach of these Terms of Use.

Unless proven otherwise, you acknowledge that the computer/electronic data recorded by Validation Cloud or by any third-party services constitute evidence of all the operations initiated or requested by you through the Website or your account. Further, you guarantee to indemnify Validation Cloud against any breach, exceeding the foreseeable risk and any fraudulent or bad faith use of the services provided in connection with these Terms of Use.

You agree to indemnify and hold Validation Cloud harmless from any and all liabilities, losses, damages, costs, claims and/or expenses, including, but not limited to, reasonable attorneys' fees, that Validation Cloud may incur, suffer or be required to pay as a result of such claims.

You agree to indemnify, defend and hold Validation Cloud harmless from any and all claims arising from the use of the services in connection with these Terms of Use.

‍You acknowledge that your use of the Website, including any outputs, may further be subject to separate licenses of third-party providers, if applicable. Any of your input will be deemed User Content under these Terms of Use. In particular, you acknowledge that Validation Cloud may route your inputs, including prompts, through third party service providers, and that in order to access and use the Website or certain services of Validation Cloud, it may be necessary to accept additional terms imposed by third-party service providers. The Company is not responsible for the performance or terms of any third-party services.

Apart from the general risks associated with crypto-based assets (in particular tokens and coins) Staking Services involve some specific risks as outlined below. In particular, you aware of, understand and accept that crypto-based assets markets are decentralized and to a large extent unregulated, that the services in connection with crypto-based assets are not suitable for many investors and that they represent a high level of risk of loss of capital due to the volatility of the markets. Therefore, although the risk of loss does not exceed the amount invested, you agree not to invest funds you cannot afford to lose. Furthermore, you acknowledge that you understand that past performance is not indicative of future performance, which may vary both upwards and downwards.

Technical Risks: You are aware of the technical risks associated with the services offered, in particular the Staking Services, including the risks associated with an error or security failure, whether or not related to the blockchain, and the risk of losing or not properly securing validator, withdrawal or delegation keys, which may result in a loss of data or access to stored crypto-based assets.

Regulatory Risks: You understand and acknowledge that distributed ledger/blockchain technologies are new technologies subject to (unforeseeable) regulatory changes and that therefore, certain services, in particular Staking Services, including their availability or economic viability, could be impacted by one or more regulatory requirements.

In addition to the outlined risks, there are risks associated with Staking assets and Staking Services that Validation Cloud cannot anticipate or foresee. Such risks may further materialize as unanticipated variations or combinations of risks. You acknowledge and accept all such risks associated with the Staking of assets with the acceptance of these Terms of Use.

Slashing: Each distributed ledger/blockchain protocol may determine penalties for certain events in connection with Staking, such as unavailability, slow, incorrect, or malicious performance ("Slashing "). This may occur if a Staking Service has been erroneously operated, the Validator Node provider incorrectly validated a transaction and/or in any other case determined by the specific distributed ledger/protocol. Slashing may lead to the non-payment of partial or complete Staking Reward and/or partial or complete loss of the staked assets. Validation Cloud is under no obligation to replace any staked assets subject to Slashing and excludes all liabilities to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law.

Liquidity Risk: You are not able to trade, transfer or otherwise access the staked assets during Staking. In order to trade or transfer the staked assets need to be unstaked and available. Some distributed ledger/blockchain protocols follow a dynamic queuing system which can delay entries and exits unforeseeably unstaking might take a substantial amount of time.

Market Risk: Tokens and coins are highly volatile and their value can fluctuate, in particular because of the still low market capitalisation, speculation and a continually changing legal framework in various countries. It is possible to incur losses if the value of the staked assets goes down and the losses are higher than the Staking Rewards received from Staking.

Counterparty Risk: As Staking Rewards can be transferred directly to your indicated withdrawal wallet or split by smart contract functionality, not operated by Validation Cloud, and forwarded to your indicated withdrawal wallet from there, there is a risk of full or partial loss of the Staking Rewards earned but not yet forwarded to you in case of malfunction, hacking or failure of the respective protocol or smart contract or any intermediary in between.

Malfunction and Hacking: Any malfunction, unintended function, or unexpected functioning of the Staking distributed ledger/blockchain protocols or the Staking Rewards splitting smart contract may consequently cause Staking Services or Staking Rewards distribution processes to act in an unexpected or unintended manner. Hackers and other groups or organizations may attempt to interfere with sSaking distributed ledger/blockchain protocols, APIs, Validator Nodes, Staking Rewards splitting smart contracts and staked assets in any number of ways. The result might be a loss of part of or even all staked assets.

You are aware of, understand and acknowledge that tax regulations for crypto-based assets, services in connection with crypto-based assets (in particular Staking Services) are often unclear as of today and therefore are subject to (unforeseeable) changes and interpretation by tax authorities and legislators. Therefore, you are aware, understand and accept that crypto-based assets, services in connection with crypto-based assets and in particular Staking Services may be considered tax events according to the legislation under which Validation Cloud is and/or you are subject to taxation. Therefore, Validation Cloud cannot be liable for any losses in this regard. Further, if applicable, you will pay on top of any Commission as defined herein pay any value added taxes (“VAT”), any tax in the nature of a withholding tax and any duties payable in respect of the Commission due according or in connection to these Terms of Use.

The following terms and conditions are applicable to all distributed ledgers/blockchain protocols explicitly supported by Validation Cloud ("Relevant Protocols").

For all Relevant Protocols specified above, Validation Cloud is only able to provide best estimates of all attainable Staking Rewards, relating over each successive 12-month interval, beginning when your Staking transaction is processed and activated by the relevant distributed ledger/blockchain network, if not indicated otherwise. Please note that fees and commissions of Validation Cloud will be deducted from Staking Rewards prior to pay out through smart contract split functionality.

In consideration of providing the Staking Services, Validation Cloud will be entitled to a fee or commission ("Commission") calculated as a percentage or fixed fee of the Staking Rewards as individually agreed between you and Validation Cloud. Depending on the specific distributed ledger/blockchain, the Commission will either be split through smart contract functionality or directly deducted by routing through the Staking Rewards. For the latter case, you explicitly authorize and instruct Validation Cloud to collect your Staking Rewards on a segregated wallet, to deduct its Commission and to forward you the remaining amount of Staking Rewards.

You understand that the Company cannot and does not guarantee or warrant that files available for downloading from the internet or the Website will be free of viruses or other destructive code. You are responsible for implementing sufficient procedures and checkpoints to satisfy your particular requirements for anti-virus protection and accuracy of data input and output, and for maintaining a means external to our Website for any reconstruction of any lost data.

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PROVIDED BY THE APPLICABLE LAW, THE COMPANY WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY LOSS OR DAMAGE CAUSED BY A DISTRIBUTED DENIAL-OF-SERVICE ATTACK, VIRUSES, OR OTHER TECHNOLOGICALLY HARMFUL MATERIAL THAT MAY INFECT YOUR COMPUTER EQUIPMENT, COMPUTER PROGRAMS, DATA, OR OTHER PROPRIETARY MATERIAL DUE TO YOUR USE OF THE WEBSITE OR ANY SERVICES OR ITEMS OBTAINED THROUGH THE WEBSITE OR TO YOUR DOWNLOADING OF ANY MATERIAL POSTED ON IT, OR ON ANY WEBSITE LINKED TO IT.

YOUR USE OF THE WEBSITE, ITS CONTENT, AND ANY SERVICES OR ITEMS OBTAINED THROUGH THE WEBSITE IS AT YOUR OWN RISK. THE WEBSITE, ITS CONTENT, AND ANY SERVICES OR ITEMS OBTAINED THROUGH THE WEBSITE ARE PROVIDED ON AN “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE” BASIS, WITHOUT ANY WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED. NEITHER THE COMPANY NOR ANY PERSON ASSOCIATED WITH THE COMPANY MAKES ANY WARRANTY OR REPRESENTATION WITH RESPECT TO THE COMPLETENESS, SECURITY, RELIABILITY, QUALITY, ACCURACY, OR AVAILABILITY OF THE WEBSITE. WITHOUT LIMITING THE FOREGOING, NEITHER THE COMPANY NOR ANYONE ASSOCIATED WITH THE COMPANY REPRESENTS OR WARRANTS THAT THE WEBSITE, ITS CONTENT, ANY OUTPUT GENERATED THROUGH THE USE OF THE WEBSITE, OR ANY SERVICES OR ITEMS OBTAINED THROUGH THE WEBSITE WILL BE ACCURATE, RELIABLE, ERROR-FREE, OR UNINTERRUPTED, THAT DEFECTS WILL BE CORRECTED, THAT OUR SITE OR THE SERVER THAT MAKES IT AVAILABLE ARE FREE OF VIRUSES OR OTHER HARMFUL COMPONENTS, OR THAT THE WEBSITE, ANY OUTPUT GENERATED THROUGH THE USE OF THE WEBSITE, OR ANY SERVICES OR ITEMS OBTAINED THROUGH THE WEBSITE WILL OTHERWISE MEET YOUR NEEDS OR EXPECTATIONS. IN PARTICULAR, OUTPUTS GENERATED THOUGH THE USE OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AS APPLIED TO THE WEBSITE MAY NOT BE SOLELY RELIED UPON FOR MAKING LEGAL, FINANCIAL, OR OTHER HIGH-RISK DECISIONS. SUCH OUTPUT IS NOT A REPLACEMENT FOR PROFESSIONAL ADVICE OR GUIDANCE, AND THE ACCURACY AND RELIABILITY OF SUCH OUTPUT MUST BE VALIDATED BY THE USER. THE USER IS SOLELY RESPONSIBLE FOR THE USE OF SUCH OUTPUT.

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PROVIDED BY THE APPLICABLE LAW, THE COMPANY HEREBY DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, WHETHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, STATUTORY, OR OTHERWISE, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, NON-INFRINGEMENT, AND FITNESS FOR PARTICULAR PURPOSE.

THE FOREGOING DOES NOT AFFECT ANY WARRANTIES THAT CANNOT BE EXCLUDED OR LIMITED UNDER APPLICABLE LAW.

The Company commits to exercising due care and skill in the provision of its services under these Terms of Use (including Staking Services), adhering to the diligence level in accordance with applicable technology, IT and industry standards. As the Staking Service is a non-custodial staking service, please be aware, understand and acknowledge that you are responsible for maintaining the security of your own wallets, private keys, withdrawal keys, delegation keys, and other required infrastructure/equipment at all times. Validation Cloud will never require for or hold the private keys, seed phrases or passwords to your wallet/withdrawal wallet in any circumstances and therefore never act as custodian of your assets.

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PROVIDED BY APPLICABLE LAW, IN NO EVENT IN THE ABSENCE OF A BREACH OF ITS APPLICABLE STANDARD OF CARE WILL THE COMPANY, ITS AFFILIATES, OR THEIR LICENSORS, SERVICE PROVIDERS, EMPLOYEES, AGENTS, OFFICERS, OR DIRECTORS BE LIABLE FOR DAMAGES OF ANY KIND, UNDER ANY LEGAL THEORY, ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH (I) YOUR USE, OR INABILITY TO USE, THE WEBSITE, ANY WEBSITES LINKED TO IT, ANY CONTENT ON THE WEBSITE OR SUCH OTHER WEBSITES, (II) YOUR USE, OR INABILITY TO USE, THE STAKING SERVICES OR ANY SERVICE IN CONNECTION WITH THE STAKING SERVICES, INCLUDING ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PERSONAL INJURY, PAIN AND SUFFERING, EMOTIONAL DISTRESS, LOSS OF REVENUE, LOSS OF PROFITS, LOSS OF BUSINESS OR ANTICIPATED SAVINGS, LOSS OF USE, LOSS OF GOODWILL, LOSS OF DATA, AND WHETHER CAUSED BY TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE), BREACH OF CONTRACT, OR OTHERWISE, EVEN IF FORESEEABLE, EXCEPT WHERE LIABILITY CANNOT BE EXCLUDED UNDER APLICABLE LAW, INCLUDING LIABILITY FOR GROSS NEGLIGENCE AND WILFUL MISCONDUCT.

FURTHER, TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PROVIDED BY APPLICABLE LAW, THE COMPANY IS NEITHER RESPONSIBLE NOR LIABLE FOR ANY FAILURE OF THE STAKING SERVICES OR ANY SERVICES IN CONNECTION WITH THE STAKING SERVICES, MISSED STAKING REWARDS, LOSSES BECAUSE OF SLASHING OR ANY OTHER DAMAGES OR LOSSES RESULTING FROM, IN CONNECTION WITH, CAUSED BY OR ATTRIBUTABLE TO (I) THE DISTRIBUTED LEDGER/BLOCKCHAIN, IN PARTICULAR ITS (NON- OR DELAYED) FUNCTIONING, ITS (UNINTERRUPTED) OPERATION, (NON- OR DELAYED) ACCESSIBILITY AND/OR (NON- OR DELAYED) AVAILABILITY, BUGS OR OTHER MALFUNCTIONINGS OR HACKINGS OR OTHER CYBER-INCIDENTS/-ISSUES WITH SUCH DISTRIBUTED LEDGER/BLOCKCHAIN, (II) VALIDATOR NODE PROVIDERS/OPERATORS, IN PARTICULAR THEIR (MAL-, NON- OR DELAYED)FUNCTIONING, ITS (UNINTERRUPTED OR DELAYED) OPERATION, (NON- OR DELAYED) ACCESSIBILITY AND (NON- OR DELAYED) AVAILABILITY, DELAYS CAUSED BY THEM, (III) YOUR FAILURE TO COMPLY AT ALL OR WITHIN A TIMELY MANNER WITH AND ACT IN ACCORDANCE WITH (A) THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE COMPANY AND/OR ITS STAKING SERVICES, IN PARTICULAR BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE DEFINITIONS IN THESE TERMS OF USE, (B) THE DISTRIBUTED LEDGER'S/BLOCKCHAIN'S REQUIREMENTS, (C) THE VALIDATOR NODE PROVIDER'S/OPERATOR'S REQUIREMENTS, (IV) (MAL-)FUNCTIONING, (NON- OR DELAYED) OPERATION, (NON- OR DELAYED) ACCESSIBILITY, (NON- OR DELAYED) AVAILABILITY, HACKINGS OF OR OTHER CYBER-INCIDENTS/-ISSUES WITH YOUR OWN HARD- AND SOFTWARE INFRASTRUCTURE AND THE INTERNET.

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PROVIDED BY APPLICABLE LAW, THE COMPANY IS NOT LIABLE FOR LOSS OR DAMAGE ARISING FROM EVENTS OR MATERIALIZATION OF RISKS BEYOND ITS REASONABLE CONTROL OR FROM FORCE MAJEURE. ANY EVENT, BEYOND THE CONTROL OF VALIDATION CLOUD AND/OR YOU, WHICH CAN NOT REASONABLY BE FORESEEN AND OVERCOME, SHALL BE CONSIDERED AS AN EVENT OF FORCE MAJEURE, SUCH AS ACTS OF GOD, WEATHER DISTURBANCES, ABSENCE OR SUSPENSION OF ELECTRICITY SUPPLY, LIGHTNING OR FIRE, DECISION OF A COMPETENT ADMINISTRATIVE AUTHORITY, WAR, PUBLIC UNREST, ACTS OR OMISSIONS ON THE PART OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS OPERATORS, PANDEMIC. THE PROVIDER IS ALSO NOT LIABLE FOR LOSSES EXACERBATED BY YOUR OWN ACTIONS OR OMISSIONS, PARTICULARLY IF YOU FAIL TO TAKE APPROPRIATE MEASURES TO AVOID OR MITIGATE SUCH LOSS OR DAMAGE. THE COMPANY IS UNDER NO OBLIGATION TO INFORM YOU OF THE REALIZATION, OR POTENTIAL REALIZATION, OF ANY RISKS RELATED TO STAKING SERVICES, UNLESS A SPECIFIC DUTY TO INFORM IS EXPLICITLY AGREED UPON BETWEEN THE PARTIES.

THE FOREGOING DOES NOT AFFECT ANY LIABILITY THAT CANNOT BE EXCLUDED OR LIMITED UNDER APPLICABLE LAW.

You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless the Company, its affiliates, licensors, and service providers, and its and their respective officers, directors, employees, contractors, agents, licensors, suppliers, successors, and assigns from and against any claims, liabilities, damages, judgments, awards, losses, reasonable costs, expenses, or fees (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising out of or relating to your violation of these Terms of Use or your use of the Website, including, but not limited to, your User Contributions, any use of the Website's content, services, and products other than as expressly authorized in these Terms of Use or your use of any information obtained from the Website.

All matters relating to the Website and these Terms of Use and any dispute or claim arising therefrom or related thereto (in each case, including non-contractual disputes or claims), shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the substantive laws of Switzerland, to the exclusion of the principles of conflicts of laws thereof.

The exclusive place of jurisdiction for any legal proceedings, dispute, controversy or claim arising out of, or related to, these Terms of Use or the Website (including the validity, invalidity, enforceability, interpretation, execution, breach, modification or termination thereof), and the place of performance and debt enforcement for users domiciled outside Switzerland shall be in the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of Zug, Switzerland. The Company reserves the right to bring any suit, action, or proceeding against you for breach of these Terms of Use in your country of residence or any other competent court or authority.

The Terms of Use and, our Privacy Policy and any other agreements referenced herein constitute the sole and entire agreement between you and Validation Cloud regarding the use of the Website and supersede all prior and contemporaneous understandings, agreements, representations, and warranties, both written and oral, regarding the Website.