8H Epochs

An epoch is one repeating eight-hour Engine Works production cycle.

The cycle gives the protocol a shared accounting boundary. Fees accrue into the Stock Pot and mint payments accrue into the Works Pot, tokenized stocks are purchased, active Machine weight is accounted for, half the Works Pot is burned, and the epoch output is distributed before the next cycle begins.

Settlement closes the epoch’s accounting boundary. It brings together the Stock Pot’s purchased output, the Works Pot’s distributable half, and the recorded weight of eligible active Machines, then applies the proportional distribution formula.

The burn happens in the same movement. Half the Works Pot leaves supply permanently at settlement; only the other half reaches the distribution accounting. Nothing in the protocol can return a burned token or reclaim a distributed one.

Each asset is funded once per epoch. An epoch with no active weight does not divide by zero and does not strand its assets: the amount carries forward and is added to the next epoch that has active weight to divide it.

After settlement, the next epoch begins with a fresh production boundary. Machine ownership and accumulated Machine state persist; epoch-specific fee, mint, purchase, burn, and distribution accounting moves to the new cycle.

Distributed output does not expire at the boundary. It remains claimable by whoever owns the Machine at the moment of the claim.