# How it works
Lock, Vote & Earn
1. **Lock STELLA to receive veSTELLA**
Your voting power and earnings potential is dependent on the amount of veSTELLA you hold.
* The more STELLA you lock, the more veSTELLA (Voting Power) you’ll get
* The longer you lock, the more veSTELLA you’ll get
2. **Vote**
Actively vote on the most productive pools to maximize your earnings. You’ll earn directly from the pools that you voted as all trade fees accumulated will be given to Voters of the pool.
{% hint style="info" %}
Important Note: **Vote Power Decay**
Your voting power will decay linearly with time. This means your veSTELLA power will decrease everyday. For example, a Lock duration of 1-Month means that your veSTELLA power reduces by ¼ every epoch. Lesser voting power = lesser share of protocol revenue = lower earnings. Depositing your Lock into an Auto-Strategy mitigates the decay as your STELLA is continually compounded to ensure it is not affected by daily decay.
Here's an example of how your voting power decays :arrow\_down:
{% endhint %}
There are two ways to vote:
1. Vote with 100% of your voting power to one pool
2. Or split your voting power across many pools
Voting will occur every 7 days (Epoch), with each Epoch ending at 23.59 UTC on Thursdays.
3. **Earn**
At the end of the voting period, voters will achieve the following:
* Direct STELLA rewards towards pools they have voted for
* Earn swap fee for the pool they have voted for
4. **Functions**
There are several functions for managing your lock.
{% tabs %}
{% tab title="Increase" %}
You can increase your voting power by **Increasing Lock**, simply by locking more STELLA into your existing locks. This would be useful if you're looking to focus on your existing locks instead of creating new locks.
{% endtab %}
{% tab title="Extend" %}
You can extend your existing lock duration with the **Extend** function, if your existing locks are not maxed (2Y). This applies to locks that have a Lock duration of between 1W - 1Yr.
Simply select the Lock duration for you're keen on extending.
{% endtab %}
{% tab title="Merge" %}
You can **Merge** your existing locks into a single Lock, with the unified Lock inheriting the higher of the previous 2 Lock duration. For example, assuming you're merging 2 locks;
* Lock #1: 6M Lock duration
* Lock #2: 1Yr Lock duration
Your new, merged Lock will have a Lock duration of 1Yr.
{% endtab %}
{% tab title="Split" %}
You can **split** your existing Lock into two, whereby your two new Locks will inherit the same Lock duration. For example, if your existing Lock has a duration of 1Yr, both Locks (after splitting) will inherit a 1yr Lock duration.
{% endtab %}
{% tab title="Transfer" %}
You can **transfer** your lock to another wallet address.
Simply add the recipient address you're hoping to transfer your Lock to in the field.
WARNING: Transferring your lock will mean you're relinquishing the ownership, rights & earnings of your Lock to the recipient.
{% endtab %}
{% tab title="Unlock" %}
You can **break** your Lock to withdraw your locked STELLA. This means you're relinquishing your voting power and destroying your Lock.
WARNING: Early withdrawal of your Lock will incur a 50% penalty, which will be burned.
{% endtab %}
{% endtabs %}
4. **Additional Earnings: Bribes**
Extra incentive can be earned from bribes. Platforms or any user can bribe veSTELLA holders for their votes towards a specific pool.
