HEX on PulseChain
Last Verified: June 30, 2026
HEX is a time-lock staking smart contract that exists on both Ethereum and PulseChain. This page covers how HEX works, what distinguishes the PulseChain instance from the Ethereum original, what the staking mechanics mean in practice, and what risks apply before interacting with it.
On this page: What HEX Is · PulseChain HEX vs Ethereum HEX · How Staking Works · Penalties and Risk · Hedron: The Extension Layer · Getting Live Data · FAQ
What HEX Is
HEX launched on Ethereum on December 2, 2019, created by Richard Heart. It is a time-deposit staking contract: users lock HEX tokens for a chosen period between 1 and 5555 days, receive T-Shares proportional to the amount locked and the duration committed, and mint their principal plus accumulated rewards when the stake ends.
HEX on PulseChain is the copied instance of the original Ethereum HEX contract created by the PulseChain state-copy fork. It runs on PulseChain's PRC-20 infrastructure and preserves the same contract logic as the Ethereum instance at the time of the fork. Its primary practical advantage is PulseChain's materially lower gas costs for stake operations.
Audits. hex.com states HEX has undergone three independent audits: a CoinFabrik security audit (December 2019), a CoinFabrik economics audit (October 2019) that verified the longer-stake reward structure under its stated assumptions, and a ChainSecurity security review. The CoinFabrik reports are hosted publicly on hex.com. hex.com states that HEX underwent a ChainSecurity review; at the time of research for this page, the corresponding public report was not independently located, so readers should rely on the documentation published on hex.com.
Immutability. hex.com describes HEX as a "finished, immutable, unstoppable smart contract." There are no admin keys, no upgrade mechanism, and no administrative authority that can modify the contract or pause operations. No exploit or pause has been identified in official primary sources reviewed for this page.
Inflation. The contract is designed around an annual inflation rate of approximately 3.69%, distributed to active stakers rather than validators or network security. Penalties paid by early-exit stakers are also redistributed within the staking pool.
PulseChain HEX vs Ethereum HEX
HEX came to PulseChain via the genesis state-copy fork at Ethereum block 17,232,999 in May 2023. The entire Ethereum state was copied to PulseChain at that snapshot, including HEX contract code, all HEX balances, and all active HEX stakes at the fork block.
The contract address is the same on both chains: 0x2b591e99afE9f32eAA6214f7B7629768c40Eeb39
After the fork, the two instances became independent. Stakes that existed at the snapshot moment were present on both chains identically. Any new stakes, penalty flows, or reward accruals after May 2023 are chain-specific and do not synchronise between Ethereum and PulseChain. A stake started on PulseChain after launch has no existence on Ethereum, and vice versa.
pHEX and eHEX. The community uses pHEX to refer to HEX on PulseChain and eHEX for HEX on Ethereum. These share the same contract logic deployed on different chains with independent state. They are not interchangeable without using a bridge. A bridged version of HEX is a separate wrapped asset from the native HEX instance that exists on PulseChain following the state-copy fork, and bridging does not transfer staked positions.
Why PulseChain for HEX operations. Starting, ending, and managing HEX stakes involves multiple on-chain transactions. On Ethereum, these operations can cost significant amounts in gas during periods of network congestion. On PulseChain, the same operations cost fractions of a cent. Users who prefer to interact with HEX at lower cost have been doing so on PulseChain since launch.
How Staking Works
T-Shares. When a user starts a stake, HEX is burned and T-Shares are issued. Payout is calculated based on the staker's share count divided by total shares outstanding, not their HEX balance divided by total HEX. This means the yield a staker receives depends on their share of the total pool, not their raw token count.
Share rate. The share rate is the price in HEX required to receive one T-Share. The contract is designed so the share rate never decreases. It increases whenever a stake ends with sufficient profit to establish a new rate. This means earlier stakers receive more T-Shares for the same amount of HEX than later stakers will.
Longer Pays Better. Longer commitments receive more T-Shares proportionally. A stake for 5,555 days receives substantially more shares than a stake for 1 day with the same HEX amount. The reward curve favors maximum commitment.
Bigger Pays Better. Larger stakes receive a bonus on top of the base T-Share allocation. This bonus is capped at 10% for stakes of 150 million HEX or more.
Daily accrual. Rewards accrue to T-Shares daily at midnight UTC. They are not automatically added to a wallet; they accumulate in the contract and are minted by the user when they choose to end their stake.
Origin Address. The HEX contract specifies an Origin Address that receives half of reclaimed penalties and copies of certain bonus payments. This is a defined, immutable contract mechanic rather than a discretionary distribution. From a trust analysis perspective it is worth noting: while the code that governs these flows is fully decentralised and cannot be changed, the economic outcomes it generates are concentrated toward a specific address. The code is law, and in this case the law permanently allocates a portion of penalty flows to a fixed destination.
Penalties and Risk
HEX staking involves irrevocable time commitments. The penalty mechanics are severe by design.
Early end penalty. Ending a stake before its committed end date triggers an emergency unstake penalty. The penalty is at minimum equivalent to 90 days of interest, and depending on how early the stake is ended relative to its total length, the staker may lose part of their principal. Penalties from early exits are paid into the staking pool for the benefit of committed stakers.
Late accounting. HEX stakes should generally be ended within two weeks of their maturity date to avoid late accounting effects. Failing to end a stake on time can reduce the effective yield received.
Share rate risk. A user who stakes at a higher share rate than the current rate would have paid is not at a disadvantage in the reward pool, but the share rate mechanic means later stakers are always paying more for the same shares than earlier stakers paid. This is by design.
Immutability as a double-edged property. Because the HEX contract is immutable, staking mistakes cannot be reversed. A stake started with incorrect parameters, an early end that triggers penalties, or failure to end a stake on time are all final. There is no support channel, no admin override, and no recourse. Users should understand the mechanics fully before starting a stake.
Smart contract risk. HEX has undergone three audits per hex.com and has been operating since December 2019. As with any smart contract, the possibility of an undiscovered vulnerability cannot be categorically ruled out. The immutability that makes HEX censorship-resistant also means any discovered vulnerability cannot be patched.
Hedron: The Extension Layer
Hedron is a separate collection of smart contracts on both Ethereum and PulseChain that extends HEX staking functionality. It was not created by Richard Heart and operates independently of the HEX contract.
HEX Stake Instances (HSIs). Hedron allows HEX stakers to wrap their active stakes into HSI smart contracts. An HSI is a tokenized representation of a HEX stake that can be transferred, used as collateral, or traded.
HDRN. Users can mint HDRN against qualifying HEX stakes using Hedron's lending mechanics, introducing additional smart contract and liquidation risks beyond those present in the HEX contract itself.
NFT-tradeable stakes. HSI NFTs can be traded on NFT marketplaces, allowing HEX stakers to sell or transfer stake positions before they mature without triggering the HEX contract's early exit penalties. The buyer assumes the stake position via the HSI.
Icosa. Icosa is a related protocol for staking HDRN. It is mentioned here for context; a full analysis of Icosa is beyond the scope of this page.
Audit status. No independent audit report for Hedron's PulseChain contracts was identified in research conducted for this page. This matters more here than in most contexts: layering unverified contracts over an immutable base creates a trust weak point that can put the value of the underlying stake at risk. The HEX contract itself cannot be modified or paused. Hedron contracts sitting on top of it may not share that property. Users should treat Hedron as unaudited for risk assessment purposes and size any interaction accordingly.
Getting Live Data
HEX staking metrics change continuously with every stake, penalty, and reward event. Do not rely on figures embedded in evergreen content for current numbers.
go.hex.com is the official HEX statistics dashboard. It shows the current share rate, total T-Shares outstanding, total HEX staked, daily payout figures, and stake calculator tools.
pulsechainstats.com covers HEX on PulseChain specifically, including burn rates, stake activity, and ecosystem-level metrics for the PulseChain instance.
PulseChain Explorer (scan.pulsechain.com) allows direct contract-level inspection at address 0x2b591e99afE9f32eAA6214f7B7629768c40Eeb39 for on-chain verification of any figure.
FAQ
What is the difference between pHEX and eHEX? pHEX is HEX on PulseChain; eHEX is HEX on Ethereum. They share the same contract address and mechanics but are independent token instances after the May 2023 state-copy fork. Stakes, balances, and reward accruals are chain-specific after the fork date.
Can I move my HEX stakes between Ethereum and PulseChain? No. Staked positions are locked in the HEX contract on the chain where they were staked. A stake on Ethereum cannot be transferred to PulseChain and vice versa. You can bridge the HEX token itself as an asset, but this creates a separate bridged representation and does not move your stake.
Is HEX audited? hex.com states HEX has undergone three independent audits: two by CoinFabrik (security and economics, 2019) and one by ChainSecurity. The CoinFabrik reports are hosted publicly on hex.com. hex.com states that HEX underwent a ChainSecurity review; at the time of research for this page, the corresponding public report was not independently located, so readers should rely on the documentation published on hex.com.
What happens if I end my stake early? You incur a severe penalty. At minimum, the penalty is equivalent to 90 days of interest. If the stake is ended very early in its committed length, you may also lose part of your principal. The penalty is paid into the staking pool for other stakers.
What is Hedron? Hedron is a separate smart contract system built on top of HEX that allows stakers to tokenize HEX stakes as HSI NFTs, mint HDRN tokens against active stakes, and trade stake positions without triggering HEX's early exit penalty. Hedron was not created by Richard Heart and carries its own contract-layer risk profile. No public audit for Hedron's PulseChain contracts was identified in research for this page.
Where can I check current HEX staking data? go.hex.com for official HEX statistics. pulsechainstats.com for PulseChain-specific HEX data. scan.pulsechain.com for direct on-chain contract inspection.
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