The majority of XP emissions flow to users who maintain positions in the network — what we call "yield on assets." If you've committed capital to Ethos in some form, you're earning ongoing XP for that commitment.
What counts as a position
There are several ways to hold a position that earns yield:
ETH vouched for other users. The more ETH you've staked vouching for others, the more XP you earn from the Vouch pool.
Positions in reputation markets. Holding positions in Ethos markets earns you XP from the Markets Holdings pool.
Active trading. Providing price discovery through active trading in markets earns from the Market Making pool.
Delegating to a validator. Delegating your earning potential earns from the Delegator pool.
How the emission pools break down
Each week, XP emissions are split across four pools:
Markets Holdings — 35% of weekly emissions
Delegator — 25% of weekly emissions
Vouch — 20% of weekly emissions
Market Making — 20% of weekly emissions
Your share of each pool depends on the size of your position relative to everyone else in that pool.
Why yield on assets exists
The philosophy is straightforward: users who commit capital to the network should be rewarded for that commitment. Vouching ETH on another user's reputation represents real risk. Market positions represent capital that could be deployed elsewhere. Yield compensates for this opportunity cost.
This is also what makes Season 2 different from Season 1. Rather than only rewarding individual actions (like writing a review), the network now rewards sustained commitment. You don't need to take an action every day to earn from your positions — they generate yield continuously as long as you maintain them.
How multipliers affect your yield
Your base yield from positions is then amplified by your personal multipliers — credibility score, activity streak, validator NFT holdings, and delegation status. Two users with identical positions can earn very different amounts of XP if one has stronger multipliers. See "How do XP multipliers work?" for more detail.