Aligning Rewards with Emissions

In Solidly, voting rewards (i.e. bribes) were claimable before the emissions from that vote were committed. Velodrome addresses this with new mechanisms:

• First, we allow voters to make only one "active" voting decision (i.e. Voter.vote(), Voter.reset()) every epoch (note: this does not include the Voter.poke() function).

• Additionally, bribes from fees (internal) and external sources (external) are treated differently. Internal bribes function more or less the same way as they did in Solidly, streamed to voters who vote for them. External bribes, however, are rewarded per epoch rather than streamed, and are claimable only after the next epoch starts. This means that a bribe sent at the last minute of an epoch will accrue to all voters of that epoch, and be claimable once the epoch flips

These modifications aim to strike a harmonious balance between voters and external actors offering bribes. By introducing these tweaks, we motivate bribers to present their incentives early in the week, luring initial voters.

However, there's also a silver lining in delaying bribes, as this provides deeper insights into rival incentives. Similarly, voters grapple with a timing conundrum. Casting votes prematurely might mean missing out on enticing bribes unveiled later. Conversely, delayed voting might result in a diminished veSKY balance influence. It's worth highlighting that this latter impact is more accentuated for those who commit for shorter durations. For instance, those locked in for mere weeks as opposed to months or years might discern stark disparities in the incentives they accrue, based on whether they vote earlier or later in the epoch.