# Yield Guard System

### Overview

**Yield Guard** is a mechanism designed to protect bond providers from inefficient yield allocation across nodes in the THORChain network. Its main purpose is to prevent overbonded nodes from receiving additional RUNE delegations that would not generate yield effectively.

<figure><img src="/files/yoo6KoWM9CVwfYYQz6y0" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

***

### 🔍 What Triggers Yield Guard?

A node will be marked as **Yield Guarded** and hidden from listings when it meets **any** of the following conditions. All checks are **only applied to nodes in `Active` status**:

1. **Overbonded Node**
   * The node’s `total_bond` is **equal to or greater than** the network-defined `optimal_bond`.
   * Additional RUNE bonded to this node will not generate yield.
   * This prevents inefficient delegation to already saturated nodes.
2. **Highest Slash Points in the Network**
   * The node has the **highest `slash_points`** among all active nodes.
   * This node is likely to be churned out within 3 days due to poor performance or misbehavior.
3. **Lowest Total Bond in the Network**
   * The node has the **lowest `total_bond`** among all active nodes.
   * Since it ranks lowest by bond weight, it is expected to be churned out in the next rotation.
4. **Oldest Active Node**
   * The node has the **oldest `status_since`** timestamp among all active nodes.
   * Churns occur roughly every 3 days, and the oldest active node is rotated out.
5. **Requested to Leave**
   * The node has `requested_to_leave = true`.
   * The operator has explicitly signaled intent to leave the network, which will happen within \~3 days.

***

### ⚠️ What Happens to Overbonded Nodes?

When Yield Guard is active on a node:

* The node **is hidden** from public listings.
* Users **can still delegate**, but it will be **clearly marked as inefficient**.
* Once the node’s total bond drops below the optimal threshold again, it will **automatically reappear** in the listings.

***

### 💡 Why Is This Important?

* ✅ Ensures **fair and efficient yield distribution** across the network.
* ✅ Helps users **avoid delegating to nodes that will soon exit the network**.
* ✅ Encourages **network decentralization** by promoting underbonded and stable nodes.
* ✅ Protects bond providers from bonding to nodes that will **not generate returns**.


---

# Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation

If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question.

Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter:

```
GET https://thorbond.gitbook.io/runebond/features/yield-guard-system.md?ask=<question>
```

The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language.
The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation.

Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.