# Auto-Claiming Mechanism

The **Auto-Claiming Mechanism** is a protocol feature designed to keep the rebasing system fair and consistent, even for users who are not actively managing their bonded or staked rewards. It addresses a subtle but important issue: unclaimed $WM rewards and their interaction with the rebase.

**The Problem of Unclaimed Rewards:** When a user bonds or stake assets for $WM, they receive their $WM payout. If those vested tokens are not claimed promptly, they essentially “sit” in the bonding or staking contract, not yet in the user’s wallet. During a deflationary rebase, only tokens in circulation (in wallets, liquidity pools, etc.) are reduced. If a chunk of $WM is owed to users via bonds or stake but not yet claimed, one might ask: are those tokens rebasing as well? If they are not yet minted to the user, they might be temporarily shielded from the rebase reduction. This could lead to a distortion: a user who doesn’t claim their reward might end up getting a slightly larger share of the supply (since their tokens missed some burns) once they finally claim. Meanwhile, everyone else’s tokens were rebased in the interim, which is **unfair**.

**Solution – Auto-Claiming:** To prevent this exploitation, $WM employs an auto-claim mechanism:

* When a bond’s vesting period is complete, the system will **automatically claim the $WM on behalf of the user** if the user hasn’t done so.
* When staking rewards become available for a user, the system automatically claims them to the user's wallet if the user hasn’t done so manually.\
  This ensures that rewards are not missed and stay properly aligned with the rebasing mechanics.
* This auto-claim can be triggered by other participants or a keeper/bot.
* As a result, the vested $WM is **brought into circulation** and thus will be subject to the same rebase effects as everyone else’s tokens. No “extra” tokens remain hidden from the supply adjustments.

**Why It’s Essential:** This mechanism ensures **linear and fair rebasing**. “Linear” here means the rebase behaves as if the token supply distribution is straightforward – no pockets of tokens avoid rebasing. Every $WM that exists, whether in someone’s wallet or pending from a bond or staking, experiences the supply reduction equally. This keeps the math of the rebases clean and the outcomes fair. It also means the accounting for total supply and percentage ownership remains accurate at all times, the presence of vested-but-unclaimed tokens doesn’t throw off calculations of circulating supply.

**In Practice for Users:** If you bond or stake and forget about it, you might later notice that your $WM was automatically claimed to your wallet.

In summary, the auto-claiming mechanism is a behind-the-scenes guardian of $WM rebasing fairness. It’s an elegant solution to a tricky edge-case and reflects the protocol’s commitment to **fairness and transparency**: all $WM, whether actively held or awaiting claim, are treated equally under the rules of the rebase.
