Why does EOS stay in the refund section sometimes and other times it goes automatically to unstaked section?

Question

I am trying to figure out if there is any reason for this. When I unstake EOS, it shows up on the refund section in a block explorer. Sometimes, the refund goes automatically to unstaked section and sometimes it just stays in the refund section even after 3 days. Is this completely random or is there some reason for this? Does this have anything to do with assigning proxy? If the account has assigned a proxy and if the proxy refreshes their votes, does it reset the clock for unstaking?

Answer 1

I'm actually guessing with this answer so vote down if you think it's bad!

My theory is that it doesn't go straight back into your balance and instead into a Refund section because the EOS is not actually in your account but in a smart contract which holds your EOS in escrow.

This is because it costs CPU & bandwidth to refund the EOS which is something your account should pay for rather than the smart contract.

Therefore, when you engage it for a refund, it checks to see if you're allowed your EOS back, if so it then transfers it too you. All in a transaction you've paid for. (CPU & Bandwidth)

Block Explorers wouldn't want you believing you had 50 EOS to transfer immediately when 20 of it is actually in an escrow, hence the Refund section.