Become a Validator

Validators are node operators, each storing a copy of the blockchain and performing certain functions to keep the system secure. On The Root Network, validator nodes are responsible for authoring new blocks and participating in the finalization protocol. Validators are an essential part of the Proof-of-Stake consensus mechanism.

Running a validator on a live network is a high-risk, high-reward opportunity. You will be accountable for not only your own stake but also the stake of your current nominators. If a mistake occurs and your node gets slashed, your tokens and your reputation will be at risk. However, running a validator can also be very rewarding, knowing that you contribute to the security of a decentralized network while growing your rewards.

It is highly recommended that you have significant system administration experience before attempting to run your own validator. You must be able to handle technical issues and anomalies with your node which you must be able to tackle yourself. Being a validator involves more than just executing The Root Network binary; it requires a comprehensive understanding of system administration to effectively navigate and troubleshoot various challenges.

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Requirements

• A non-custodial FuturePass or an EOA account with at least 5 XRP to pay for 3 transactions and a minimum 100_000 ROOT for staking.
• A continuous running node that meets the following requirements:

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Validators Election Process

Anyone meeting the above requirements can signal their intention to become a validator. However, only a limited number of validator nodes are elected in each staking era (24 hours). The remaining nodes will be on the waiting list until the next era, to rejoin the election process.

The election process follows a set of well-known algorithms in the Substrate blockchain ecosystem to find the most optimal way to satisfy the three metrics below:

1. Maximize the total amount at stake.
2. Maximize the stake behind the minimally staked validator.
3. Minimize the variance of the stake in the set.

The Root Network will have 42 validator slots for the open beta. This number will increase as the network matures.

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Setup Instructions

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Step 1: Run a validator node

Follow the instructions in Running a Node to have your validator node up and running. It’s important to have your validator node set up with telemetry support to ensure that it can be properly monitored.

# Root Mainnet
seed --chain=root --validator \
--name="My TRN Validator Node" \
--sync=warp \
--telemetry-url="wss://telemetry.rootnet.app:9443/submit 0"

# Porcini Testnet
seed --chain=porcini --validator \
--name="My TRN Validator Node" \
--sync=warp \
--telemetry-url="wss://telemetry.rootnet.app:9443/submit 0"

Wait until your node completes the synchronisation before proceeding to the next step. You should see some output similar to the following:

2024-02-08 21:33:18 ⏩ Warping, Importing state, 517.34 Mib (9 peers), best: #0 (0x046e…d338), finalized #0 (0x046e…d338), ⬇ 1.7kiB/s ⬆ 0.8kiB/s
2024-02-08 21:33:23 ⏩ Warping, Importing state, 517.34 Mib (9 peers), best: #0 (0x046e…d338), finalized #0 (0x046e…d338), ⬇ 1.2kiB/s ⬆ 0.6kiB/s
2024-02-08 21:33:28 ⏩ Warping, Importing state, 517.34 Mib (9 peers), best: #10705147 (0xbbd8…77d2), finalized #10705147 (0xbbd8…77d2), ⬇ 1.7kiB/s ⬆ 0.4kiB/s
2024-02-08 21:33:29 Warp sync is complete (517 MiB), restarting block sync.

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Step 2: Generate session keys

Run a curl command targeting your node to generate its session keys. This is an important step to link your node with your validator account.

curl -H "Content-Type: application/json" -d '{"id":1, "jsonrpc":"2.0", "method": "author_rotateKeys", "params": []}' localhost:9944

Once the command is executed successfully, you will see a JSON response like this:

{
  "id": 1,
  "jsonrpc": "2.0",
  "result": "0xded0a4c6440f2b93f2fdc56c80b9a0adb58a6f64157f8a62c12f8cea61c0582c26475545399e236f732a2cc542a8938dbd3d51acbf6dd3fa26b129c549e5283f7d95650ed6948767d2871ba000b0a2618857fb43f9dc2462adbd62c4eb323ee9034c5fff514f25a1befa6409650ed35e056c88c900fc1e52775c831e7a7f92b1c2"
}

The session keys are in the "result" field of the response, leave the terminal open with the response, as we will need to use it in Step 5.

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Step 3: Connect FuturePass EOA account with the Portal

1. Go to the Portal Account page and select From Ethereum Wallet.

2. Select the EOA account with FuturePass that you want to as validator when the “Connect with MetaMask” dialog opens up and click Next.
3. Confirm both your EOA account and FuturePass account appears on the Account page.

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Step 4: Stake the required ROOT amount

1. Go to the Portal Extrinsics page and input the values as per the screenshot below:

2. Click Submit Transaction when done and select Sign when prompted by MetaMask.
3. The transaction is confirmed when a green tick appears in the top right corner.

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Step 5: Set session keys from your node

1. Go to the Portal Extrinsics page and input the values as per the screenshot below, with the session keys value from Step 2.

2. Click Submit Transaction when done and select Sign when prompted by MetaMask.
3. The transaction is confirmed when a green tick appears in the top right corner.

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Step 6: Request to validate

1. Go to the Portal Extrinsics page and input the values as per the screenshot below, with the session keys value from Step 2.

2. Click Submit Transaction when done and select Sign when prompted by MetaMask.
3. The transaction is confirmed when a green tick appears in the top right corner.

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Step 7: Confirm your validator node is on the Waiting list.

Go to the Portal Staking page and select the Waiting tab and confirm your FuturePass account is on the list, with the correct commission rate:

That’s it, the only thing left is to wait until the next era and see if your validator is elected to be part of the active validators list.