A Guide to Becoming a BlockX Validator

Introduction

Validators can be referred to as the most important players of a proof-of-stake (PoS) ecosystem, since there could be no committing of new blocks or transaction confirmations within a chain without them.

Validators have the freedom of setting their own fees that Delegators (stakers) must pay to access nodes.

BlockX aims to launch the network with 150 validators on board, and we have already received a series of applications from interested enthusiasts.

The Tendermint consensus protocol is what handles block provisions and transaction fee-handling for the BlockX chain. After the network is more widely established, users will have the option to pay their fees using any token from the Cosmos ecosystem.

Key aspects to note on node validation:

• Validators may set additional commissions on their chosen fees, which makes Delegators more incentivized to participate
• Validators are subject to penalties if they are not following best practices, such as double-signing, being offline for long periods of time, or not participating in governance. The penalties come in the form of BCX reward-slashing.
• Validators can accept delegated tokens up to 500% of their initial holdings.

Those interested in becoming Validators must first ensure their to-be Validator devices are compatible with the BlockX software. We currently support MacOS and Linux.

Furthermore, there are some specific hardware requirements that must be met to become a Validator — more details can be found here.

APPLY to become a BlockX Validator by following this link to a Google Form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf6yaFeOV0nAq9PojyfInBetkjqYqUwlvG45a4tsUd-m5kCdA/viewform

Once your Validator application is accepted, you may choose either a standard command line interface (CLI) to handle all the commands and operations for your validation process, or a web-based custom BlockX graphical user interface (GUI) designed for less computer-savvy enthusiasts.

Preparing for Validation

If CLI is the tool of your choice, you will need to install the Go programming language in order to build the BlockX binaries from source (GitHub). As for the BlockX validation software itself, it can be built by using either git clone & make, or Docker.

The installation, quickstart, and the basic blockx Unix commands can be found here. Reading further in the Validator documentation, you will find the configuration commands for the entire directory.

The blockx software is based on the Cosmos SDK, thus the config files are automatically generated. Moreover, you will find the blockx command flags for key management, transaction handling & operations, node initialization and running, queries, and more.

Running Validator Nodes

More advanced commands for handling validator node problems, jailing, and tracking signing information are outlined in the “Run a Validator” section of the BlockX developer documentation.

From here, following the structure of the docs, you may learn more about participating in the BlockX Testnet v7, Validator Telemetry, and security optimization.

Conclusion

Validators are responsible for always running the most up-to-date version of the BlockX validation software, as well as handling their private keys properly — keeping them secure, and making sure that their servers are up.

Additionally, assuming that the Validator runner is technical, they are responsible for offering feedback and reporting of issues & errors of the software. Also, Validators should hold budget executors accountable for making sure that funds are used efficiently and transparently.

If the above discussion has you intrigued, consider applying to become a Validator, reading more of the Validator docs, or checking out the FAQs.

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