The Elrond Validators
Elrond is a protocol — a piece of software which describes the rules of decentralized data processing. In order for it to become a blockchain, it needs to be bootstrapped on top of a network of computers which run the Elrond software. The minimum requirements are an entry-level PC and 2.5 million ERD staked as collateral. But being an Elrond Validator means much more than that.
Our node runners are enthusiasts that not only understand what makes the Elrond blockchain tick but put in the necessary effort of making it do so. They challenge the team with clever questions, raise issues and ask for features. They create scripts, guides, tutorials and tools.
Above all, our community uses our product in all imaginable ways. The immediate real world exposure of our releases creates a feedback loop that helps Elrond improve from one day to the next. Our public testers have been pushing the development cycles from one week down to a couple of days.
Some of them have been around since the beginning of Elrond. More of them are joining every day. Some of their contributions so far can be summed up in numbers:
- ~400 community nodes right now, ~800 peak during Battle of Nodes
- Operators from 43 countries, nodes running on 6 continents
- Peak 16.8k TPS on 80% community owned testnetwork
- +30 how-to articles, tutorials and video guides
- +200 GitHub issues, suggestions, feedback
We are impressed with their skills for operating blockchain infrastructure and are grateful to them for securing and improving our network. This is why we have selected the most experienced node runners to mint the Elrond Genesis block with us. Community members who have proven themselves in Battle of Nodes. Veterans who took it to the next level and started a business around Elrond. And established Professional Staking Infrastructure providers.
Over the next period of time we will focus on bringing this first mainnet team together. We will use the full extent of our own knowledge, the ideas of our community and the experience of our professional partners to put together the most secure, highly-available, performant and robust network to launch our mainnet on.
Being a Validator is hard but rewarding work. Have a look at our Validators chat and see the people behind the Elrond public testnet for yourself. We like them a lot and we think you will do too.
We’re launching our blockchain with 1.500 nodes. The Elrond foundational nodes will be decommissioned in time, as part of our decentralization process. You are not too late to join us — we’re just getting started.
