IOV Selects Its Mainnet Validators!
After months of stable testnets and a security audit that revealed no high-risk vulnerabilities, IOV is ready to announce the validators that will launch the IOV Name Service blockchain.
We chose objective metrics in order to rank validator candidates for our network. The metrics have a value between 0 and 1 and a candidate’s overall score is the sum of all its metrics. Higher is better. The metrics are:
· Is the candidate an IOV Name Service accelerator?
Cosmostation is an accelerator because of their plan to integrate the IOV Name Service into their wallet. Forbole is an accelerator because of their plan to add IOV to their Big Dipper block explorer suite.
· Is the candidate a corporation or institution?
We use proof-of-value, a derivative of proof-of-authority, so we need accountability and transparency from our validators.
· What is the candidate’s normalized operational cost?
Operational costs vary tremendously, so we normalized the operational cost using the formula 1 — min(1,abs(z-score)), which yields 1 in the case of the candidate operating at the average cost and closer to 0 the further the cost is away from the average. This actually had the effect of penalizing operators that spend a fortune on their operation in addition to the intended effect of giving low-cost operators a lower score.
· What is the candidate’s normalized number of team members?
We think that it’s reasonable to require at least three team members to run a 24/7 operation.
· What is the candidate’s normalized number of IOV token holdings?
Proof-of-value requires a vested interest in the success of the chain. Token holdings are a clear indicator of vested interest.
· What is the candidate’s normalized number of DApp users?
The IOV Name Service provides real value to users and potentially integrating the service in DApps is also an indicator of vested interest.
· What is the candidate’s normalized ranking on other tendermint-based networks?
We’re looking for experienced, reputable validators.
· Did the candidate participate in an IOV testnet?
Simply applying to our program isn’t enough. :)
· What is the candidate’s accelerated testnet Quality Score?
The mainnet Quality Score is designed to take an extended period of time to reach 100%. We used an accelerated testnet Quality Score in our rankings due to the limited duration of the testnets and desire to give it some weight in the metrics.
Given all those criteria, the overall score for the candidates ranges from 6.646 to 1.138 and can be seen in the table below.
We chose the top 10 validator candidates for our mainnet genesis file validator set. Congratulations to Cosmostation, StateWith.Us, HashQuark, Node A Team, Forbole, 01node.com, Bianjie, ChainLayer, syncnode, and Stake Capital!
We thank all the candidates that participated in our testnets.
Testnet Quality Scores will be transformed to their non-accelerated value, then transferred to mainnet as the initial Quality Score for each validator, and subsequently be used for Quality Score accumulation and validator reward calculations.
Why 10 Validators, Not 9 Or 11?
Our validators will all start with the same voting_power. Therefore, with 2/3+ required for consensus and 10 validators in the set there can be three validators missing and the chain will not halt. With nine validators only two can be missing. With eleven validators three can be missing. So, our network would be more fragile with nine validators and not any stronger with eleven, hence we chose 10.
Roadmap To Mainnet
We’ll launch one more testnet to practice a centralized launch with our chosen validator set on September 25, 2019. Our mainnet launch is targeted for October 1, 2019. Mark your calendar!
Beyond Mainnet
The addition of validators to the mainnet validator set is controlled by the IOV Name Service technical committee. The committee will consider adding to the validator set when the chain turnover ensures that all validators will have the potential to earn up to 5000 tokens per month. So, during the first two years after launch when the genesis validators are eligible for the guaranteed rewards, a new validator could be added when the average monthly chain turnover is 5000 tokens, the next at 10 thousand tokens, then 15 thousand tokens, etc. New validators will have to achieve a minimum Quality Score on our testnet(s) before being considered for the mainnet. There’s still good reason to participate in our testnets!
