Q Blockchain Validator Onboarding Program — Part 2 Become an early Mainnet Validator
This is the second part in the series of diversifying the validator set of the Q Blockchain consensus. The first part focused on the onboarding of smaller validators to maximize diversity. We achieved this by introducing the Validator Incentivized Testnet.
This article shall provide guidance for onboarding professional, medium to high Stake-Under-Management (SUM) validators. The goal is still to further increase diversity in the validator set but at the same time aim for high network stability by these validators.
Background of Pre-Mainnet Onboarding Phase
Before the mainnet launch, Q Development AG (in short: Q Development) had various discussions with professional validators as part of the last funding round. The motivation was to onboard them into the Q Ecosystem so that they acquire a notable validator self stake in order to provide reliable network operation and ensure a basic degree of decentralization for the Q Blockchain’s mainnet.
However, when you try to build a decentralized governance framework for Web3, you have only so much time to onboard validators to the initial ecosystem which required us to focus on a few high SUM Validators.
Further, let’s not forget that Validators are not the only consensus stakeholder we have onboarded into the Q consensus. The novelty of the Q consensus are enforceable governance decisions, which Root Nodes can have on Validators to prevent activity which is not in line with the Q constitution. Of course, the more the Validator set is diversified, the more it will benefit the integrity of the system. But with the Root Nodes as an additional layer of defense on consensus level, the Q blockchain can tolerate much more levels of decentralization.
In the end, it was a typical cost-benefit choice between degree of decentralization and adhering to the timeline of a timely mainnet launch. This process of progressive decentralization has been described in Section 7.6 of the Q White Paper.
How to become an Early Mainnet Validator on the Q Blockchain
With the mainnet live and functioning since March 2022, Q is ready for a larger validator set. To enable professional validators to onboard, the steps are fairly easy:
- get hands-on experience by running a Q Testnet Validator, say for a week or two: here
- join the Q Discord Community Server: here
- obtain a validator Self Stake: here
- spin up the validator mainnet node: here
Note: for a setup with separate keys for stake management and node signing, read how to setup an alias account on the Q Blockchain here. - after the above steps, make sure your validator stake puts you in the validator ranking between position 1 to 135. If yes, create a ticket on the Q community discord to get the
Validator Noderole and ask for themainnet stats tracker secret. - connect mainnet validator with the network stats: here
- Monitor the node, manage the validator pool, attract community delegations from Q Token Holders : here
By that professional validators can contribute to the security and robustness of the Q Blockchain by increasing and diversifying its validator set.
Happy Validating!
Frequently asked Questions
What is the Return on Stake (ROS) for validators on Q?
At the time of writing, the stake calculator showed a ROS of 13.7% for solo staking and 14.8% for a validation with an assumption on delegations.
Is it too late to become a validator on mainnet?
Quite the opposite. As of writing, there are 22 validators live on Q Blockchain mainnet. The goal for Q Development is to expand the validator set further. Through the Q Constitution there is a structured process for doing so. In addition to active validators, there are standby validators to ensure that a dropped validator is replaced without delay. Both receive rewards according to their self stake+delegated stake. See the whitepaper for more details.
How is this different to the Validator ITN program?
The validator ITN targets smaller validators and provides a basic incentive to setup a node to cover the effort. The resulting mainnet tokens are obtained after multiple months of operation on the Q Blockchain testnet. In short: it takes time to become a mainnet validator and it will be of limited and small stake size.
The Validator onboarding described above provides a quick and efficient way to setup a validator node with a self-stake on the Q Blockchain mainnet, which allows for an early buildup of community delegations.
