SparkPoint Network Testnet: Become a Node Validator (Guide)

Published in

theEcosystem

5 min readApr 22, 2024

Introduction

The SparkPoint Network is inviting individuals to participate in its testnet program as node validators. This guide provides a comprehensive walkthrough of setting up a node validator on the SparkPoint Network Testnet. By contributing to the network’s security and stability during this crucial phase, you’ll gain valuable hands-on experience with blockchain technology and earn rewards.

This guide is designed to equip you with the knowledge necessary to become a SparkPoint Network Testnet Validator. Let’s begin!

Adding SparkPoint Network Testnet to MetaMask

Easy way

Go to SparkPoint Network Testnet Explorer.
Scroll down to the footer, and click Add SparkPoint Network Testnet to MetaMask button.
MetaMask wallet browser extension will pop-out, then click on the Approve transaction.
And lastly, click on Switch Network button to successfully switch to SparkPoint Network Testnet as your current active network on MetaMask.

Manual

If you’d like to add the network manually to your MetaMask, here are the necessary details:

Network name: SparkPoint Network Testnet
New RPC URL: https://testnet-rpc.sparkpoint.network
Chain ID: 4152024
Currency symbol: tSPARK
Block explorer URL: https://testnet-rpc.sparkpoint.network

How to get tSPARK Tokens?

Just go to our SparkPoint Network Faucet web app.

Enter your wallet address, then click the ‘SEND ME tSPARK’ button. Once you’ve successfully received 1 tSPARK token, you’ll have 24 hours to claim another.

Requirements

In terms of hardware specifications and software requirements, being a Node Validator does not demand powerful hardware, and is very accessible for modest setups.

Hardware:

CPU: 4 Cores
RAM: 4 GB
Storage: 20 GB

Software:

If using physical server (Windows, MacOS, Linux), setup Docker Desktop.
If using VPS, setup Docker Engine.
Ethereum wallet with at least 0.3 ETH (0.1 ETH required for staking, 0.1 ETH Tier 1 Node Key, 0.1 paying for gas). You can get it in this Arbitrum Sepolia Faucet.
The Node key NFT. You need to purchase one to become a holder, and this will be your ticket to participate in the network.

Node Key NFT

As of now, there’s no available front-serving website to guide you in purchasing a node key for the SparkPoint Network Testnet.

Tiers

The Node Key NFT operates with three tiers, where Tier 3 offers the highest rewards cascading down to Tier 1. On top of rewards, Tier 3, the flagship tier’s main selling point will be the batch posting capability. In layman’s term, this gives the ability to have bigger influence as well as responsibility in the network.

Also do note that this is currently a testnet. The specifics and established rewards system will be announced later on before the mainnet launch.

Steps to purchase Node Key NFT

Go to SparkPoint Network Testnet’s Node Key Contract on Arbitrum Sepolia Explorer Testnet
Go to Write as Proxy and Connect to Web3

Open 4. buyNodeKey(), and input values are as follows:
payableAmount (ETH) = 0.1 (0.2 for tier 2, and for 0.3 tier 3)
paymentToken (address) = 0x0000000000000000000000000000000000000000
tier = 1 (2 for tier 2, and 3 for tier 3)
Take note that the tier price (payableAmount (ETH)) and tier value (tier) should match.

Then click Write button, and confirm transaction from your Metamask

Setup Validator for Tier 1 and 2

Clone the SparkPoint Network Node GitHub repository.
If using VPS, run sudo chmod 777 config in the base directory of the sparkpoint-network-noderepository.
Open docker-compose.yamland replace command: --conf.file /home/user/.arbitrum/nodeConfigTier3.jsonwith command: --conf.file /home/user/.arbitrum/nodeConfigTier1-2.json.
Open config/nodeConfigTier1–2.json file, and replace all "PRIVATE KEY” with your own private key used in purchasing the node key
If you have a paid Arbitrum Orbit RPC, replace the ”https://sepolia-rollup.arbitrum.io/rpc” with your own RPC URL, and adjust ”node”.”inbox-reader” values to fully utilize your RPC speed
Run npm run start or docker compose up -din the base directory of the sparkpoint-network-node repository. This will launch the node with a public RPC reachable at http 8449
Optionally, run npm run logs or docker compose logs -f nitro in the base directory of the sparkpoint-network-node repository to view the logs of the node

Setup Validator for Tier 3

Clone the SparkPoint Network Node GitHub repository.
If using VPS, runsudo chmod 777 config in the base directory of the sparkpoint-network-node repository.
Open config/nodeConfigTier3.json file, and replace all "PRIVATE KEY” with your own private key used in purchasing the node key.
If you have a paid Arbitrum Orbit RPC, replace the ”https://sepolia-rollup.arbitrum.io/rpc” with your own RPC URL, and adjust ”node”.”inbox-reader” values to fully utilize your RPC speed.
Run npm run start or docker compose up -din the base directory of the sparkpoint-network-node repository. This will launch the node with a public RPC reachable at http 8449.
Optionally, run npm run logs or docker compose logs -f nitroin the base directory of the sparkpoint-network-node repository to view the logs of the node.

Conclusion

This guide equipped you with the necessary steps to become a SparkPoint Network Testnet Validator. You can now set up your validator and contribute to network stability.

As a testnet, this is an ideal environment to gain hands-on blockchain experience. The finalized rewards system will be announced before mainnet launch.

Join the SparkPoint Network community forum to connect with fellow validators and stay informed. We appreciate your participation in securing the SparkPoint Network.

Learn more about SparkPoint from the following links:

SparkPoint Website: https://sparkpoint.io/

Trade SRK: https://srk.sh/trade

SRK-ETH on Uniswap: https://srk.sh/uniswap

Our Official Channels:

Telegram Announcements (SparkPoint): https://t.me/sparkpoint

SparkPoint Community on Telegram: https://t.me/SparkPointOfficial

SparkPoint Twitter: https://twitter.com/sparkpointio

SparkPoint Facebook: https://facebook.com/sparkpointio

SparkPoint Instagram: https://instagram.com/sparkpointio

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/sparkpointio

GitHub: https://github.com/sparkpointio