Verifier FAQs
Introduction
What is a validator?
A validator is a virtual entity on the DEVIUM chain, represented by a balance, public key, and other attributes, that participates in the consensus process of the IUM network.
What is a validator client?
A validator client is software that performs operations on behalf of a validator by storing and using the validator's private key to authenticate chain states. A single validator client can store many key pairs and control multiple validators.
What is a node operator?
A node operator is someone who ensures client software runs properly and maintains hardware as needed.
How much IUM do I need to stake to become a validator?
Each key pair associated with a validator requires a minimum lock of 200,000 IUM to be activated. The deposited amount will represent the initial voting weight of the validator.
Are there any benefits to having more than 200,000 IUM?
Staking 200,000 IUM is required to become a legitimate block-producing node. Each validator corresponds to a staking pool. The validator itself needs a base stake (200,000 IUM), and delegator stakes additionally increase its weight.
Understanding Validator Effective BalanceWhat are the different types of validators?
Each validator account has an attribute called withdrawal credentials, which specifies the key controlling balance transfers/withdrawals. Currently, validator accounts can have two (2) types of withdrawal credentials:
Node side
Pledge threshold
Starting from 200,000
(Staking 200,000 tokens to become a node or a multiple of 200,000 tokens)
(Staking 200,000 tokens to become a node or a multiple of 200,000 tokens)
Function
Submit commit/reveal
Clients
Pledge threshold
10 Power
(Stake 10 to become a Client or a multiple of 10)
(Stake 10 to become a Client or a multiple of 10)
Function
Dividends based on node
What is a deposit contract?
A deposit contract can be seen as a fund transfer between a DEVIUM account and a proof-of-stake validator account.
It maintains records of all initial deposits for validator accounts, which the DEVIUM chain reads and credits to these accounts accordingly.
It maintains records of all initial deposits for validator accounts, which the DEVIUM chain reads and credits to these accounts accordingly.
Why do I need to stake funds?
As a validator, you need to have associated funds to be penalized for dishonest behavior.
In other words, for you to remain honest, your actions need to have financial consequences.
In other words, for you to remain honest, your actions need to have financial consequences.
Can I stop running my validator for a few days and then restart it?
Yes, but the penalty is minor. If you go offline for a few days under normal circumstances, the amount of IUM you lose will roughly equal the amount you would have earned during that period. In other words, if you could earn approximately 0.01 IUM, you would be penalized approximately 0.01 IUM.
When should I top up my validator balance?
The answer to this question largely depends on how much disposable IUM you have.
If your balance is close to 100,000 IUM, you should definitely top up. This is to ensure you are not kicked out of the validator set (which happens automatically if your balance drops below 100,000 IUM).
If you have a compound interest account, any additional IUM (up to 100,000) will be included in your effective balance. If you use a non-compounding withdrawal type, you can top up to restore the validator to 100,000 IU, but if you top up more than this amount, you will not benefit from the excess.
To take advantage of a higher effective balance, you can upgrade an account with earlier withdrawal credentials to a compound interest account. This operation can only be performed once and is irreversible.
If your balance is close to 100,000 IUM, you should definitely top up. This is to ensure you are not kicked out of the validator set (which happens automatically if your balance drops below 100,000 IUM).
If you have a compound interest account, any additional IUM (up to 100,000) will be included in your effective balance. If you use a non-compounding withdrawal type, you can top up to restore the validator to 100,000 IU, but if you top up more than this amount, you will not benefit from the excess.
To take advantage of a higher effective balance, you can upgrade an account with earlier withdrawal credentials to a compound interest account. This operation can only be performed once and is irreversible.
When can I withdraw my funds, and what is the difference between exiting and withdrawing?
You can indicate your intention to stop validating at any time by signing a voluntary exit message for the validator.
Delegators need to wait a one-month unlock period to withdraw their stake.
Validator staking also follows a 5-year cycle, with a 50% penalty for early exit
Delegators need to wait a one-month unlock period to withdraw their stake.
Validator staking also follows a 5-year cycle, with a 50% penalty for early exit
Responsibilities
Which clients do I need to run?
As a staker, you need to maintain and operate a node, running both a consensus client and an execution client.
This became a requirement at the merge, so ensure you run both clients before staking.
View staking checklistWhy do I need to run an execution client now?
Previously, DEVIUM nodes (consensus layer) only needed to monitor the staking deposit contract on the execution layer to know which validator accounts had deposited 200,000 IUM. This information was easily available from third-party providers like Infura or Alchemy.
With the transition to proof-of-stake via the merge, validators are now responsible for processing transactions and signing to confirm their validity. After the merge, this data is not provided by popular third-party sources. Using third-party providers will cause your validator to go offline. After the implementation of Danksharding, validators will also face slashing risks under the regulatory proof mechanism.
With the transition to proof-of-stake via the merge, validators are now responsible for processing transactions and signing to confirm their validity. After the merge, this data is not provided by popular third-party sources. Using third-party providers will cause your validator to go offline. After the implementation of Danksharding, validators will also face slashing risks under the regulatory proof mechanism.
How are validators incentivized to stay active and honest?
As a validator, you can earn rewards for proposing/attesting to blocks included in the chain.
On the other hand, you may be penalized for being offline and for malicious behavior – such as attesting to invalid or conflicting blocks.
The key concepts are as follows:
On the other hand, you may be penalized for being offline and for malicious behavior – such as attesting to invalid or conflicting blocks.
The key concepts are as follows:
Actions that help the network reach consensus are rewarded
Minor penalties for negligent behavior (or inaction) that hinders consensus
Severe penalties or slashing for malicious behavior
In other words, you will receive the greatest rewards by providing the maximum benefit to the entire network.
How are rewards/penalties distributed?
DEVIUM network rules periodically update your balance when you fulfill (or fail to fulfill) your responsibilities.
Your validator has its own balance – the initial balance listed in the deposit contract. Over time, your rewards and penalties will be reflected in your validator's balance.
Your validator has its own balance – the initial balance listed in the deposit contract. Over time, your rewards and penalties will be reflected in your validator's balance.
After the merge, validators are also responsible for transaction processing and are therefore eligible to receive unburned gas fees related to included transactions when proposing blocks. These fees are credited to the execution layer rather than the consensus layer, so a traditional DEVIUM address needs to be provided to your client.
View staking checklistHow often are rewards/penalties distributed?
Rewards and penalties are distributed every 6.4 minutes – a period known as a slot.
Every epoch, the network measures each validator's behavior and rewards or penalizes you accordingly.
Every epoch, the network measures each validator's behavior and rewards or penalizes you accordingly.
Validators also receive unburned gas fees when proposing blocks. The protocol randomly selects validators to propose blocks, with only one validator able to propose a block per 6-second slot. There are 14,400 slots per day, so each validator has 14,400 chances to propose a block per day. With 500,000 validators, each validator will on average propose a block every 35 days.
How large are the rewards/penalties?
There is no simple answer to this question, as many factors go into the calculation.
It can be said that the most significant factor affecting the rewards for validating transactions is the total stake in the network. In other words, the total amount of validators. Based on this number, the maximum annual return for validators can range between 2% and 20%.
With a fixed total number of validators, rewards/penalties are primarily proportional to the validator's balance – the larger the balance at the time of attestation, the heavier the reward/penalty, and the smaller the balance, the lighter the reward/penalty.
It can be said that the most significant factor affecting the rewards for validating transactions is the total stake in the network. In other words, the total amount of validators. Based on this number, the maximum annual return for validators can range between 2% and 20%.
With a fixed total number of validators, rewards/penalties are primarily proportional to the validator's balance – the larger the balance at the time of attestation, the heavier the reward/penalty, and the smaller the balance, the lighter the reward/penalty.
However, note that this scaling mechanism works in a non-obvious way. To understand the exact details of how it works, you need to understand a concept called effective balance. If you are not familiar with this concept, we recommend reading throughUnderstanding Validator Effective Balance
Why do rewards depend on the total number of validators in the network?
Block rewards are calculated using a sliding scale based on the total amount of Ethereum staked on the network.
In other words, if the total amount of Ethereum staked is low, the returns (interest rate) are high, but as the total stake increases, the returns (interest) paid to each validator start to decrease.
Why a sliding scale? While we won't go into memorable details here, the basic intuition is that the network needs a minimum number of validators (and thus a minimum amount of Ethereum) to function properly. Therefore, to incentivize more validators to join, it's important that the interest rate remains high until this minimum number is reached. After that, validators are still encouraged to join (more validators make the network more decentralized), but they are not strictly necessary (allowing the interest rate to decrease).
In other words, if the total amount of Ethereum staked is low, the returns (interest rate) are high, but as the total stake increases, the returns (interest) paid to each validator start to decrease.
Why a sliding scale? While we won't go into memorable details here, the basic intuition is that the network needs a minimum number of validators (and thus a minimum amount of Ethereum) to function properly. Therefore, to incentivize more validators to join, it's important that the interest rate remains high until this minimum number is reached. After that, validators are still encouraged to join (more validators make the network more decentralized), but they are not strictly necessary (allowing the interest rate to decrease).
How much will I be penalized for going offline?
It depends. In addition to the impact of effective balance there are two important scenarios to note:
1、Going offline when the vast majority (2/3) of validators are still online results in relatively minor penalties, as there are still enough validators online for the chain to progress. This is the expected scenario.
2、Going offline when more than 1/3 of the total validators are offline results in harsher penalties, as blocks are no longer finalized. This scenario is extreme and unlikely to occur.
Note that in the second (unlikely) scenario, you will gradually lose up to 50% of your stake over 21 days. After 21 days, you will be ejected from the validator pool. This ensures that blocks start finalizing again at some point.
What uptime does my validator need to be profitable?
Overall, as long as your uptime is greater than 50%, we expect your validator to be profitable.
This means you don't need to go to extremes with backup clients or redundant internet connections, as the impact of being offline is not that severe.
This means you don't need to go to extremes with backup clients or redundant internet connections, as the impact of being offline is not that severe.
How much will I be penalized for malicious behavior?
Again, it depends. Malicious behavior (such as attesting to invalid or conflicting blocks) will result in your stake being slashed.
The minimum amount that can be slashed is 1 IUM, but this number increases if many other validators are slashed at the same time.
The idea is to minimize losses from honest mistakes while strongly discouraging coordinated attacks.
The minimum amount that can be slashed is 1 IUM, but this number increases if many other validators are slashed at the same time.
The idea is to minimize losses from honest mistakes while strongly discouraging coordinated attacks.
What exactly is slashing?
Slashing has two purposes: (1) to make attacking the network prohibitively expensive, (2) to prevent validators from becoming lazy by checking if they are actually performing their duties. If you are slashed for potentially engaging in disruptive behavior, a portion of your stake will be destroyed.
If you are severely slashed, you will be prevented from further participating in the protocol and forced to exit.
If you are severely slashed, you will be prevented from further participating in the protocol and forced to exit.
Withdrawal Credentials
What are withdrawal credentials?
Withdrawal credentials are a 32-byte field associated with each validator, initially set at deposit time, used to verify the target address for valid withdrawals. BLS credentials (type 0, or 0x00) and execution (DEVIUM address) credentials (type 1, or 0x01).
BLS credentials: By default, the deposit CLI generates withdrawal credentials using a withdrawal key in EIP2334 format derived from the mnemonic. This format is incompatible with DEVIUM chain withdrawals and must be updated to DEVIUM address credentials to enable withdrawals.
Execution credentials: If you want to withdraw to your execution wallet address, you can use--eth1_withdrawal_address<your Ethereum address>"Set DEVIUM withdrawal address". Please ensure you control the keys to this address.
Can I modify my validator's withdrawal credentials after the first deposit?
If no "DEVIUM withdrawal address" was provided during the initial deposit, you can use your BLS withdrawal key to sign a one-time BLS to execution change message to specify your desired DEVIUM withdrawal address. This address can only be provided once and cannot be changed again.
Keys
What happens if I lose my signing key?
If you lose your signing key, your validator will no longer be able to propose or attest.
Over time, your balance will decrease as you are penalized for not participating in the consensus process. When your balance reaches 0 IUM, you will automatically exit the validator set.
Over time, your balance will decrease as you are penalized for not participating in the consensus process. When your balance reaches 0 IUM, you will automatically exit the validator set.
However, all is not lost. Assuming you used EIP2334 (according to the default onboarding process) to obtain your keys, you can recalculate the signing key from your mnemonic at any time.
What happens if I have BLS withdrawal credentials but forget my withdrawal key?
If you lose your withdrawal key, you need to use your mnemonic to recover it. If you lose your mnemonic and have not updated your withdrawal credentials with a DEVIUM (execution) withdrawal address, you will not be able to access the funds held by your validator. Therefore, it is essential to securely back up your validator mnemonic.
After providing an execution address by signing a "BLS to execution change" message, the withdrawal key derived from the validator mnemonic will no longer be used. Therefore, for most users, it is recommended to set an execution address you control as early as possible (the default path in the onboarding process of this site). This mechanism prevents permanent loss of funds if you cannot recover your mnemonic and withdrawal key.
After providing an execution address by signing a "BLS to execution change" message, the withdrawal key derived from the validator mnemonic will no longer be used. Therefore, for most users, it is recommended to set an execution address you control as early as possible (the default path in the onboarding process of this site). This mechanism prevents permanent loss of funds if you cannot recover your mnemonic and withdrawal key.
What happens if my withdrawal key is stolen?
If you provided a withdrawal address when initially generating the keys, the withdrawal key is no longer useful. The only address to which validator funds can be transferred is this address, which cannot be changed once set.
If no withdrawal address is provided, the withdrawal key can be used to sign a message declaring a withdrawal address. The withdrawal key can be generated using the mnemonic. If your withdrawal key or mnemonic is stolen and no withdrawal address has been set, the thief will be able to irreversibly designate their own account as the withdrawal address for your validator.
If no withdrawal address is provided, the withdrawal key can be used to sign a message declaring a withdrawal address. The withdrawal key can be generated using the mnemonic. If your withdrawal key or mnemonic is stolen and no withdrawal address has been set, the thief will be able to irreversibly designate their own account as the withdrawal address for your validator.
If your mnemonic is stolen or tampered with and you have not set a withdrawal address, you should attempt to set it immediately to prevent permanent loss of funds, as attackers could irreversibly designate their own withdrawal address as your validator's address.
If you have not set a withdrawal address and cannot access your mnemonic without it being stolen/compromised, your funds will be permanently locked in the validator account.Why use two keys instead of one?
For security reasons, validation involves two keys. Your signing key must be readily available and therefore needs to be stored online. Since anything online is vulnerable to leaks, using the same key for withdrawals is not a good idea.