Become a Validator

TON uses Proof of Stake (PoS) consensus model. It means that the network’s security and stability is maintained by a set of network validators. Anyone can become a validator and receive Toncoin as a reward while contributing to network security.

What validators do

Network validators verify all user transactions. If all validators reach consensus that a transaction is valid, it is included in the blockchain. Invalid transactions are rejected.

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Rewards

Users send a small surplus amount of Toncoin to their transaction that represents a reward to validators for their work. This amount is distributed proportionally to the stake of validators elected in the given validation cycle.
Additionally, new coins are generated during validation. These also go to validators. Overall annual coin inflation is about 0.5%.
~120 Toncoin / per day. Average income daily generated by validator node with average stake as of April 2023.
To get a reward Validator should
1. Win Validator election to validation cycle
  • Successfully submit election — you need to have minimum 10k TON
  • Win the election with a minimum of 400k TON, and also don’t be excluded because the maximum validator quantity on the election reached
2. Successfully validate blocks the whole Validation Cycle
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Penalties

There are two ways validators can be penalized: idle and malicious misbehaving; both of which are prohibited and may result in being fined for their actions.

If a validator does not participate in block creation and transaction signing for a significant amount of time during a validation round, it is potentially fined. As of April 2023, the Standard fine accrued is 101 TON.

Any network participant can file a complaint if they believe a validator is misbehaving. During this process, the participant issuing the complaint must attach cryptographic proofs of misbehavior for Elector submission. All validators operating on the network check the validity of complaints and vote whether they will pursue the complaint collectively. Upon reaching 66% validator approval, a slashing penalty is deducted from the validator and withdrawn from the validator’s total stake.

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How to become a Validator

Becoming a validator requires access to high-performance hardware on a highly available network, as minimum 300 000 TON as a stake. Validators stake Toncoin for a fixed specific term, and the stake is refunded with interest after the completion of a validation round.
Hardware requirements
  • at least 8 cores CPU
  • at least 64 GB RAM
  • at least 512 GB NVMe SSD
  • 1 Gbit/s network connectivity
  • public fixed IP address
Get started
Use MyTonCtrl, a convenient open-source tool for validators. Upon installation you can use the CLI or Web UI to manage your node.
Documentation

Nominator pools

Validators require an extensive amount of Toncoin for operation. However, you can help secure the network even if you have a little amount of Toncoin by joining Validator pools.
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