Instruction:How to choose a validator

A checked version of this page, approved on 26 March 2024, was based on this revision.

This is a page with the instruction guide to the Decimal Console.

Main article: Delegation

Choosing a validator in DecimalChain.
Warning: the interface of the Decimal Explorer has changed!

How to choose validator is a serious and timely question for any user of the DecimalChain. In order to make the maximum profit from delegation, it is necessary to take into account the validator's fee, the reliability of the node, bonuses and promotions during delegation, the minimum stake for entry and other indicators.

Importance of choosing a validator

All validators have the same base reward, which depends only on the network's general parameters. However, each validator offers different conditions for delegators. Therefore, analyze all the data, study the information about the validator to make a decision about delegation.

The basic remuneration for all validators is the same and depends only on the general parameters of the network. However, each validator offers its own conditions for delegators. Therefore, after carefully studying them, you can get additional benefits, such as a loyal validator fee, absence of fines from validators, permanent or one-time cashback, participation in promotions, and so on.

Poor-quality operation of the validator can lead to penalties for missed blocks (1% of the total stake) or double signature (5% of the total stake). This, in turn, will lead to losses of funds and burning of part of the delegated coins or the forced withdrawal of funds from delegation.

Therefore, there is a strategy of choosing several high-quality validators with favorable delegation conditions and distributing their stake among them.

List of validators

To find a list of all validators, go to the official website and select Explorer in the blockchain Tools.

On the browser page, in the top menu, select Blockchain, and then Validators.

Here you see the number of validators:

1. Validators online. The number of authorized validators that are online.

2. Free validator slots. Available slots for connecting validators.

3. Validators offline. The number of disconnected validators.

4. Candidates The number of authorized validators that are currently offline and not signing blockchain blocks.

Validator address

To delegate coins to the selected validator, you must specify his address in a special delegation form on your console. Click on the copy icon under the Name of the validator to whom you want to delegate your stake and enter the address in the appropriate field of the form delegation.

Information blocks

Below on the page, you will find the following blocks:

1. Validators

The block with online validators.

Validators / Candidates Tab

1) Name. The name of the validator and the public key can be copied by clicking on the button next to the address. If you send coins to this address (public key), they will be delegated.

2) Skipped blocks. The number of missed blocks that the validator did not sign. The reliability indicator is the number of penalties for skipped blocks previously imposed by the system on the validator.

3) Fee. The commission that is set once when creating a validator. The validator's fee is income from maintaining the network. The fee is set at the time of the candidate's application for validators and cannot be changed further. The validator deducts this commission from the rewards of the users who delegated their coins to the selected validator.

For example, if the fee is 6 %, then out of 100 coins that the blockchain pays you for the delegation transaction, you receive 94 coins (100 coins — 6 %).

4) Stake. The total number of coins that the validator has in delegation (own stake + delegator stakes).

5) Min. The minimum number of coins that can be delegated to the selected validator.

The minimum stake is not set by anyone. Each validator has a thousand slots available for stakes, the smallest of them is the minimum. When a person appears who wants to delegate a large amount with all the validator's steaks occupied, the new stake automatically displaces the minimum one, and the funds of the departing delegate immediately return to him to the active wallet address.

For example, if the validator has a minimum stake of 100 DEL, and you delegate 101 DEL, then the last delegating user who has 100 DEL stops being a delegator, and their coins are returned (in this case 100 DEL).

6) Slots. The number of occupied delegation slots. The maximum number of slots is 1000.

For example, if all 1000 slots are occupied, it is possible to "outbid" the minimum stake by delegating more coins than the smallest stake. Thus, the user with the smallest stake stops being a delegator, and their coins are returned.

7) Voting Power. The total stake displayed but rounded to show the weight of the validator when voting, which will be available in the DAO.

8) QR-code. Allows scanning the validator's public key to send funds to it for delegation.

9) Navigation field between pages.

2. Slashes

This block shows the penalties that validators and their delegators received. A penalty is the removal of coins from the total stake of delegators and the validator from 1 to 5% and their immediate burning.

1) Validator`s name. The name of the validator and the public key with a copy button.

2) Block number. The number of the block in which the validator was penalized.

3) Slash. The number of coins that the validator and delegators were penalized. The penalty is distributed among all participants (validator and delegators) in proportion to their stake.

3. Total slashes

This block shows the total sum of all penalties that the validator received over time.