Instruction:How to choose a validator

How do I choose a validator?

More information in the article: DecimalChain Delegators

Сhoosing a validator is an important and timely question for any user in DecimalChain. In order to get the maximum benefit from staking, you need to take into account the validator's fee, the reliability of the node, bonuses and promotions during staking, the minimum stake for entry, and other indicators.

To become a network delegate, you need to take three steps — get DEL coins or other Decimal network coins, choose a validator, and bond your coins to the validator you chose.

The importance of choosing a validator

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

Poor performance of the validator can lead to penalties for errors in the form of missed blocks, node unavailability, and double signature. This, in turn, will lead to a loss of funds — burning part of the bonded funds or forcibly withdrawing funds from the staking.

Therefore, there is a strategy of choosing several high-quality nodes with favorable staking conditions and distributing your stake among them.

List of validators

Validator selection criteria

When choosing a validator, you need to consider the following criteria::

Reliability The reliability indicator is the number of warnings and penalties previously imposed by the system on the validator.

Validator strength (stake size) This is the validator's own funds and his motivation to work stably and not fall under penalties. These are also funds of the delegators who`ve chosen this validator. Therefore, the larger the node's stake, the more reliable it can be.

Minimum stake This indicator appears when the entire thousand slots (seats) of the validator have been filled. If the size of your stake is less than or close to the minimum validator stake, you need to choose a different node for staking. The minimum stake is not set by anyone. Each validator has a thousand stake slots available, the smallest of which is the minimum. When there is a person who wants to bond a large amount with all the validator's stakes occupied, the new stake automatically displaces the minimum one, and the funds of the departed delegator are immediately returned to his wallet.

Fee amount The validator's fee is another item of income from maintaining the network. The fee is set at the time of the candidate's application to the validators and cannot be changed further. The validator will deduct the specified fee from the delegator`s rewards.

Author: Renata Dimova