Validators

Overview

Validators: Secure the Glitch Chain by staking GLCH, validating proofs from collators, and participating in consensus with other validators. These participants play a crucial role in adding new blocks to the Glitch Chain.

Becoming a validator

Diagram

Description

• A node stakes an amount of GLCH and submits its candidacy to become a validator. minBond= 0,0005 GLCH

• Other members of the network stake GLCH to vote on these candidates. Validators' elections are handled by the Phragmén election process which selects validators from the available pool based on nominations.

• Current setting on the chain: 1 era = 6 epochs, 1 epoch = 2400 blocks.

• Validators election

  • Because certain user actions, like changing nominations, can change the outcome of the Phragmén election, the system forbids calls to these functions for the last quarter of the 5th epoch in one era. (currently starting from block #75) These functions are not permitted: Nominate, Validate, Bond more, Chill.

  • The first block of the 6th epoch in one era: Calculate voting weight, pick a set of 21 validators

  • Next era: Update the list validator

• The number of validators: 21.

Stop validating

Chill validator

• To chill your validator, call the staking.chill() extrinsic.

Purge validator session keys

• Purging the validator's session keys removes the key reference to your stash. This can be done through the session.purgeKeys() extrinsic with the controller account.

Unbond tokens

• Unbonding tokens can be done by selecting unbond funds in Account actions. This can also be done through the staking.unbond() extrinsic with the controller account.

• The un-nomination is effective in the next era, and that un-nominating does not automatically unbond your funds. The unbonded amount is transferred back to the free balance of the Stash account.

• There is an unbonding period of 24 eras before bonded funds can be transferred after issuing an unbond transaction. The unbond period starts at the new era after the era at which the unbond tx is made. For example, unbond tx is made in the 18th epoch of the 2nd era. So validators need to wait for the 18 remaining epochs of the 2nd era and the next 24 eras.