Shardeum has POQ + POS, and validators have to self-stake some amount of SHM. Delegators can choose one of these validators to delegate their funds and lock to contribute to the protocol security and get staking rewards. Would this capital be unlocked to use at other places?

Delegating SHM to a validator means you trust that validator will not misbehave and lose your stake. But this means the validator has to tell the world who they are and why you should trust them. Decentralization is maximized when many independent and anonymous validators contribute to the network. So it is preferred to have each validator stake their own SHM. There is also the contention that the stake amount needs to be high enough to discourage misbehavior, but not so high that it makes it challenging to participate. This amount may need to be something that is adjusted over time. In a nutshell though, the staking amount would be reasonable enough for average users to run a validator node on Shardeum while at the same time reasonable enough to prevent/minimize bot attacks.

Validators

Table of Contents

What are the requirements to run a node on betanet?
What is the reward I will get by running an honest node on betanet?
How do GUI and CLI features help me in operating a node?
Can I operate archive nodes on betanet?
What would be the requirement and incentive to run an archive node?
Shardeum has POQ + POS, and validators have to stake some amount of SHM. Suppose, delegators can choose one of these validators to delegate and lock their funds to contribute to the protocol security in return for staking rewards, would this capital be allowed to be used at other places to farm high yields for instance?
I understand that the standby nodes would become active when there is a traffic spike or when active nodes go offline. Will there be a penalty for going offline?
Does the network give any priorities for selecting validator nodes?
What are the hardware requirements to run a node on Shardeum mainnet?
What is the node reward/issuance policy on Shardeum?

What are the requirements to run a node on betanet? #

250 GB SSD storage
Quad core CPU less than 10 years old if self hosting
Dual core CPU works if hosted with newer Xeons / EPYC
16 GB of ram, 4+ GB of virtual memory recommended
Hosting: 8 GB RAM + 8 GB Virtual Memory

What is the reward I will get by running an honest node on betanet? #

Your node will earn Betanet SHM, but these will not have any value. That said, we will be keeping track of the addresses that helped out during Betanet. While we haven’t yet decided on Mainnet rewards for Betanet users, we’ll announce in due time if and when it is decided.

How do GUI and CLI features help me in operating a node? #

With GUI, you can start running a node with a few clicks of your mouse. Shardeum is one of the first L1 networks to enable user-friendly GUI feature for node validators

CLI is the primary interface used by the vast majority of blockchain networks. It is enabled for more advanced users and developers who intend to work with nodes more deeply and technically

Can I operate archive nodes on betanet? #

During betanet the community can operate Validator nodes. After mainnet, the community can also operate Archiver nodes.

What would be the requirement and incentive to run an archive node? #

During the current betanet stage of the project, we estimated a rough config of: 32 core, 256GB RAM, 4TB SSD. Also, as mentioned in the whitepaper, archive nodes must stake a certain amount SHM coin to join the network as an archiver. Exact requirements and incentive for running an archiver will be determined closer to mainnet launch. So stay tuned to our official announcement regarding the same.

Shardeum has POQ + POS, and validators have to stake some amount of SHM. Suppose, delegators can choose one of these validators to delegate and lock their funds to contribute to the protocol security in return for staking rewards, would this capital be allowed to be used at other places to farm high yields for instance? #

On the Shardeum network, node operation is open to everyone, including professional node service providers, whom you might choose for running your nodes. However, all validators, regardless of who operates them, are required to stake a certain amount of SHM as collateral. These validators are rewarded for their participation and can unstake their collateral once they complete their active validation cycle and are rotated out.

Also keep in mind that decentralization is maximized when many independent and anonymous validators contribute to the network. Shardeum encourages individuals to run their own validators and stake SHM. We’ve intentionally kept hardware and staking requirements accessible for average users, making it easier to participate in the consensus process. Our goal is to empower as many individuals as possible, fostering true decentralization and making Web3 universally accessible.

I understand that the standby nodes would become active when there is a traffic spike or when active nodes go offline. Will there be a penalty for going offline? #

This decision will be part of the network protocols that nodes on the network will have to follow. We would further suggest you to take a look at our whitepaper for more details around this question.

Does the network give any priorities for selecting validator nodes? #

As a validator on the network, specific protocols must be adhered to, including staking a minimum amount of coins and meeting the minimum hardware requirements. Once these criteria are met, the network ensures fair and unbiased selection of nodes for consensus and validation, without prioritizing or favoring any particular node

What are the hardware requirements to run a node on Shardeum mainnet? #

We will determine and announce the exact hardware and staking requirements when we approach the mainnet which is currently scheduled for Q1 of 2024. To get an approximate understanding of the requirements for running a node, you can refer to the details provided for our betanet, Sphinx, as outlined in the first question of this FAQ section.

What is the node reward/issuance policy on Shardeum? #

Shardeum launched SHM tokenomics model and dashboard with a live demo on 19th April 2023 after a lengthy research. The dashboard will allow community/validators to run node reward simulations and calculate the node income on the website page here – https://shardeum.org/shm-tokenomics/. You can further report any bugs/request for new features as well on the website. It is important to note that Shardeum tokenomics has to be unique like the network itself since it scales linearly with the help of standby nodes concept.

This is an MVP of the SHM issuance policy which basically demonstrates how Shardeum Foundation/DAO (FDAO) will try and ensure there’s always an equilibrium level of SHM supply (less than the max supply), low GAS fees forever, and profitability for validators irrespective of the price and transaction action. Issuance policy will be refined with the help of community through the mainnet launch. We also encourage you to take a look at our whitepaper for more details.

FAQ