Validator

Validators, much like miners in a Proof-of-Work(PoW) network, are network nodes that operate in Proof of Stake (PoS) blockchains, also validating transaction blocks to the blockchain.

Validators are generally picked at random, based on the amount of cryptocurrency they are willing to stake or lock up in a smart contract, to win the rights to validation.

This is different than the competition-style mechanism like Proof-of-Work (PoW)

As transactions occur, validators batch individual transactions into a block and then verify it.

The number of transactions per block is designated by each blockchain’s rules, and each blockchain decides how many other validators are needed to agree to the valid transactions before the block is closed.

But once the block has been completed, the validators process the block and permanently add the new record to the blockchain.

Validators can lose some or all of their stake if they validate bad data.

For their work, validators are paid transaction fees by the sender of the transaction.

Related Terms

Genesis Block

The very first block or first few blocks recorded on a blockchain or blockchain-based protocol. The genesis block is often called Block 0 or Block 1. The genesis block sets the foundation for the rest of the blocks that are added to form a chain of blocks. That’s where we get the word “blockchain”. The most famous genesis block, and the very first Bitcoin block, called the Genesis Block, was created on January 3rd, 2009, by Bitcoin’s infamous and mysterious creator, Satoshi Nakamoto. Some consider this date to be the start of the cryptocurrency revolution – the start of it all!

Solana (SOL)

Solana is a decentralized blockchain platform similar to Ethereum, that is built with a hybrid consensus protocol that includes both delegated proof-of-stake (DPoS) and proof-of-history (PoH) and offers smart contract capabilities.

Bitcoin (BTC)

Bitcoin (BTC) is most well known as a digital decentralized cryptocurrency, without a central bank or single administrator, that can be sent from user to user on the peer-to-peer Bitcoin network without the need for intermediaries, such as payment gateways or banks or routing services. Think of bitcoin as Internet money, that you can send and receive directly, to and from anyone, and you can use it to pay for stuff.

Network Fee

A fee you pay to a blockchain network for transferring a digital asset on that network. The fees go to the miners or validators of that blockchain network who win the right or are chosen by the validation mechanism to ultimately confirm your transactions and add to the blockchain.

Blockchain

Blockchain networks are at the heart of cryptocurrencies. A blockchain is a database, or digital ledger, made up of a series of interconnected blocks containing transaction data created on the network over some period of time. Each block in a blockchain also contains a unique identifier unlike any other block in the chain called a hash. Think of the hash as a fingerprint identifying that block for all other blocks. Distributed ledger technology (DLT) is another name frequently used in relation to blockchains.