Introduction
StaFi Chain has managed to attract 250 Validators within a year since its launch. This includes 160 official Validators and an additional 90 on the waiting list. We would like to express our deep appreciation to those who have supported and assisted us since our Sitara Incentive Testnet.
However, upon recent reflection on the situation of Stafi Validators, the StaFi Team identified several issues that require attention:
Some validators are running multiple nodes simultaneously, which poses significant decentralization and security challenges for the StaFi Chain.
There is a shortage of professional institutional Validators, which results in low visibility in the top renowned validators group.
The delegation of StaFi Foundation has not adequately achieved its goal of motivating Validators.
Only a few Validators have set up On-chain Identities.
The commission setting of some Validators who have been granted by the Foundation is too high.
As all StaFi rToken Apps continue to evolve, a range of complex smart contracts are being deployed on the StaFi Chain, increasing the demand for StaFi Chain Validators.
To address this demand, we are launching a StaFi Chain Validator recruitment plan, the StaFi Validator Eco-Building Program, which aims to attract institutional Validators to join us as StaFi Validators. The inclusion of institutional Validators will significantly improve the variety and professionalism of the Stafi Validator team, and StaFi will be better prepared for the Special Validator Plan.
Program Rules
The StaFi Foundation will optimize the current StaFi Chain verifier ecology through unsolicited invitations and community applications.
Unsolicited invitation: The StaFi Foundation will actively invite well-known institutional verifiers to the nodes that run the StaFi Chain (These institutional verifiers will generally have to meet the following two conditions:
- high visibility and
- important partners of the StaFi Ecosystem).
Community application: The StaFi Validator Eco-Building Program will also accept applications from the community, and any professional Validation Provider can apply.
The StaFi Foundation will make a comprehensive judgment based on the applications submitted and the contribution to StaFi rToken ecology. Applicants who have made significant contributions to the ecological development of StaFi will be given priority.
Any verifier who is voluntarily invited and approved by the community after a thorough investigation can be nominated by the Foundation to become a formal verifier.
However, the StaFi Foundation will disqualify said nomination if:
It is found that the validator is already running multiple StaFi Chain nodes, and at least one of them has been elected.
The number of nominations received by the verifier exceeds the maximum number of acceptable nominees (currently set to 256).
Foundation Nomination Rules
For Validators who pass the StaFi Validator Eco-Building Program, the StaFi Foundation will nominate them according to the following criteria:
Max Validator Commission
10%: Validators can set their commissions as they see fit, but delegations from the project will generally be reserved for validators with a commission of 10% or less.
Max Rank Cap: 30
The StaFi Foundation will generally not delegate to validators ranked 30 or higher (voting power). Overriding obligations or extraordinary contributions by validators will still enable additional delegations despite being in the top 30.
Concentration & Decentralization
The StaFi Foundation will generally not delegate to validators with >5% of the voting power. The StaFi Foundation will generally not delegate >500,000 FIS per validator.
Max Nomination Period: 2 months
The StaFi Foundation will review the performance of the Validators granted every quarter (2 months), including their reputation, Validation Performance, community contribution, and more.
The StaFi Validator Eco-Building Program aims to create a more diverse and professional team of validators for the StaFi Chain.
As the demand for validators increases with the deployment of more complex smart contracts, the program will actively recruit institutional validators to join the StaFi team.
There are two ways for validators to participate in the program: unsolicited invitations and community applications. The StaFi Foundation will proactively invite well-known institutional validators that meet certain conditions, such as high visibility and being important partners of StaFi Ecology.
The foundation will also accept applications from any professional Validation Provider and make a comprehensive judgment based on their contribution to the StaFi rToken ecology.
Validators who pass the program’s requirements will be nominated by the StaFi Foundation, and they will be subject to certain rules and criteria, including a maximum validator commission of 10%, a max rank cap of 30, a concentration and decentralization limit of >5% voting power and >500,000 FIS per validator, a maximum nomination period of 2 months, and a requirement for full on-chain identity.
Validators are also expected to actively contribute to the StaFi community, and community contributions will be an important factor in the foundation’s review of validator qualifications. If a validator is found to be unstable, double-signing, or attacking the StaFi network, the foundation will withdraw its nomination rights.
Overall, the StaFi Validator Eco-Building Program is an important step towards creating a more secure and decentralized StaFi Chain, and the foundation hopes to attract more institutional validators to join the team and contribute to the development of the ecosystem.
Apply here: https://forms.gle/GzEeF2Xjonat52EN6
Medium: https://medium.com/stafi/stafi-validator-eco-building-program-6d57883b7b45