A Silvermint validator is an individual or organization of people operating machines running Silvermint node software and locking up Silvermint coins as stake. Validators are the pillars of the Silvermint network. Validators do the following:

• Support the decentralized Silvermint network
• Provide bandwidth to the network
• Perform the work of consensus by validating transactions and producing blocks
• Secure the network with stake
• Contribute to the governance of the protocol

Validators help make the Silvermint network fast, secure, and decentralized.

Being a Silvermint validator is an important and technical endeavor that can be very rewarding.

Some key reasons to be a Silvermint validator include:

• Validators support the Silvermint mission to unite people and technology to incentivize and deliver financial freedoms and opportunity for everyone.
• Validators earn rewards in SLVR coins for doing the work of validating transactions and producing blocks.
• Validators are part of the select community charged with contributing to the governance and operation of the Silvermint network.

Anyone can be a Silvermint validator. That being said, there are some considerations and limitations.

• Validators require funds for setting up a validator operation
• Validators need technical expertise for deploying and operating a Silvermint node. Failure to operate a node per protocol requirements can result in loss of stake.
• Validator slots on the Silvermint root shard are limited to 2,000.
• Validator slots are unique and specify where the node must be located. Ensuring geographic decentralization of nodes is an important factor in network performance and stability.

Prior to the launch of the Silvermint mainnet you should learn more about node operation and participate in testnet. See Documents for more details. You can also join the validator community.