Node Types
Overview
Valdium has two node types: validators and observers. Both run identical software. The difference is in their role in consensus.
Validator nodes
Validators participate in BFT consensus. They propose blocks, vote on other validators' proposals, and earn block rewards. To become a validator:
- Bond at least 1,000 VLD via the staking contract
- Run a node with your validator keypair configured
- Stay online — the liveness-aware committee automatically excludes validators that miss 30 consecutive blocks
There is no minimum hardware requirement beyond what's listed in Hardware Requirements. A Raspberry Pi 4 or a modern laptop is sufficient for the testnet.
Observer nodes
Observers sync the full chain history but do not participate in consensus or produce blocks. They're useful for:
- Running a local RPC endpoint for your dApp
- Indexing chain data for an explorer or analytics tool
- Auditing the chain independently
Observers do not need to bond VLD. Run one with valdium start --observer.
The committee
Valdium uses a liveness-aware committee. The active validator set is defined as all bonded validators who proposed at least one block in the last 30 blocks. If you go offline, you're removed from the committee automatically — no slashing. When you come back, you're added back automatically on your next proposal. No ceremony, no manual re-registration.
Consensus requires 2f+1 votes from the committee (where f is the maximum number of faulty validators). With 4 validators, any 3 can advance the chain. With 100, any 67 can.