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For the complete documentation index, see llms.txt. This page is also available as Markdown.

Validating

Becoming a validator comes with extra responsibility compared to running a non-validating full node. Your node becomes an authority for producing blocks and a signatory for the Bitcoin held in the bridge.

1. Acquiring nBTC and staking for voting power

First, find your address by running nomic balance (for now this must be run on the same machine as your active full node). You'll need to fund this Nomic account with nBTC.

You can declare your node as a validator and delegate to yourself with this command:

nomic declare \
  <validator_consensus_key> \
  <amount> \
  <commission_rate> \
  <max_commission_rate> \
  <max_commission_rate_change_per_day> \
  <min_self_delegation> \
  <moniker> \
  <website> \
  <identity> \
  <details>

If you do not have NOM, you can deposit BTC and set amount to 0 for 100 satoshis of nBTC.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Carefully double-check all the fields since you will not be able to modify the commission_max or commission_max_change after declaring. If you make a mistake, you will have to declare a new validator instead.

  • The validator_consensus_key field is the base64 pubkey value field found under "validator_info" in the output of http://localhost:26657/status.

  • The identity field is the 64-bit hex key suffix found on your Keybase profile, used to get your profile picture in wallets and block explorers.

For example:

2. Run your Bitcoin signer

Validating on Nomic means you partake in the Bitcoin signing process of the funds in the Bitcoin decentralized custody. It is very important that you run a signer.

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