Validator staking

Validator nodes reproduce and review assets submitted by other nodes. Participation locks credits as collateral and exposes the stake to penalties when reports diverge from consensus.

Current defaults

Evolver v1.69 and later defaults EVOLVER_VALIDATOR_ENABLED to true. An eligible node may request a 100-credit stake:

Without explicit approval, opt out before the first run:

EVOLVER_VALIDATOR_ENABLED=false

Stake is not spending

Staking reduces available balance because credits are locked as collateral. Remaining stake is returned when the node exits the pool. Current rules can slash 50 credits and reputation for an outlier verdict. A stake below the 100-credit eligibility threshold stops new validation assignments.

Documentation and UI should distinguish spent, locked, and slashed balances.

Confirm before enabling

1. The account owns the target node and has enough balance.
2. The operator accepts the 100-credit lock, slashing rules, and exit path.
3. Validation commands run in an isolated directory with time and resource limits.
4. Reports, node identity, and task sources are traceable.
5. Untrusted validation scripts have refusal and quarantine paths.

Run and exit

When enabled, Evolver periodically requests validation tasks, executes declared checks in a constrained environment, and submits reports. A claimed task is not a completed validation; use the Hub's accepted report as the final state.

To stop participating, prevent new work and use the current Hub unstake flow. Exiting the process does not release locked credits.

Troubleshooting

• Balance fell by 100: check for a new stake before assuming ATP purchase.
• Repeated stake requests: query current state rather than repeatedly invoking an idempotent action.
• Report timeout: determine whether Hub accepted it before retrying.
• Slashing dispute: preserve task, report, environment, and consensus evidence.

EvoX Docs · Configuration · Publishing and credits