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Operate a validator node

On this page, you can find information about important operations you can perform on the nodes. Check the sidebar on your right to go to a specific section.

Change the owner address​

This guide will walk you through the process of changing the owner and signer address for your validator node.

  1. Access StakingNFT smart contract.

  2. Click on the Connect to Web3 button and login using the owner address of your validator node.

  3. You will see a list of functions appear. Click on safeTransferFrom function. This will be 5th function in the list. There will be 3 data fields that you will need to add information.

  4. Here:

    • from (address) is your current owner address
    • to (address) is your new owner Address
    • tokenId is your validator ID

  5. Fill in the relevant information and select Write. You will be prompted to sign a transaction. Ensure that you have sufficient ETH to make the transaction.

  6. Upon signing the transaction your validator NFT will be transferred to the new owner address.

  7. Log in to the staking dashboard with the new owner address to verify the changes.

Change the signer address​

This guide refers to your current validator node as Node 1 and your new validator node as Node 2.

  1. Log in to the staking dashboard with the Node 1 address.

  2. On your profile, select Edit Profile.

  3. In the Signer's address field, enter the Node 2 address.

  4. In the Signer's public key field, enter the Node 2 public key.

    To get the public key, run the following command on the validator node:

    heimdalld show-account

Selecting Save will save your new details for your node. This essentially means that Node 1 will be your address that controls the stake, where the rewards will be sent to, etc. And Node 2 will now be performing activities like signing blocks, signing checkpoints, etc.

"Limited spots for new validators"

There is limited space for accepting new validators. New validators can only join the active set when an already active validator unbonds.

Once your validator node is onboarded into the active set, do the following:

  • Log in to the staking dashboard with the owner address.
  • Go to my account, and click on edit details below the validator name.
  • Click on Profile Details and update your name, website, description, logo URL, and click on Save Profile Details.

Stake tokens​

Initial staking​

  1. Access the validator dashboard.
  2. Log in with your wallet. You can use a popular wallet such as MetaMask. Make sure you login using the owner address, and that you have BONE tokens in the wallet.
  3. Select Become a Validator. You will be asked to set up your node. If you haven't already set up your node by now, you will need to do so, else if you proceed ahead you will receive an error when you attempt to stake.
  4. On the next screen, add your validator details, the commission rate, and the staking amount.
  5. Select Stake Now.
  6. Now, you'll be prompted for three confirmations to send the transaction. Once complete, your BONE tokens will be added to the staked amount on the validator node. The three confirmations include:
    • Approve Transaction: This approves your stake transaction.
    • Stake: Confirms your stake transaction.
    • Save: Saves your validator details.
info

For the changes to take effect on the staking dashboard, it requires a minimum of 12 block confirmations.

Add stake​

  1. Access the validator dashboard.
  2. Log in with your wallet. You can use a popular wallet such as MetaMask. Make sure you login using the owner address, and that you have BONE tokens in the wallet.
  3. Select Add more Stake.
  4. Enter the amount, and select Add More Stake.
  5. Now, you'll be prompted for three confirmations to send the transaction. Once complete, your BONE tokens will be added to your staked amount on the validator node. The three confirmations include:
    • Approve Transaction: This approves your stake transaction.
    • Stake: Confirms your stake transaction.
    • Save: Saves your validator details.
info

For the changes to take effect on the staking dashboard, it requires a minimum of 12 block confirmations.

Set commission rate​

You can set up and change your commission as a validator.

A validator is entitled to charge any commission rate. The minimum commission would be 0% and the maximum commission would be 100% of the rewards earned.

You set up the commission rate as part of your initial validator staking process.

Changing your commission rate​

You are allowed to freely adjust the commission rate as and when necessary.

As a validator, it is one of your responsibilities to inform the community on commission changes. See Validator Responsibilities.

Follow the steps below to change your commission rate:

  1. With your owner address, login to the staking dashboard.
  2. On your profile, select Edit Profile.
  3. In the Commission field, enter your new commission rate.

Once you have confirmed and signed the transaction your commission rate will be set.

Note that once the commission is updated, there is a cool down period of 80 checkpoints.

Claim validator rewards​

Once you are set up and staked as a validator, you will earn rewards for performing validator duties. When you perform validator duties dutifully, you get rewarded.

To claim rewards you can go to your validator dashboard.

You will see two buttons on your profile:

  • Withdraw Reward
  • Restake Reward

Withdraw Reward​

As a validator, you earn rewards as long as you are performing your validator duties correctly.

Selecting Withdraw Reward will get your rewards back to your wallet.

The dashboard will update after 12 block confirmations.

Restake Reward​

Restaking your rewards is an easy way to increase your stake as a validator.

Selecting Restake Reward will restake your reward and increase your stake.

The dashboard will update after 12 block confirmations.

Common operations​

You can use the following commands to check if your validator node is set up correctly.

Check validator account​

Run the following command on your validator node to check if the account is set up correctly:

heimdalld show-account

The output should appear in the following format:

{
    "address": "0x6c468CF8c9879006E22EC4029696E005C2319C9D",
    "pub_key": "0x04b12d8b2f6e3d45a7ace12c4b2158f79b95e4c28ebe5ad54c439be9431d7fc9dc1164210bf6a5c3b8523528b931e772c86a307e8cff4b725e6b4a77d21417bf19"
}

This will display your address and public key for your validator node. Note that this address must match with your signer address on Ethereum.

Show private key​

Run the following command on your validator node to check if the private key configured correctly:

heimdalld show-privatekey

The output should appear in the following format:

{
    "priv_key": "0x********************************************************"
}

Check the balance​

To check the balance of your address, run the following command:

heimdallcli query auth account SIGNER_ADDRESS --chain-id CHAIN_ID

where,

  • SIGNER_ADDRESS: Your signer address.
  • CHAIN_ID: The Shibarium Shibarium chain ID with the client prefix: heimdall-109.

The following output should appear:

address: 0x6c468cf8c9879006e22ec4029696e005c2319c9d
coins:
- denom: BONE
amount:
    i: "1000000000000000000000"
accountnumber: 0
sequence: 0

This document provides instructions on how to top up the Heimdall fee for a PoS validator.

The easiest way is via the Shibarium Staking UI.

You can also do it manually by following the steps below. This requires basic Etherscan knowledge and key details like the validator signer address.

  1. Head over to Etherscan.io

  2. Enter the StakeManagerProxy contract address in the search box: 0x65218A41Fb92637254B4f8c97448d3dF343A3064

  3. Under the Code menu, select the Write as Proxy tab. Connect your Web3 wallet using the Connect to Web3 button.

  4. Scroll down to the topUpForFee method (#26 in the list) and select it. You will then see a display similar to the screenshot below..

  5. Fill in the details:

    • user: Validator's Signer Address
    • heimdallFee: Top-up fee (minimum 1 BONE)

  6. After filling in the details, select Write to sign the transaction.

Your Heimdall fee will be updated soon after the transaction completes.