Staking & Rewards
Orbinum will secure mainnet with Nominated Proof-of-Stake (NPoS): validators produce blocks, ORB holders nominate the validators they trust, and both share the rewards. Consensus runs on Aura for block production and GRANDPA for finality.
This page describes the target model for mainnet. It is not what the network runs today.
The current testnet uses a permissioned validator set: candidates register with a 1,000 ORB bond and join only after governance approves them. There is no nomination and no slashing yet — the bond is always returned, whether the registration is approved, rejected, or withdrawn.
See Running a Node for how to become a validator today.
Participants
Validators
Validators run full nodes, produce blocks, and validate transactions. They are paid in ORB for the infrastructure and security they provide.
- Bond ORB of their own — under NPoS this stake is at risk, not just a deposit.
- Earn block rewards plus a share of transaction fees.
- Must register Aura and GRANDPA session keys before they can author blocks.
Nominators
ORB holders who do not want to run a node can back validators they trust.
- Share in the rewards of the validators they nominate.
- Are exposed to slashing if a validator they back misbehaves.
Nomination means the security of the network does not depend on how many people can run infrastructure — anyone holding ORB can contribute to it.
Reward Model
30% of total supply (300,000,000 ORB) funds staking rewards. The pool is not pre-allocated: it is emitted per block as the network is secured, entering circulation gradually over roughly ten years.
Issuance
Rewards are distributed per era and split according to:
- Era points — earned for producing blocks and performing validation duties.
- Total stake — the ORB backing each validator, own bond plus nominations.
A validator's payout is therefore a function of both performance and the stake backing it, and each nominator receives a proportional share.
Transaction fees
Fees are split between validators and the Treasury. This is what keeps the network economically viable after the staking pool is exhausted: block production stays profitable on fee revenue alone, and the Treasury keeps a funding source for ecosystem work.
The per-era issuance schedule for the 300M pool is still being finalised and will be published here once fixed.
Slashing & Security
Under NPoS, misbehaviour costs stake. Penalties will apply for:
- Equivocation — signing duplicate blocks or conflicting finality votes.
- Invalid block production — attempting an invalid state transition.
- Extended downtime — being offline long enough to harm liveness.
Slashed funds are removed from the validator and from the nominators backing it. That shared exposure is the point: it gives nominators a direct reason to research who they back, rather than chasing the highest advertised return.
Path to open validation
The permissioned set is a launch measure, not the destination. Opening it up is staged, so each step can be verified before the next:
| Stage | Who can validate | Nomination | Slashing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Today | Governance approves each candidate | — | — |
| Next | Governance approves; stake decides the active set | Yes | Yes |
| Then | Any candidate meeting objective requirements | Yes | Yes |
| Target | Fully open NPoS — stake alone decides | Yes | Yes |
The 1,000 ORB bond carries across: today it deters spam registrations, and under NPoS it becomes the validator's minimum self-stake — the capital they put at risk alongside their nominators.
Ready to participate? Running a Node covers hardware requirements and setup, and Node Operations covers day-to-day maintenance.
For how Orbinum reaches consensus and finality, see the Consensus Mechanism guide.