Becoming a Validator
Orbinum's testnet validator set is permissioned: you run a node, register session keys on-chain, and the Orbinum team adds your account with a single sudo call. There is no bond, no stake, no nomination and no slashing.
What a validator does
Authors blocks. Aura assigns slots round-robin among the active set. Your node builds a block when its slot comes up, every 6 seconds.
Finalizes blocks. GRANDPA votes on chains rather than individual blocks. A block is final once more than two thirds of the set has voted for a chain containing it — roughly 12 seconds.
Relays private transactions. unshield and private_transfer arrive as
unsigned extrinsics with the fee sealed inside the ZK proof. Every active
validator is an implicit relayer; including one of these calls credits the fee to
your registered relay address. This is the only income a validator earns.
What entry is, and is not
Unlike most Substrate networks, the runtime has no pallet-staking at all:
| Concept | Orbinum testnet today |
|---|---|
| Entry | Off-chain evaluation, then one sudo validatorSet.addValidator(who) |
| Bond / stake | None. Session keys cost no deposit |
| Nomination | Not implemented — no pallet-staking in the runtime |
| Slashing | None. Equivocation reports cannot even be constructed |
| Election | None. The approved set is the active set |
| Set size cap | 32 validators |
| Exit | deregisterValidator() (yours) or removeValidator(who) (sudo) |
| Income | Relay fees from the shielded pool. Ordinary transaction fees are burned |
Approval is a human decision: no on-chain application, no queue — see How slots are assigned.
The five steps
Each one links to the page that covers it.
- Provision the server — dedicated CPU, an open P2P port, and an account with a little ORB.
- Run the node and generate session keys — Docker
Compose, sync, then
author_rotateKeysWithOwner, which returns the keys and their proof of possession. - Submit
session.setKeys— puts your Aura and GRANDPA keys on-chain, under your account. - Apply by email — the team reviews and calls
addValidator. - Register your relay address — after approval, so you earn from the blocks you author.
Timing
Nothing about a set change is instant. The two numbers that matter:
| Parameter | Value |
|---|---|
| Block time | 6 seconds |
| Session length | 600 blocks ≈ 1 hour |
| Set change takes effect | 2 session boundaries ≈ 2 hours |
What happens in that window: What happens next.