In Casper Network, there are 100 active validators currently, and it might be challenging to decide whom you may trust to delegate your CSPRs safely. To make this decision, you will need some research, of course, but a good choice will be paid off in more stable and correct reward payouts and smoother experience.
First of all, we want to assure you that whoever you choose, your stake will be safe in any case as validators don’t get access to your assets. You won’t lose anything in any case! When you delegate tokens, they are getting locked by the blockchain smart contract in order to be used in block validation according to the PoS mechanism. You still own your tokens and are free to undelegate at any given moment. The unstaking period in the Casper Network is ≈14 hours (7 eras) only, after which you get the possibility to transfer or sell coins if needed.
Compare Validators
You can compare active validating nodes on this page: https://cspr.live/validators
Or on alternative web pages: https://casperstats.io/validators, https://analytics.caspercommunity.io/validators
So what are the key points you care about when choosing your validator?
– Performance;
– Stake size;
– Fee;
Let’s take a closer look at each of those indicators.
Stake size
In the PoS algorithm, node operators with a bigger stake have a higher probability of being chosen to finalize a block, which means a higher chance of earning a block reward.
Performance
First of all, of course, 100% uptime means that the validator is very reliable. Second of all, the more time a node is online – the more profitable it is. Everstake uses high-performance enterprise-level servers in different locations, broadband channels, and advanced network topology, and that allows us to be always at the top among validators.
Check uptime here: https://cspr.live/validators
Fee
Every validator contributing to the network safety defines the commission rate (percentage of reward) they take for doing the job for you.
In the case of Everstake, the commission depends on the blockchain, but we always keep it reasonable. This commission is used for upkeeping the staking server infrastructure and maintaining the DevOps team. A small part of it is spent on the development of new apps and tools for the blockchains we work with to improve users’ everyday experience with blockchain technology.
It might be interesting to know that if a user is willing to delegate a large “bag” of tokens, some validators (like we at Everstake) will gladly propose special terms to those delegators (the cashback, individual support, financial reporting).
Depending on your preferences, the optimal choice of the perfect validator will vary, but those 3 points are the most important regardless of your needs.
Now let’s discuss other factors
Let’s start with being up-to-date with the network changes. The perfect validator should never miss or even be late with any network upgrades because that will result in the loss of rewards.
Pay attention to the company’s experience as a validator. How long have they been there at the market? Do they support other blockchains? The more experienced your validator is, the higher is the chance that they are handling everything correctly, and you will be in profit. A long time operating in the market is also a sign that the company is fair and honest – scammers usually don’t live longer than a few months.
Everstake has been serving you for more than 3 years already. Furthermore, we have 425K+ unique users who trust us. Up to date, we have ≈ $ 5,760,000,000+ in digital assets staked.
Self-stake should be as low as possible. The thing is, as validators, we must transfer some amount into our wallets for bidding. But it’s stored on the same server as the node’s private key, and hence, in terms of security, the self-stake should be kept low.
Everstake keeps 71,667 CSPR (0.01%) currently as a selfstake.
Again, your stake is completely safe since your tokens are “physically” still in your wallet!
You should also consider if the validator has presented contact information. It will mean that you will always know where to go for help in confusing situations. If the node is verified on cspr.live, it’s likely to be more transparent generally. And besides, wouldn’t you like to know more about the team behind the validator you trust?
Behind Everstake, for example, there is a team of experienced fintech experts and software engineers who ensure that the platform is completely secure and reliable. Scroll down our main page to see our “frontmen” and check out their background.
APY is usually approximately the same rate for all validators, but you should remember that the higher it is – the better.
With this article, we tried to cover the main points you need to know to make a choice of your validator. The final decision is on you!
After all, you can even stake with different validators at the same time for some asset diversification, not to put all eggs in one basket, as they say 🙂 This also helps decentralization of the stake and ensures network stability.
A bit more about Everstake
Everstake is one of the top world-recognized validators. It has one of the biggest total value staked out of staking providers, and accordingly, some of the largest amounts of rewards paid out to delegators. We are grateful to all our clients for trusting us – and promise to keep working hard for you. Your satisfaction will always be our priority.
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