Your node will earn Betanet SHM, but these will not have any value. That said, we will be keeping track of the addresses that helped out during Betanet. While we haven’t yet decided on Mainnet rewards for Betanet users, we’ll announce in due time if and when it is decided.
With GUI, you can start running a node with a few clicks of your mouse. Shardeum is one of the first L1 networks to enable user-friendly GUI feature for node validators
CLI is the primary interface used by the vast majority of blockchain networks. It is enabled for more advanced users and developers who intend to work with nodes more deeply and technically
During betanet the community can operate Validator nodes. After mainnet, the community can also operate Archiver nodes.
During the current betanet stage of the project, we estimated a rough config of: 32 core, 256GB RAM, 4TB SSD. Also, as mentioned in the whitepaper, archive nodes must stake a certain amount SHM coin to join the network as an archiver. Exact requirements and incentive for running an archiver will be determined closer to mainnet launch. So stay tuned to our official announcement regarding the same.
On the Shardeum network, node operation is open to everyone, including professional node service providers, whom you might choose for running your nodes. However, all validators, regardless of who operates them, are required to stake a certain amount of SHM as collateral. These validators are rewarded for their participation and can unstake their collateral once they complete their active validation cycle and are rotated out.
Also keep in mind that decentralization is maximized when many independent and anonymous validators contribute to the network. Shardeum encourages individuals to run their own validators and stake SHM. We’ve intentionally kept hardware and staking requirements accessible for average users, making it easier to participate in the consensus process. Our goal is to empower as many individuals as possible, fostering true decentralization and making Web3 universally accessible.
This decision will be part of the network protocols that nodes on the network will have to follow. We would further suggest you to take a look at our whitepaper for more details around this question.
As a validator on the network, specific protocols must be adhered to, including staking a minimum amount of coins and meeting the minimum hardware requirements. Once these criteria are met, the network ensures fair and unbiased selection of nodes for consensus and validation, without prioritizing or favoring any particular node
We will determine and announce the exact hardware and staking requirements when we approach the mainnet which is currently scheduled for Q1 of 2024. To get an approximate understanding of the requirements for running a node, you can refer to the details provided for our betanet, Sphinx, as outlined in the first question of this FAQ section.
Shardeum launched SHM tokenomics model and dashboard with a live demo on 19th April 2023 after a lengthy research. The dashboard will allow community/validators to run node reward simulations and calculate the node income on the website page here – https://shardeum.org/shm-tokenomics/. You can further report any bugs/request for new features as well on the website. It is important to note that Shardeum tokenomics has to be unique like the network itself since it scales linearly with the help of standby nodes concept.
This is an MVP of the SHM issuance policy which basically demonstrates how Shardeum Foundation/DAO (FDAO) will try and ensure there’s always an equilibrium level of SHM supply (less than the max supply), low GAS fees forever, and profitability for validators irrespective of the price and transaction action. Issuance policy will be refined with the help of community through the mainnet launch. We also encourage you to take a look at our whitepaper for more details.
