Running a FLOP validator: frequently asked questions
What does a validator do?
Three things:
- Build blocks from miners' proofs of inference, bundling proof hashes up to a 2 MB block size limit.
- Store and serve model weights in the data-availability layer, so sessions can be served.
- Govern the network by voting on FLOP Improvement Proposals.
How do I join?
Follow the validator setup guide. The current disposable devnet needs matching network/software, session keys, funded stake, administrator promotion and verification of active keys plus finality. Registration alone queues an account. Public release and independent operator admission still have tracked gaps. The ratified target is 1,000 validators; the source runtime authority bound remains 200.
How does rotation work?
Roughly every month the worst-performing 50 are replaced by the top 50 in waiting, on availability and uptime.
What do validators earn?
The active set shares 10% of block rewards plus 15% of inference fees, paid liquid on emission. Under the ratified protocol design, transaction fees and inference fees are not burned (the live devnet runtime burns 10% of tx fees interim pending runtime upgrade).
Auditing currently sits under the validator verification duties.
Can holders back a validator?
No. There is no delegated staking into validators or miners. The 1,200,000 $FLOP bond per seat is self-stake only. Holders can participate in the 5% duration-locked community staking pool.
What gets a validator slashed?
Publishing a dishonest block risks draconian slashing and a permanent ban.
Can I challenge a miner?
Yes — any active validator can dispute any session, not only sessions it was involved in. That is deliberate: it means a lazy or colluding paying agent cannot switch detection off. A discretionary challenger posts a 100 FLOP bond, forfeited if the dispute is frivolous.
How do I vote on changes?
On a FIP, the active set votes and in most cases two-thirds must approve before implementation begins. Through the first halving, only the FLOP Foundation may submit a FIP.
Status
Draft whitepaper. Live transaction-fee routing remains interim, and the audit-fee earmark is documented but not yet wired.