Differences Between Validator and Delegator
The core distinctions between validators and delegators are outlined below:
| Validator | Delegator | |
|---|---|---|
| Responsibilities | Actively run a node, validate transactions, and participate in securing the Beam Network. | Stake tokens to a validator to participate in network security indirectly. The validator doesn’t have custody of the tokens and they can be unstaked at any time. |
| Stake Requirement | Minimum stake of 20,000 BEAM and 1 Node Token (ERC-721). | Minimum stake of 1 BEAM token and/or 1 Node Token. |
| Infrastructure | Must maintain 80%+ uptime to avoid slashing, achievable through services like NaaS (Node-as-a-Service), VPS, or dedicated hardware (meeting system requirements). | No infrastructure responsibilities. |
| Rewards Distribution | Receive rewards directly for validation efforts. Validators can set their own commission rates for sharing rewards with delegators. | Receive rewards indirectly as a share of the validator’s earned rewards after commission. |