Validator
Participant in PoS network proposing and verifying blocks — instead of miners.
A validator is an entity in a Proof-of-Stake blockchain network that proposes new blocks, verifies transactions and participates in consensus — analogous to a miner in Proof-of-Work, but without energy-intensive computation.
How to become a validator:
•Ethereum: requires 32 ETH, running validator software (staking node)
•Solana: minimum 0.02 SOL + delegator support
•Cosmos: competitive — top 150 validators earn rewards
Validator duties:
•Attestation — confirming blocks proposed by another validator
•Block proposal — randomly selected validator proposes a block
•Sync committee — special duty for specific validators
Slashing:
•Penalty for dishonest behavior
•Double signing — signing two conflicting blocks
•Downtime — validator offline too long
•Ethereum: slashing can cause loss of up to entire stake
Without 32 ETH:
•Staking pool (Lido, Rocket Pool) — delegate capital to validator
•Binance/OKX staking — centralized alternative