For validators & staking partners

Stake the network that verifies identity by consensus

VirtEngine validators do double duty: they secure the chain and operate the VEID Network. Delegators and staking partners share the rewards — and the responsibilities.

Validator documentation Mainnet posture

A padlock and key — bonded stake under slash conditions. — Bonded stake under real slash conditions.

How it fits

Delegated proof of stake, with an identity twist

fig 01 — stake, duties, rewards, and slashing

Economics

Role overview — detail lives elsewhere

This page routes; it does not reproduce tokenomics. Supply, issuance and rewards detail lives in the canonical guides.

Stake
├ Validator
│  ├ consensus
│  ├ VEID duties
│  └ operational risk
└ Delegator
   ├ select validator
   ├ governance
   └ slashing exposure

Validator duties

Three jobs, one bonded stake

Consensus

Propose and validate blocks under CometBFT. Bonded stake weights voting power; uptime and correctness earn block rewards.

Identity network

Uniquely to VirtEngine, validators can participate in the VEID Network: scoring eligible encrypted identity scopes with shared models and committing trust results by consensus. VEID is decentralised protocol infrastructure, not a Foundation-operated verification service.

Governance

Vote on parameter changes, upgrades, and configuration — including the approved-client list that controls which interfaces may submit identity data.

Requirements

Running a validator

Reliable server infrastructure with high uptime — validator rewards and standing depend on availability.
Secure key management: consensus keys plus the validator encryption keys used for VEID identity scoring.
Capacity to run the identity-network duties (ML scoring of encrypted identity scopes) alongside consensus.
Self-bonded stake, and the operational maturity to attract and retain delegations.
Participation in governance and upgrade coordination with the rest of the validator set.

Delegation

Staking without running hardware

Token holders and staking-as-a-service partners can secure the network by delegating to validators they trust.

Delegators

Delegate stake to one or more validators and earn a share of their rewards, net of commission. Your tokens stay in your control — delegation grants voting weight, not custody. Spreading stake across smaller validators strengthens the network's Nakamoto coefficient.

Staking partners

Staking services can operate validators or aggregate delegations for their clients. The delegation module (x/delegation) manages the full lifecycle on-chain. Partners should surface slashing risk and the 21-day unbonding period to their customers plainly.

Risk

Slashing, stated plainly

Staking is not risk-free. Bonded stake — including delegated stake — can be slashed for validator misbehavior such as double-signing or extended downtime. During the 21-day unbonding period your tokens earn no rewards and remain slashable for offenses committed while bonded. The tokenomics framework models slashing penalties explicitly (basis-point penalties in the economic security audit); choose validators on operational quality, not just commission.

Network launch

TestNet before MainNet

Public TestNet — planned january 2027; MainNet — planned march 2027, subject to approval. See the network page for posture, criteria and release materials (last updated 17 Sep 2026).

Network status & genesis Validator onboarding docs

Go deeper

Core

Explore implementation

Understand

Service types

Participate

Supply infrastructure

Use infrastructure

Build & secure

Start here

Go deeper

Reference

Foundation