2.1 Validator Requirements

On Spicenet, validators are broadly classified into two categories:

1. Non-voting validators

2. Voting validators

Non-voting Validators

Non-voting validators on Spicenet are more akin to full nodes. They:

• Cannot participate in network discourse, such as voting

• Cannot challenge state or generate fraud proofs

• Still have stake in the network and can be attributed for malicious behavior

• Come under a hierarchy below voting validators

• Garner lower rewards compared to voting validators due to their limited participation

Hardware Requirements for Non-voting Validators:

Minimum:

• 16GB RAM

• 8 Core CPU (no custom features required as of now)

• 500GB Storage

• Bandwidth: 500Mbps sustained bandwidth

Recommended:

• 32GB RAM

• 16 Core CPU (no custom features required as of now)

• 2TB Storage

• Bandwidth: 1Gbps sustained bandwidth

Stake Requirements: TBD (But will be subsidised by the Spicenet Foundation for initial validators)

No GPU is required as Spicenet is not optimised for GPU yet. The only process that may require a GPU for faster throughput is a prover, which is not available for non-voting validators.

Voting Validators

Voting validators on Spicenet are more akin to full validators. They:

• Can participate in active network discourse, such as voting

• Can challenge state and generate fraud proofs

• Have stake in the network and can be attributed for malicious behavior

• Come under a hierarchy above non-voting validators

• Have a specialised proving process attached to their software, allowing them to generate proofs of invalidity (fraud proofs)

• Garner higher block rewards for their increased participation in the network

Hardware Requirements for Voting Validators:

Minimum:

• 32GB RAM

• 16 Core CPU (no custom features required as of now)

• 1TB Storage

• Bandwidth: 500Mbps sustained bandwidth

Recommended:

• 64GB RAM

• 32 Core CPU (with preferably a higher clock rate, or a higher core CPU with a moderate clock rate, such as a 2x24 Core CPU)

• 2TB Storage

• Bandwidth: 1Gbps sustained bandwidth

• (Optional) GPU for running prover processes within the zkVM: recommended Nvidia 4070 (minimum) or 4080

Stake Requirements: TBD (But will be subsidized by the Spicenet Foundation for initial validators)