Fantom Reduces Validator Requirement to 50k FTM, Prioritizes Decentralization
Fantom Network has announced a 90% reduction in validator requirements, taking the assets needed to run a self-staking node to 50,000 FTM from 500,000 FTM.
The company wrote on X (formerly Twitter) about the new developments, informing its community of changes, reasons, and the consensus mechanism operations in the network.
1/ Based on a governance vote, we recently reduced the validator self-stake requirement from 500k to 50k FTM, making it more accessible than ever to run a #Fantom validator.
But we've been asked:
"How does an increase in validators impact Fantom?"Well, let's find out 🧵 pic.twitter.com/H8AfnT5Itv
— Fantom Foundation (@FantomFDN) January 15, 2024
The move makes it more accessible to run a Fantom node as the company stresses decentralization and the positive impact it would have on the overall network.
According to the post, Fantom stands to gain from cutting down the requirements for node operators and the extensive decentralized ecosystem, citing reasons such as preventing malicious attacks.
Several blockchain projects have pushed forward their decentralized mechanisms. Still, apart from engaging the community and going away from the standards of centralized finance, the decentralized mechanism protects platforms from hackers while settling transactions.
“Firstly, it’s important to know that a key priority for any decentralized network is to increase the number of validators running the network. By having more validators, a network makes it increasingly challenging for malicious actors to launch an attack.”
Fantom Network differs from Ethereum because, in the former, validators confirm and bundle transactions before sending them to others to agree. With more validators, transactions will reach validators faster on the network as opposed to slight concerns on slow and clustered systems.
Fantom Network Quells Concerns
Per the statement, the platform is positioning itself for the future of decentralized networks without a few validators controlling what happens on the system. In recent times, decentralized applications and blockchains have been criticized for not living up to the ideals of decentralized finance (DeFi).
A major reason for this is the cost of staking and becoming a validator placing the bulk of nodes in the the hands of centralized players.
👀 Vitalik Buterin Blames Rising Transaction Fees for Web3’s Drift from Decentralization
In a blog post titled “Make Ethereum Cypherpunk Again,” $ETH co-founder shows concern about the veering trajectory of Web3 from its original vision.#CryptoNewshttps://t.co/mA7fXvMs9W
— Cryptonews.com (@cryptonews) December 29, 2023
Since existing validators will still be in the majority, new ones can join the system and grow to become an essential part of the network.
The platform projects large validators to control 2/3 of the network in coming months handling more transactions to ensure stability in order to quell fears of a disruption.
There are also concerns about a downgrade in the process of onboarding new validators which the company dismissed adding that there would be no downgrade in performance with the new development.
“A validator’s power to confirm TXs is proportional to their stake amount and not the number of validators a given person runs. For example, a validator with 1 million FTM staked would have the same power as twenty smaller validators, each with 50k FTM staked,” the platform added.
At press time, FTM trades at $0.40 marking a 2% increase in the last 24 hours. This means that the cost of becoming a validator has been reduced to approximately $25,000.
