Validators play an essential role in the Dock Network by processing and finalizing blocks to secure and maintain the network. Anyone who can fulfill the technical requirements and stake enough tokens, either themselves or with the help of nominators, can participate as a validator.
The Dock network uses the Nominated Proof of Stake algorithm, which automatically selects up to 50 validators to participate concurrently based on the amount of Dock staked. Token holders can back validators by staking additional tokens to help validators be selected to participate in each era, which is 12 hours on the Dock network.
Validators are rewarded for their participation in supporting the Dock network by receiving emission rewards. Circa 150M Dock tokens are dedicated to emission rewards which will be released over 25 years based on the token schedule below. The emission rewards are divided between validators, nominators who have staked tokens for the validators, and the Dock Treasury.
The network uses slashing to hold validators accountable for being offline or for malicious behavior. Slashing is the act of removing a portion or all of the Dock tokens that are staked while a validator is validating the network. This affects both the Dock tokens staked by the validator and their nominators. The slash penalty varies depending on the type of activity being punished and how many validators misbehaved.
