Validator Rewards

Earn substantial rewards by running a Goliath Network validator node - daily USD-denominated payments for active consensus participation.

Testnet Validator Reward Values

The $500,000 annual budget and ~$100,000/year per validator figures shown below are testnet parameters used for network testing and validation. Mainnet validator economics will be announced separately.

Liquid staking is live on both mainnet (Onyx App) and testnet (Slingshot Yield).

What Are Validator Rewards?

Validator rewards are daily payments to node operators who run consensus nodes on the Goliath Network. This is the primary income stream for validators.

Key Facts (Testnet)

Aspect	Value	Notes
Annual Budget	$500,000 USD	Total for all validators (testnet)
Per Validator	~$100,000/year	With 5 active validators (testnet)
Daily Payment	~$273.97/day	Per active validator (testnet)
Payment Time	UTC Midnight	Automatic, every 24 hours
Requirement	>10% Participation	Must participate in consensus

Reminder: All values above are testnet configuration. Mainnet values TBD.

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How Validator Rewards Work

Reward Flow

+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
|                     VALIDATOR REWARD FLOW                              |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+

     Validator Reward Fund                   Active Validators
     =====================                   =================

+------------------------+          +----------------------------------+
|                        |          |  Validator 0: +$273.97/day       |
|  Fund Balance:         |          |  Validator 1: +$273.97/day       |
|  ~100M XCN             |  ======> |  Validator 2: +$273.97/day       |
|                        |          |  Validator 3: +$273.97/day       |
|  Daily Distribution:   |          |  Validator 4: +$273.97/day       |
|  $1,369.86 total       |          |                                  |
|  (testnet config)      |          |  Total: $1,369.86/day            |
|                        |          |         (testnet config)         |
+------------------------+          +----------------------------------+

Distribution happens automatically at 00:00:00 UTC every day

Distribution Process

1. Daily at UTC Midnight - System calculates rewards

2. Check Active Status - Only validators with >10% consensus participation qualify

3. Equal Distribution - Budget divided equally among active validators

4. Automatic Transfer - XCN sent directly to validator accounts

5. USD Conversion - Amount calculated in USD, converted to XCN at current rate

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Reward Formula

Daily Reward (USD) = Annual Budget / 365 / Number of Active Validators

Current Testnet Example:
  Daily Reward = $500,000 / 365 / 5 validators
               = $273.97 per validator per day
               = $100,000 per validator per year (testnet)

XCN Conversion

The USD amount is converted to XCN using the network exchange rate:

Daily Reward (XCN) = Daily Reward (USD) / XCN_USD_Price

Example at $0.00108/XCN:
  Daily Reward = $273.97 / $0.00108
               = 253,676 XCN per day

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USD-Denominated Stability

Validator rewards are calculated in USD, not XCN. This means:

XCN Price Change	USD Reward	XCN Amount
Price doubles	$273.97/day (same)	Half as many tokens
Price halves	$273.97/day (same)	Twice as many tokens
Price unchanged	$273.97/day (same)	Same tokens

Benefits:

• Stable income regardless of market volatility

• Predictable revenue for business planning

• Fair compensation that maintains real-world value

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Requirements to Earn Validator Rewards

1. Run a Consensus Node

Your node must meet minimum hardware specifications:

• 24 cores / 48 threads CPU

• 256 GB DDR4 ECC RAM (mandatory ECC)

• 5 TB NVMe storage

• 1 Gbps dedicated network

• Bare metal hosting (no VPS)

2. Stay Active

Your node must participate in at least 10% of consensus rounds during each staking period. This means:

• Node must be online and synced

• Node must create consensus events (judges)

• Brief downtime is tolerated, extended outages disqualify

3. Enable Rewards

By default, new nodes have rewards disabled (decline_reward = true). You must:

• Submit a configuration update to enable rewards

• This is typically done during onboarding

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Profitability Analysis (Testnet Example)

TESTNET VALUES - For illustration only. Mainnet economics will differ.

+============================================================================+
|                    VALIDATOR PROFITABILITY ANALYSIS                        |
|                        (Goliath Testnet Example)                           |
+============================================================================+
|                                                                            |
| REVENUE (Annual) - TESTNET:                                                |
|   Validator Rewards:      $100,000/year  (if node stays active)            |
|   Staking Rewards:        ~$216/year     (on 1M XCN at 20% APY)           |
|   --------------------------------------                                   |
|   TOTAL REVENUE:          ~$100,216/year                                   |
|                                                                            |
| COSTS (Annual):                                                            |
|   Bare Metal Server:      $3,600-7,200/year  ($300-600/month)              |
|   Bandwidth:              Included or ~$1,200/year                         |
|   Monitoring:             ~$600-2,400/year                                 |
|   Operations/On-call:     Varies                                           |
|   --------------------------------------                                   |
|   ESTIMATED COSTS:        $5,000-12,000/year                               |
|                                                                            |
| ========================================================================== |
| ESTIMATED NET PROFIT:     $88,000 - $95,000/year (TESTNET VALUES)          |
| ========================================================================== |
|                                                                            |
+============================================================================+

Server Cost Reference

Provider	Configuration	Monthly Cost
Hetzner AX162	32 cores, 256GB RAM, 2x 3.84TB NVMe	~$300
OVH HG-1	24 cores, 256GB RAM, 4x 1.92TB NVMe	~$500
Equinix Metal m3.large	24 cores, 256GB RAM, 2x 3.8TB NVMe	~$2,500

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Validator Rewards vs Staking Rewards

Validators earn BOTH reward types:

Reward Type	Source	Amount (Testnet)
Validator Rewards	Validator Reward Fund	~$100,000/year
Staking Rewards	Staking Reward Fund	~20% APY on staked XCN

By staking XCN to your own node, you earn staking rewards in addition to validator rewards.

Total Validator Income = Validator Rewards + Staking Rewards (on self-stake)

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Reward Distribution History

Recent distributions on Goliath Testnet:

Date (UTC)	Config	Per Validator	Total	USD Equivalent
2026-02-05	$500K/year	252,742 XCN	1,263,711 XCN	$1,369.86
2026-02-04	$25K/year	571 XCN	2,854 XCN	$68.49

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Monitoring Your Rewards

Validator Dashboard

Track your validator rewards on the Validator Dashboard:

1. Account Page - View your validator account balance and transactions

2. Transactions Tab - See daily reward distributions from the Validator Reward Fund

3. Validators Page - Monitor your node's status and participation

API Access

Query validator information via the Mirror Node API:

GET /api/v1/network/nodes

Returns validator status, stake, and reward configuration.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Q: How do I become a validator?

A: Validator onboarding is currently limited during the testnet phase. See Running a Validator for requirements and updates on open registration.

Q: What if my node goes offline?

A: If your node's consensus participation drops below 10%, you won't receive rewards for that period. There's no slashing - you just miss the reward. Get back online to resume earning.

Q: Are validator rewards guaranteed?

A: Rewards are paid as long as:

• The Validator Reward Fund has balance

• Your node maintains >10% consensus participation

• You haven't disabled rewards (decline_reward = false)

Q: Can I run multiple validators?

A: Each validator requires a separate node setup. If you operate multiple nodes, each earns rewards independently.

Q: When will mainnet values be announced?

A: Mainnet economics will be finalized and announced before mainnet launch. Current testnet values are for testing purposes only.

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Related Documentation

• Rewards Overview - Compare staking vs validator rewards

• Slingshot Yield - Primary staking experience for XCN holders

• Running a Validator - Complete validator setup guide

• Validator Dashboard - Monitor your node and rewards