Validator Node Licensing

ERC721 NFT License Key: To become a validator on the GAN Chain, one must acquire a License Key, represented as an ERC721 Non-Fungible Token (NFT). This NFT serves as a validator’s license, granting them the authority and responsibility to participate in network validation.
ERC6551 Compliance: The License Key is compliant with the ERC6551 standard, allowing it to function as a token-bound account. This feature enables the NFT to accumulate incentives directly, with the NFT itself acting as the signer for transactions.

Validator Registration: Validators register in the network by purchasing the License Key NFT.
State Root Determination: Validators are responsible for determining the correct state root of successor assertions in the network. This process is crucial for ensuring the accuracy and integrity of the blockchain’s state.
Claim Posting and Reward Mechanism: Validators post claims on assertions. Successful claims, verified by a designated contract, result in rewards being paid to the validators. The reward system is designed to incentivise validators to accurately determine and assert the next state root.

Reward Calculation: The rewards for validators depend on several factors, including their License Key ID, the correctness of their state root assertions, and a challenge value that is determined after the state root is fully established.
Token-Bound Incentives: The ERC1155 compliant nature of the License Key allows for a seamless accumulation of rewards within the validator’s wallet, streamlining the incentive distribution process.

Assertion Consistency: The GAN Chain protocol mandates that each assertion must precisely utilize the messages present when its predecessor assertion was created. This ensures consistency and predictability in the network’s operation.
Incentivized Accuracy: Validators are incentivized to accurately calculate the successor state root and verifying the compute capacity, as their rewards are directly tied to the correctness.