Chain 3961 · validator programme

Become a Ferminux validator

Run a full Ferminux node on a Windows PC or a Linux server, check every block, and sign a checkpoint about every 23 minutes. As planned, each seat will be a 2,000 FMX deposit and earn about 1.5 FMX a day while it is online.

Join the waitlistHow blocks are confirmed
In development

Not available yet — join the waitlist. There is no deposit contract yet, so no FMX can be deposited for a seat today. Anyone who asks you to send FMX for a validator seat before this page publishes the contract address is not us.

Deposit per seat
2,000 FMX
When online
≈1.5 FMX a day
Checkpoint
every ≈23 min
Waitlist
—

Planned terms for the first step, tested on the public test network before anything goes live. The waitlist figure is live.

What a validator does

Ferminux uses Clique proof-of-authority: a set of authorised signers (read live on the consensus page) confirms a block every 7 seconds. The foundation operates the signer set today, and an open validator programme is being built. This page is that programme.

In the first step, a validator node:

  • runs a full Ferminux node on Windows 10/11 or Linux, with its own copy of the chain;
  • checks every block as it arrives;
  • about every 23 minutes (every 200 blocks) signs a checkpoint: a short statement naming the block it sees at that height.

Checkpoints are recorded on-chain. When two-thirds of the eligible validator seats sign the same block, the explorer marks that checkpoint as certified: public proof that nobody rewrote the history before it.

What it does not do yet

  • Step 1 validators do not produce blocks. The authorised signers still confirm every block. Community block-signing seats come in step 2, as a separately announced network upgrade.
  • This is not proof of stake. Ferminux stays proof-of-authority. The deposit makes a seat accountable for what its key signs; it does not decide who confirms blocks.
  • Validators cannot stop the signers, and the signers could leave checkpoints out of blocks. The on-chain record is what would show it.

What you need

Deposit
2,000 FMX per seat. Each seat has its own key; for more seats, deposit 2,000 FMX for each.
Computer
A PC or a server that stays on, running Windows 10, Windows 11 or Linux.
Hardware
2 CPU cores, 2 GB of RAM, 5 GB of SSD space.
Network
An ordinary internet connection. No open port is needed: the node only makes outgoing connections.
Your wallet
The address that owns the seat stays in your wallet. It never has to be on the validator computer.

Rewards

About 1.5 FMX a day for a seat that is online all day: 0.025 FMX for each checkpoint signed on time, about 62 checkpoints a day. A PC that sleeps 8 hours a night earns about 1 FMX a day.

Rewards come from the network reward pool, which already receives half of every block reward. No new FMX is created for validators. If the pool is empty, seats earn nothing until it refills.

Rewards are paid in FMX and carry no promise of any value. FMX trades in a very small market today.

Rules and risks

  • Downtime never costs your deposit. Being offline only costs the rewards you miss. A seat that is offline for about 2 days (below half of its checkpoints) is paused, and you resume it with one click after a 24-hour wait.
  • Run each key on one machine. A key running on two machines at once can sign two different blocks for the same checkpoint, and that costs 10% of the deposit (200 FMX). The validator app refuses to start a key that is already running.
  • Leaving takes 14 days. Rewards stop when you ask to leave; after the 14-day unbonding period you withdraw the 2,000 FMX, minus any penalty.
  • Seats are limited: 100 at launch, and at most 10 new seats start each day.
  • The foundation holds most of the FMX supply today, so many early deposits will use FMX the foundation hands out. The explorer will label seats whose deposit came from foundation wallets.

Timeline

  1. In development

    Build

    The Ferminux Validator app for Windows 10/11, a one-command Linux install, the deposit contract, and checkpoint pages on the explorer.

  2. Next

    Public test network

    A separate test chain with test FMX: community validators on real Windows PCs and Linux servers, and an external review of the deposit contract.

  3. Target: about 9 weeks

    Mainnet, step 1

    Deposits open on chain 3961. A seat starts a day after its deposit, and checkpoints are certified on the explorer.

  4. Later

    Step 2: community block-signing seats

    Validators with a clean 30-day record also take turns confirming blocks. It is a network upgrade, tested on the test network first and announced with public notice.

Targets, not promises: each phase starts only when the one before it has passed its checks. The contract address and the downloads will be published on this page when they exist.