Run a Validator - Fenine Network Documentation

Introduction

Becoming a validator on Fenine Network allows you to participate in consensus, earn block rewards, and receive commission from delegators. Unlike traditional PoS chains, Fenine uses contract-layer validators — you manage your validator entirely through smart contracts.

Requirements:

Minimum Stake: 10,000 FEN
Technical Skills: Basic blockchain/smart contract understanding
Hardware: Optional (only needed for RPC/monitoring)
Uptime: Maintain >95% to avoid jailing

How Fenine Validators Work

Unique Architecture: Fenine validators are managed at the contract layer, not the node layer.You do NOT need to:

Run special validator node software
Configure validator keys
Manage validator infrastructure

Block production and signing happen automatically through the consensus protocol once you’re registered.

What You DO Need

Smart Contract Registration

10,000 FEN Stake

Lock minimum stake as collateral

Wallet Security

Secure validator address (hardware wallet recommended)

Monitoring (Optional)

Track performance and rewards

Prerequisites

FEN Tokens
Wallet Setup
Technical Knowledge

Acquire 10,000+ FEN

Purchase Options:

Centralized Exchanges (CEX):
- Check CoinMarketCap for listings
- Withdraw to your wallet
Decentralized Exchanges (DEX):
- Uniswap (if bridged to Ethereum)
- FenineSwap (native DEX)
Bridge from Other Chains:
- bridge.fene.app
- Support for ETH, BSC, Polygon

Always withdraw to your own wallet, not exchange wallet. You need full control for staking.

Configure Your Wallet

Recommended: Hardware wallet (Ledger/Trezor) for validator security.MetaMask Configuration:

Network Name: Fenine Network
RPC URL: https://rpc.fene.app
Chain ID: 5881
Currency Symbol: FEN
Block Explorer: https://explorer.fene.app

Security Best Practices:

✅ Use hardware wallet for validator address
✅ Keep backup of seed phrase offline
✅ Use separate hot wallet for operations
✅ Enable 2FA on all accounts
❌ Never share private keys
❌ Don’t use exchange wallets

Registration Process

Prepare Validator Address

Use a secure wallet for your validator:

# If using hardware wallet (recommended)
# Connect Ledger/Trezor to MetaMask

# Note your validator address
Validator Address: 0xYourValidatorAddress...

This address will receive all validator rewards. Secure it properly!

Approve FEN Transfer

First, approve the FenineSystem contract to transfer your FEN:Via stake.fene.app (easiest):

Go to stake.fene.app
Connect wallet
Click “Become Validator”
Approve token spending (gas: ~50,000)

Via Contract (advanced):

// FEN Token: 0x... (get from explorer)
// FenineSystem: 0x0000000000000000000000000000000000001000

FEN.approve(0x0000000000000000000000000000000000001000, 10000 * 10**18)

Wait for transaction confirmation.

Call registerValidator with your parameters:Parameters:

commission: 1-100 (e.g., 5 = 5% commission)
description: Your validator name/description

Via stake.fene.app:

Enter commission rate (suggested: 5-10%)
Enter validator description
Click “Register Validator”
Confirm transaction (gas: ~200,000)

Via Contract:

// Using ethers.js
const fenineSystem = new ethers.Contract(
  "0x0000000000000000000000000000000000001000",
  FENINE_SYSTEM_ABI,
  signer
);

const tx = await fenineSystem.registerValidator(
  5,  // 5% commission
  "MyValidator - Reliable & Secure"
);

await tx.wait();
console.log("Registered! Waiting for next epoch...");

Registration takes effect at the next epoch (within ~10 minutes).

Verify Registration

Check your validator status:Via Web Interface:

Visit stake.fene.app/validators
Search for your address
Status should show “Active” after next epoch

Via RPC:

curl -X POST https://rpc.fene.app \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "jsonrpc": "2.0",
    "method": "eth_getValidatorInfo",
    "params": ["0xYourValidatorAddress"],
    "id": 1
  }'

Expected response:

{
  "result": {
    "status": "active",
    "stake": "10000000000000000000000",
    "commission": 5,
    "jailCount": 0,
    "lastRewardEpoch": 12345
  }
}

Monitor Your Validator

Track performance and rewards:Dashboard: stake.fene.app/my-validatorKey Metrics:

Uptime percentage
Blocks produced
Rewards earned
Delegator count
Total delegated stake

Set up alerts for:

Jailing events
Commission changes
Large delegations

Validator Operations

Check Validator Status

// Using ethers.js
const info = await fenineSystem.getValidatorInfo(validatorAddress);

console.log("Status:", info.status);  // 0=Pending, 1=Active, 2=Jailed, 3=Unbonding
console.log("Stake:", ethers.formatEther(info.stake));
console.log("Commission:", info.commission, "%");
console.log("Delegated:", ethers.formatEther(info.totalDelegated));

Update Commission Rate

// Change commission (1-100%)
const tx = await fenineSystem.updateValidatorCommission(10);  // 10%
await tx.wait();

console.log("Commission updated to 10%");

Commission changes take effect in the next epoch. Frequent changes may frustrate delegators.

Claim Rewards

// Claim accumulated rewards (10% tax applies)
const tx = await fenineSystem.claimValidatorRewards();
await tx.wait();

// Check balance
const rewards = await fenineSystem.getValidatorRewards(validatorAddress);
console.log("Claimable:", ethers.formatEther(rewards), "FEN");

Tax Information:

10% tax on claimed rewards
Tax goes to treasury (development fund)

Increase Stake

// Add more stake (no maximum)
const amount = ethers.parseEther("5000");  // Add 5,000 FEN

await fenToken.approve(fenineSystemAddress, amount);
await fenineSystem.addStake(amount);

console.log("Stake increased by 5,000 FEN");

Higher stake = higher rewards share.

Unregister Validator

// Exit validator set (21-day unbonding period)
const tx = await fenineSystem.unregisterValidator();
await tx.wait();

console.log("Unbonding started. Withdrawal available in 21 days.");

// After 21 days:
await fenineSystem.withdrawStake();

During unbonding:

Stop earning rewards immediately
Delegators must redelegate
Cannot cancel unbonding

Validator Economics

Revenue Streams

Block Rewards
Commission
Proximity Rewards
Transaction Fees

Base Emission: 3.5 FEN per blockYour share depends on your stake proportion:

R_{\\text{base}} = \\frac{S_{\\text{validator}}}{S_{\\text{total}}} \\times E_{\\text{epoch}}

Example:

Your stake: 10,000 FEN
Total network: 10,000,000 FEN
Epoch emission: 700 FEN

R = \\frac{10,000}{10,000,000} \\times 700 = 0.7 \\text{ FEN/epoch}

Daily: 0.7 × 144 epochs = 100.8 FENAnnual: ~36,792 FEN ≈ 368% APY on 10K stake alone!

Earn from 8 levels of referrals:

Level	% of Their Rewards	If They Earn 100 FEN
1 (Direct)	7%	You earn 7 FEN
2	5%	5 FEN
3	3%	3 FEN
4	2%	2 FEN
5	1.5%	1.5 FEN
6	1%	1 FEN
7	0.5%	0.5 FEN
8	0.25%	0.25 FEN

Building Your Network:

Share your referral code
Referred users stake with you
Earn from their rewards automatically
Compounds across 8 levels

See Proximity Rewards for strategies.

Example Monthly Earnings

Scenario: Small validator

Your stake: 10,000 FEN
Delegated: 50,000 FEN
Commission: 5%
Referral network: 10 people (Level 1-2)
Network total: 5,000,000 FEN

Calculations:

Base rewards:
  (10,000 / 5,000,000) × 700 × 144 × 30 = 6,048 FEN

Commission rewards:
  (50,000 / 5,000,000) × 700 × 144 × 30 × 0.05 = 1,512 FEN

Proximity rewards (estimated):
  10 referrals earning avg 200 FEN/month
  Level 1 (5 people): 5 × 200 × 0.07 = 70 FEN
  Level 2 (5 people): 5 × 200 × 0.05 = 50 FEN
  Total proximity: 120 FEN

Priority fees (avg):
  ~0.01 FEN/block × 28,800 blocks/day × 30 = 8.64 FEN

──────────────────────────────────────────
TOTAL: 7,688.64 FEN/month

APY on 10K stake: (7,688.64 × 12 / 10,000) × 100 = 922% APY!

APY decreases as network grows (more competition for rewards), but remains highly profitable for early validators.

Slashing & Penalties

Slashing Conditions

Validators can lose stake for these violations:

Offense	Penalty	Auto-Jail	Description
Double-Sign	-5% stake	Yes	Sign two different blocks at same height
Invalid Block	-1% stake	Yes	Propose block that fails validation
Downtime	Jail only	Yes	<95% uptime over 200 blocks
Censorship	Warning → Jail	After 3 warnings	Consistently ignore valid transactions

Jailing

What is Jailing?

Temporary removal from active validator set
Stop earning rewards
Keep your stake (no loss)
Can manually exit or wait for unjail

How to Get Unjailed:

// Manual unjail (if eligible)
await fenineSystem.unjailValidator();

// Or exit and re-register
await fenineSystem.unregisterValidator();
// Wait 21 days, withdraw, then re-register

Unjail Conditions:

Waited at least 1 epoch (10 minutes)
Fixed underlying issue
No active slashing penalties

Avoiding Slashing

Best Practices:

✅ Keep validator key secure (never share)
✅ Don’t run validator on multiple machines
✅ Monitor uptime regularly
✅ Have backup monitoring in place
✅ React quickly to jailing events
✅ Keep sufficient FEN balance for gas

Running a Full Node (Optional)

While not required for validation, running a node provides:

Independent RPC access
Network monitoring
Block validation
Decentralization support

Quick Node Setup

# Download fene-geth
wget https://github.com/fenines-network/fene-geth/releases/download/v1.0.0/fene-geth-linux-amd64.tar.gz

# Extract and install
tar -xzf fene-geth-linux-amd64.tar.gz
sudo mv fene-geth /usr/local/bin/

# Create data directory
sudo mkdir -p /var/lib/fenine

# Download genesis
wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/fenines-network/genesis/main/mainnet.json -O /var/lib/fenine/genesis.json

# Initialize
fene-geth init /var/lib/fenine/genesis.json --datadir /var/lib/fenine

# Run node
fene-geth --datadir /var/lib/fenine --http --http.addr 0.0.0.0 --http.api eth,net,web3,fenine

See Non-Validator Node Setup for complete guide.

Delegator Management

Attract Delegators

Strategies:

Competitive Commission: 5-10% is typical
High Uptime: Aim for >99%
Clear Communication: Website, Twitter, Discord
Security Transparency: Hardware wallet, audits
Referral Program: Share proximity rewards

Monitor Delegations

// Get all delegators
const delegators = await fenineSystem.getValidatorDelegators(validatorAddress);

console.log("Total delegators:", delegators.length);

// Get delegation details
for (const delegator of delegators) {
  const amount = await fenineSystem.getDelegation(delegator, validatorAddress);
  console.log(`${delegator}: ${ethers.formatEther(amount)} FEN`);
}

Communicate with Delegators

Discord Server

Create dedicated validator channel

Twitter/X

Regular updates and announcements

Website

Validator profile and statistics

Email List

Important notifications

Validator Dashboard

Key Metrics to Track

Performance
Economics
Network

Uptime: Target >99%
Blocks Produced: Should match expected
Missed Blocks: Investigate if >1%
Jailing Events: Should be 0
Slashing Events: Should be 0

Monitoring Tools:

Troubleshooting

Registration transaction failed

Common causes:

Insufficient FEN balance for gas
Didn’t approve token transfer first
Already registered as validator
Commission rate out of range (1-100)

Solution:

// Check if already registered
const info = await fenineSystem.getValidatorInfo(yourAddress);
console.log("Status:", info.status);

// If status > 0, you're already registered

Not producing blocks

Check:

Registration confirmed (check on explorer)
Waited for next epoch (10 minutes)
Status is “Active” (not Pending/Jailed)
Sufficient stake (10,000+ FEN)

Verify:

curl -X POST https://rpc.fene.app \
  -d '{"jsonrpc":"2.0","method":"eth_getValidatorInfo","params":["0xYourAddress"],"id":1}'

Got jailed unexpectedly

Reasons:

Downtime (even if not your fault)
Network issues
Double-signing (if key compromised)

Recovery:

Wait 1 epoch (10 minutes)
Call unjailValidator()
Monitor for recurring jails
If persistent, check security

Rewards lower than expected

Check:

Network total stake (increased competition)
Your commission rate (too high?)
Missed blocks (uptime issues)
Proximity network activity

Compare:

const totalStake = await fenineSystem.getTotalStake();
const myShare = yourStake / totalStake;
console.log("Your network share:", (myShare * 100).toFixed(4), "%");

Next Steps

Become a Delegator

Also delegate to other validators

Proximity Rewards

Build your referral network

FenineSystem API

Complete contract reference

Monitoring Setup

Track validator performance

Validator Support:

Discord: #validator-support
Email: validators@fene.network
Office Hours: Fridays 2PM UTC

Share your validator address in Discord to get verified badge!

​Introduction

​How Fenine Validators Work

​What You DO Need

Smart Contract Registration

10,000 FEN Stake

Wallet Security

Monitoring (Optional)

​Prerequisites

​Acquire 10,000+ FEN

​Configure Your Wallet

​Skills Required

​Registration Process

​Validator Operations

​Check Validator Status

​Update Commission Rate

​Claim Rewards

​Increase Stake

​Unregister Validator

​Validator Economics

​Revenue Streams

​Example Monthly Earnings

​Slashing & Penalties

​Slashing Conditions

​Jailing

​Avoiding Slashing

​Running a Full Node (Optional)

​Quick Node Setup

​Delegator Management

​Attract Delegators

​Monitor Delegations

​Communicate with Delegators

Discord Server

Twitter/X

Website

Email List

​Validator Dashboard

​Key Metrics to Track

​Troubleshooting

​Next Steps

Become a Delegator

Proximity Rewards

FenineSystem API

Monitoring Setup

Introduction

How Fenine Validators Work

What You DO Need

Prerequisites

Acquire 10,000+ FEN

Configure Your Wallet

Skills Required

Registration Process

Validator Operations

Check Validator Status

Update Commission Rate

Claim Rewards

Increase Stake

Unregister Validator

Validator Economics

Revenue Streams

Example Monthly Earnings

Slashing & Penalties

Slashing Conditions

Jailing

Avoiding Slashing

Running a Full Node (Optional)

Quick Node Setup

Delegator Management

Attract Delegators

Monitor Delegations

Communicate with Delegators

Validator Dashboard

Key Metrics to Track

Troubleshooting

Next Steps