# Validator Application: User Guide

Validators play an important role in ensuring the security of a blockchain network and facilitating the creation of new blocks. They also participate in the consensus process with other validators.\
This document is intended to guide users through the process of becoming a validator on the Quebtics network.

<mark style="color:blue;">**Before proceeding, please ensure you have successfully set up your Quebtics Validator Node.**</mark>

### Who are validators?

A validator is a participant in a network who is responsible for maintaining the integrity of the distributed ledger by validating transactions and adding them to the blockchain. They are in charge of creating new blocks, as well as ensuring the network's finality and, ultimately, its security.

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Validators are incentivized to participate in the network through the use of a cryptocurrency or tokens ***(TICS Tokens in our chain)*** and are required to ***"stake"*** a certain amount, min. **100 TICS** of tokens to become a validator on **Testnet** and **25000 TICS** on **Mainnet.**&#x20;

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The stake acts as a guarantee of good conduct, and whenever they make a mistake, this stake is slashed. In contrast, when they follow the rules, they are generously compensated.\
Running a validator on a live network involves a significant amount of responsibility. They will be made responsible for not just their stake but also for the stake of their delegators. Their money and reputation will be affected if validators make a mistake and get slashed.&#x20;

{% hint style="info" %}
**Qubetics Blockchain (Mainnet) uses a two-epoch system with its use cases:**\
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Daily or 24 Hours (86400 seconds): Distribute staking rewards daily

* Trigger inflation/minting
* Update fee splits
* Perform daily IBC housekeeping
* Prune the temporary state

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Weekly or 7 Days (604800 seconds):\
Run expensive processes less often (e.g., slashing checks, validator jailing)

* Rotate the validator performance evaluation
* Payout long-term incentives (e.g., liquidity mining)
* Reset TWAP (Time-Weighted Average Price) if used
* Snapshot state for governance or analytics
  {% endhint %}

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