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What Is a Blockchain Validator? Who Proposes and Checks Blocks

A validator is a participant in a proof-of-stake network that locks up coins as a stake and is selected to propose new blocks and vote on others' blocks, earning rewards for honest work and risking penalties for dishonest work.

Key takeaways

What a validator does

In proof of stake, validators play the role miners play in proof of work. They are the participants who create blocks and decide which are valid. On Ethereum, according to ethereum.org, one validator is randomly selected as block proposer in every slot, and a committee of validators is randomly chosen to vote on whether the proposed block is valid.

Becoming one

To participate as a validator on Ethereum you deposit 32 ETH into the deposit contract and run three separate pieces of software. The deposit is the stake that can be penalised. Validators have to stay online and follow the rules. Individual people often avoid running one themselves by using a pooled or delegated service, which hands the operation to a professional operator.

Rewards and penalties

Validators earn rewards for proposing blocks and for attesting, meaning voting on, others' blocks. Being offline costs small penalties, and acting dishonestly can lead to slashing. These incentives line up the validator's interest with the network's.

Validators vs miners

A miner spends electricity on hashing and wins a block by luck in proportion to hashrate. A validator is selected pseudo-randomly in proportion to stake and does no hashing race. The result is far lower energy use. For Scrypt coins such as Litecoin and Dogecoin, blocks are still found by miners; validator terms apply to networks like Ethereum and Solana.

Why it matters to holders

The number and spread of validators affects how decentralised a chain is. If a few operators control most of the stake, they can have outsized influence. When you choose a staking provider, consider that a large share of the network may already be with it.

Example

In slot 9,000,000 a validator is randomly chosen to propose a block. A randomly chosen committee of other validators checks and votes on it. If the vote passes, the block is added and rewards go to those who took part.

Put it into practice

Choose between mining and staking networks

Different coins in Scrypt Wallet are secured differently. Mining coins like Litecoin rely on miners; compare their numbers on Scrypt Price.

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Sources and verification

Last reviewed 2026-10-02 by the Scrypt Wallet team. The factual claims on this page, and where each comes from:

  1. A validator must deposit 32 ETH into the deposit contract and run three separate pieces of software. [1]
  2. One validator is randomly selected to be block proposer in every slot and a committee votes on the proposed block. [1]
  3. Ethereum nodes run client software that follows the network's rules. [2]

Sources

  1. Proof-of-stake · ethereum.org · secondary source
  2. Nodes and clients · ethereum.org · secondary source

Primary sources are protocol papers, specifications, source code or a project's own documentation; secondary sources are wikis and explainers. We checked each claim against the source text on the review date. Found an error? Tell us and we will correct it.

Frequently asked questions

Do validators need special hardware?

Much less than miners, but they need reliable computers and an internet connection and must keep their software updated.

Can I run a validator with less than 32 ETH?

Not on your own on Ethereum. Pooled and delegated services accept smaller amounts.

Is a validator the same as a node?

A validator runs node software but also stakes and signs blocks. Many nodes are not validators.

Related terms

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Written by the Scrypt Wallet team · Updated 2026-10-02. General education, not financial, tax or legal advice.