Become a Node Operator
Get paid to secure the world’s most important decentralized exchange.
Need to Know
Proof of Bond
THORChain is a proof of stake chain with nodes (THORNodes). RUNE has to be bonded to a node for it to enter the network and earn its pro rata share of fees. 300,000 RUNE is the minimum bond required for a node to churn into the network. However, this might not be enough to actually churn in or keep the node in the network.
Churn Process
THORChain churns its validator set every 3 days. The oldest node, the node with the highest slash points, and the node with the lowest bond are removed. Other nodes can voluntarily exit at this time as well. The number of nodes that can churn into the network are capped at the total number churning out plus 4. For example, if 5 nodes are churning out then 9 nodes are able to churn in.
THORNode Docs
New node operators should read the THORNode Overview section in the documents. The link is provided above.
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Hosting Options
Nodes can be run on enterprise server systems (AWS, Google Cloud, Azure) or self hosted on bare metal systems (Vultr).
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Infrastructure Requirements
The resources required to run a THORNode are significant due to running full daemons of all the connected blockchains.
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RPC Connections
Node operators can run RPC connections locally, connect to professional RPC providers, or do a mix of both.
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Node Launcher
A THORChain node has several components that need to be run by the operator. These components are packaged in a git repository called the node launcher.
THORNode
This is the THORChain block client.
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Gateway
Connects the node to the network.
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Bifrost
Verifies transactions on connected chains and signs transactions to THORChain.
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RPC Third-Party Clients
For the integrated chains on THORChain (Bitcoin, Ethereum, Cosmos, etc).
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Bare Metal Node Guide
The node operator community has made a concerted push towards bare metal nodes to help decentralize the network. The majority of active node operators run bare metal setups, and we recommend you do the same. To run a bare metal instance with a custom RPC configuration, read this comprehensive guide that multiple node operators have contributed to over the years.
