Validators

Validators are network participants that collectively attest secure Safenet results. Their attestation allows the Safenet Guard to authorize the corresponding transaction for execution. Without a valid Validator attestation, the transaction cannot execute through Safenet. Validators do not perform transaction checks. Sentinels determine whether a transaction is secure or insecure. Validators provide the threshold attestation required for enforcement, producing a single aggregated signature that Guards can verify consistently across networks. This is what lets Safenet secure Safe transactions across multiple chains rather than being limited to one.

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Validator responsibilities

Validators participate in Safenet’s attestation layer. For secure results, Validators:

• Confirm that the result can be attested.
• Participate in FROST threshold signing.
• Produce a collective attestation bound to the exact Safe, network, and transaction.
• Maintain sufficient availability for the Validator network to produce attestations.

Validators do not attest insecure, split, incomplete, or failed results. See Safenet results for the full result model.

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Threshold attestations

Safenet uses FROST threshold signing so that transaction authorization does not depend on a single Validator. A sufficient set of Validators participates in producing one collective attestation. The Safenet Guard can verify this attestation onchain before allowing the transaction to execute through Safenet. The attestation applies only to the transaction it was produced for and cannot authorize a different Safe, network, or transaction. Safenet is designed to remain secure even if some Validators are malicious. Under the protocol’s fault-tolerance model: $$n \geq 3f + 1$$ where $n$ is the total number of Validators and $f$ is the maximum number of Byzantine Validators the network can tolerate. Assuming a set of 7 Validators, the network could tolerate up to 2 malicious Validators. Threshold signing means Safenet does not depend on any single Validator, while separate participation requirements account for Validators being unavailable. See Safenet Guard for how attestations are enforced.

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Staking and rewards

Validator participation is backed by staked SAFE. SAFE holders can delegate SAFE to Validators without operating Validator infrastructure themselves. Validators and Delegators can receive SAFE-denominated rewards based on the applicable staking and reward rules. Validator rewards are separate from the USDC-denominated transaction-check fees received by Sentinels. See Staking for delegated staking and Rewards for the reward model.

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Operational expectations

Validators are expected to:

• Operate the required Validator infrastructure reliably.
• Maintain sufficient availability to participate in threshold signing.
• Follow changes to the active Validator and protocol configuration.
• Protect the signing material used to participate in FROST.
• Follow the applicable Safenet protocol and governance requirements.

The active Validator set is determined by SafeDAO and recorded in the staking contract. See Governance for participant selection and Validator-set management.

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Become a Validator

Organizations interested in operating a Validator can reach out to discuss participation and onboarding.