# How to become a validator

The Ecrox network operates through validator nodes hosted by participants worldwide. It offers entrepreneurs a seamless integration for payments into their products and facilitates user onboarding to a platform that enables payments, transactions, and financial services in various currencies.

Access to the network is public, and the code is open-source, allowing customization and localization as needed. Communities on the Ecrox chain pay a fee to validators for validating transactions, with more usage leading to increased rewards for validators, thus incentivizing network growth.

Being a validator means holding Ecrox tokens and running a node that validates transactions on the network. Validators use special software to validate and sign transactions every 5 seconds, earning block rewards in the form of Ecrox tokens. A yearly inflation of 5% is distributed among all validators.

Validators contribute resources to maintain the network, need technical knowledge for hosting the software, and participate in network governance through voting. They play a crucial role in maintaining and steering the network's future through governance mechanisms.

Who should become a validator?

1. Companies building on the network can collaborate using Ecrox's open-source stack, becoming stakeholders and earning rewards as the network grows.
2. 3rd-party service providers like KYC, exchanges, lenders, etc., can become stakeholders, facilitating cross-blockchain transactions without intermediaries.
3. Community operators on Ecrox can upgrade to validators, providing better access to clients.

Who can become a validator (Technical requirements):

* Minimum 100K tokens staked or delegated, locked in a contract.
* Running a full node with blockchain and web hosting knowledge.

Who shouldn’t become a validator:

* Non-technical users or holders looking for passive involvement.
* Simple holders can delegate their Ecrox tokens to validators to earn rewards without becoming validators themselves.

How to become a validator:

1. Stake or delegate a minimum of 100K Ecrox tokens.
2. Lock tokens in a contract.
3. Run a full node with technical expertise in blockchain and web hosting.

This approach fosters active participation, collaboration, and growth within the Ecrox network, aligning stakeholders' interests in network operation and governance.


---

# Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation

If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question.

Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter:

```
GET https://docs.ecroxscan.com/general-1/how-to-become-a-validator.md?ask=<question>
```

The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language.
The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation.

Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.