Running a Validator

This section teaches you how to run a Moca Chain Validator.

⚠️ This section may change without prior notice

Critical information in this section may be subject to change given we are currently in testnet.

🔒 Repo not publicly available

Please reach out to us if you would like to run this code.

📢 Mainnet Target Launch: 2025 Q4

Validator Information

Minimum System Requirements

Component	Minimum Specification
Hardware	Desktop or laptop running recent versions of Mac OS X or Linux
CPU	4 cores
Memory (RAM)	12 GB
Storage	1 TB HDD/SSD
Bandwidth	1 MB/s

Number of Moca to be staked: TBC

Slashing details: TBC

Setting up Validator Node

Install Fullnode

Follow the instructions here to set up a full node.

Prepare validator, delegator, validator BLS, relayer, and challenger accounts

Warning

The current key generation and storage procedures are not very secure. It is highly recommended to implement a more robust method, particularly when dealing with keys like the delegator and operator keys.

For enhanced security and best practices, the usage of the Cold Wallet and MPC Wallet is strongly encouraged.

bash

mocad keys add validator --keyring-backend test
mocad keys add delegator --keyring-backend test
mocad keys add validator_bls --keyring-backend test --algo eth_bls
mocad keys add validator_relayer --keyring-backend test
mocad keys add validator_challenger --keyring-backend test

Tip

Alternatively, if you choose a different $KEY_HOME location and you are not using the suggested default ~/.mocad, you may start the full node by using below script, where $KEY_HOME is your selected directory.

bash

mocad keys add validator --keyring-backend test --home ${KEY_HOME}
mocad keys add delegator --keyring-backend test --home ${KEY_HOME}
mocad keys add validator_bls --keyring-backend test --algo eth_bls --home ${KEY_HOME}
mocad keys add validator_relayer --keyring-backend test --home ${KEY_HOME}
mocad keys add validator_challenger --keyring-backend test --home ${KEY_HOME}

Obtain validator, delegator, validator BLS, relayer, and challenger account addresses

Note

Ensure you choose the correct –keyring-backend and that –home is set correctly if you saved the files in a custom folder in step 2.

bash

VALIDATOR_ADDR=$(mocad keys show validator -a --keyring-backend test)
DELEGATOR_ADDR=$(mocad keys show delegator -a --keyring-backend test)
RELAYER_ADDR=$(mocad keys show validator_relayer -a --keyring-backend test)
CHALLENGER_ADDR=$(mocad keys show validator_challenger -a --keyring-backend test)
VALIDATOR_BLS=$(mocad keys show validator_bls --keyring-backend test --output json | jq -r '.pubkey_hex')
VALIDATOR_BLS_PROOF=$(mocad keys sign ${VALIDATOR_BLS} --keyring-backend test --from validator_bls)
VALIDATOR_NODE_PUB_KEY=$(cat ~/.mocad/config/priv_validator_key.json | jq -r '.pub_key.value')

Submit a Create Validator Proposal

Replace the values in the following JSON and save it as create_validator_proposal.json:

${NODE_NAME}: A custom human-readable name for this node.

${VALIDATOR_NODE_PUB_KEY}: The consensus key generated in step 1 (stored in ${HOME}/.mocad/config/priv_validator_key.json by default).

${VALIDATOR_ADDR}: The operator address created in step 2.

${DELEGATOR_ADDR}: The delegator address created in step 2.

${VALIDATOR_BLS}: The BLS key created in step 2.

${VALIDATOR_BLS_PROOF}: The BLS proof created in step2.

${RELAYER_ADDR}: The relayer address created in step 2.

${CHALLENGER_ADDR}: The challenger address created in step 2.

json

{
  "messages": [
    {
      "@type": "/cosmos.staking.v1beta1.MsgCreateValidator",
      "description": {
        "moniker": "${MONIKER_NAME}",
        "identity": "",
        "website": "<https://$>{MONIKER_NAME}",
        "security_contact": "",
        "details": "${MONIKER_NAME} details"
      },
      "commission": {
        "rate": "0.070000000000000000",
        "max_rate": "1.000000000000000000",
        "max_change_rate": "0.010000000000000000"
      },
      "min_self_delegation": "1",
      "delegator_address": "${DELEGATOR_ADDR}",
      "validator_address": "${VALIDATOR_ADDR}",
      "pubkey": {
        "@type": "/cosmos.crypto.ed25519.PubKey",
        "key": "${VALIDATOR_NODE_PUB_KEY}"
      },
      "value": {
        "denom": "aMoca",
        "amount": "10000000000000000000000"
      },
      "from": "0x7b5Fe22B5446f7C62Ea27B8BD71CeF94e03f3dF2",
      "relayer_address": "${RELAYER_ADDR}",
      "challenger_address": "${CHALLENGER_ADDR}",
      "bls_key": "${VALIDATOR_BLS}",
      "bls_proof": "${VALIDATOR_BLS_PROOF}"
    }
  ],
  "metadata": "",
  "title": "Create ${MONIKER_NAME} Validator",
  "summary": "create ${MONIKER_NAME} validator",
  "deposit": "10000000000000000000000aMoca"
}

You can also use the gen_validator_proposal.sh script to create：

bash

# !/bin/bash

MONIKER_NAME="validator-lsl"
# create accounts
echo "Creating validator, delegator, validator BLS, relayer, and challenger accounts..."
mocad keys add validator --keyring-backend test
mocad keys add delegator --keyring-backend test
mocad keys add validator_bls --keyring-backend test --algo eth_bls
mocad keys add validator_relayer --keyring-backend test
mocad keys add validator_challenger --keyring-backend test
# get accouts and private key
echo "Obtaining addresses and keys..."
VALIDATOR_ADDR=$(mocad keys show validator -a --keyring-backend test)
DELEGATOR_ADDR=$(mocad keys show delegator -a --keyring-backend test)
RELAYER_ADDR=$(mocad keys show validator_relayer -a --keyring-backend test)
CHALLENGER_ADDR=$(mocad keys show validator_challenger -a --keyring-backend test)
VALIDATOR_BLS=$(mocad keys show validator_bls --keyring-backend test --output json | jq -r '.pubkey_hex')
VALIDATOR_BLS_PROOF=$(mocad keys sign ${VALIDATOR_BLS} --keyring-backend test --from validator_bls)
VALIDATOR_NODE_PUB_KEY=$(cat ~/.mocad/config/priv_validator_key.json | jq -r '.pub_key.value')
# generate the JSON file
echo "Generating create_validator_proposal.json..."
cat <<EOF > proposal.json
{
"messages": [
{
"@type": "/cosmos.staking.v1beta1.MsgCreateValidator",
"description": {
"moniker": "${MONIKER_NAME}",
"identity": "",
"website": "<https://$>{MONIKER_NAME}",
"security_contact": "",
"details": "${MONIKER_NAME} details"
},
"commission": {
"rate": "0.070000000000000000",
"max_rate": "1.000000000000000000",
"max_change_rate": "0.010000000000000000"
},
"min_self_delegation": "1",
"delegator_address": "${DELEGATOR_ADDR}",
"validator_address": "${VALIDATOR_ADDR}",
"pubkey": {
"@type": "/cosmos.crypto.ed25519.PubKey",
"key": "${VALIDATOR_NODE_PUB_KEY}"
},
"value": {
"denom": "aMoca",
"amount": "10000000000000000000000"
},
"from": "0x7b5Fe22B5446f7C62Ea27B8BD71CeF94e03f3dF2",
"relayer_address": "${RELAYER_ADDR}",
"challenger_address": "${CHALLENGER_ADDR}",
"bls_key": "${VALIDATOR_BLS}",
"bls_proof": "${VALIDATOR_BLS_PROOF}"
}
],
"metadata": "",
"title": "Create ${MONIKER_NAME} Validator",
"summary": "create ${MONIKER_NAME} validator",
"deposit": "10000000000000000000000aMoca"
}
EOF
echo "proposal.json has been created."

Run the script

bash

bash gen_validator_proposal.sh

and you will see the output:

bash

VALIDATOR_ADDR: 0x400b809ec90B8666c671b7ceC82033Dd6186D8c8
DELEGATOR_ADDR: 0x8467B4D43c5eFCA08d9788412994e7dE31c32453
RELAYER_ADDR: 0xf7B8eeC1E7eb13827a9738A39f965f06DdfE4A90
CHALLENGER_ADDR: 0x5cc8eC44a7Cc8F5BcdF6Eb9301D9632828C20651
VALIDATOR_BLS: 18726fbcace099dce4cee158410bdc94e1b19f6531dd5ccf5327dd5384ef3422037862be14e324d7b8e4175fa0c86d053974a320ee92681560aa947c310d63c827dd73092bf57da29b34f2e4844a55aee4f803f009efff1ce7edc797e16fcf31008f67eba9fabad94876d65d135458fa1c814562cf1da8e1574c68ad4cbda887
VALIDATOR_BLS_PROOF: 0e5361e641ecc43b30fa2d921d39e5793d6def5638a5e6badb08827867a9a396134f0000ca9e20eebc51e62ab58c99c8576c2f384f103a55cfc568c2e98dc375
VALIDATOR_NODE_PUB_KEY: uk+p1GR1/Iy5B9rkKRe6lmRta1bnkFTM3HLd+8wpZL4=

Run create validator command to submit the proposal by local keys. Ensure the delegator account has enough $MOCA.

Info

If you are utilizing the Cold Wallet or MPC wallet, please proceed to next step

bash

DELEGATOR_ADDR=$(mocad keys show delegator -a --keyring-backend test)
mocad tx staking create-validator ./proposal.json --keyring-backend test --chain-id "moca_222888-1" --from ${DELEGATOR_ADDR} --node "<https://testnet-lcd.mocachain.org:443>" -b sync --gas "200000000" --fees "100000000000000000000amoca" --yes

You can see the following output:

bash

code: 0
codespace: ""
data: 1A080000000000008A7A
events: []
gas_used: "0"
gas_wanted: "0"
height: "0"
info: ""
logs: []
raw_log: '[]'
timestamp: ""
tx: null
txhash: 94BFFAA9792A9C94BC1A925C433F5CA13CB1526C8E85D83D9D462ACF766E8475

Find the proposal ID:

bash

mocad q tx BB845EA77C5051A8885FCEB6FAF06E279305D9DE7B03DBA8915D1A1E2804B3AF --node "<https://testnet-lcd.mocachain.org:443>" --output json | jq '.logs[] | .events[] | select(.type == "submit_proposal") | .attributes[] | select(.key == "proposal_id") | .value | tonumber'

bash

Query proposal status

bash

curl -s <https://testnet-api.mocachain.org/cosmos/gov/v1/proposals/3> | jq

Output:

bash

{
"proposal": {
"id": "3",
"messages": [
{
"@type": "/cosmos.staking.v1beta1.MsgCreateValidator",
"description": {
"moniker": "validator-lsl",
"identity": "",
"website": "<https://validator-lsl>",
"security_contact": "",
"details": "validator-lsl details"
},
"commission": {
"rate": "0.070000000000000000",
"max_rate": "1.000000000000000000",
"max_change_rate": "0.010000000000000000"
},
"min_self_delegation": "1",
"delegator_address": "0x73C4fCB7Dc03f30C2d8662d1ba146b387C3d063a",
"validator_address": "0x0E47f44E8e5aaaFFB2D93f8Ec003470C76a70f1a",
"pubkey": {
"@type": "/cosmos.crypto.ed25519.PubKey",
"key": "NgpQL9w9C36mRn5TRuEooCs7WSnfeSWTawUhleiAzJQ="
},
"value": {
"denom": "aMoca",
"amount": "10000000000000000000000"
},
"from": "0x7b5Fe22B5446f7C62Ea27B8BD71CeF94e03f3dF2",
"relayer_address": "0x2663170D78C7F2975abdd230Fa29Abf2E599dFf3",
"challenger_address": "0xc1E3825A64e3fBeeb0F0dE301B9A5cf6A0b93555",
"bls_key": "19788627475911af79040fb2cc06b3e2c55d294040aa2ea0cf82b0be34263fcd1546cadd9ef7cef43c0b8ace373b202f564d44f954ac1525a85694ea1cba8958093abea4bd8c042530d1028bd53030292983f3fe52a81ae262cdf23e056470a009d43f34369193f197c409533726cd62ce049a63ee80577718df85fec4874b31",
"bls_proof": "256d6283d5eb2e989f7dcb37f9c87db714a626af5bd40efc98d807c6c9acab3828f432091f3923b2b680e2c8479f60d896557586d916d5e06609eae5859912c0"
}
],
"status": "PROPOSAL_STATUS_VOTING_PERIOD",
"final_tally_result": {
"yes_count": "0",
"abstain_count": "0",
"no_count": "0",
"no_with_veto_count": "0"
},
"submit_time": "2024-11-18T10:13:17.955988297Z",
"deposit_end_time": "2024-11-19T10:13:17.955988297Z",
"total_deposit": [
{
"denom": "aMoca",
"amount": "10000000000000000000000"
}
],
"voting_start_time": "2024-11-18T10:13:17.955988297Z",
"voting_end_time": "2024-11-19T10:13:17.955988297Z",
"metadata": "",
"title": "Create validator-lsl Validator",
"summary": "create validator-lsl validator",
"proposer": "0x73C4fCB7Dc03f30C2d8662d1ba146b387C3d063a",
"failed_reason": ""
}
}

You can find the proposal status is PROPOSAL_STATUS_VOTING_PERIOD

Wait for the voting until the Proposal is passed.

After submitting the proposal successfully, you must wait for the voting to be completed and the proposal to be approved. It will take [x] days on testnet. Once it has passed and is successfully executed, you can verify that the node has become a validator.

Warning

Please ensure that the validator node is running before it is selected and if the validator is also responsible for running relayer and/or running challenger, then please ensure all these services are running as expected before selection.

Query all validators

bash

mocad query staking validators --node "<https://testnet-lcd.mocachain.org:443>"

You will see the following output:

yaml

...
- bls_key: Hq27eaPq9K9bQWOO8KDrB9Q9HtxujkTO1Bmx9peUexwUs9mAZQ9wVXzSs9Lqg5EK1C+JE1owNcgzy1ZM76BAdhnsRWnXOyNnGzzBHyMpsBauWEEs0eMg47TADYx5UWzQGk+cNiohUL6k36xL/48s4uuXf1nDxWB/WHnMkbqlIxw=
challenger_address: 0x77C22b475bb76297BCEcad72aB4C9BAa9215dE57
commission:
commission_rates:
max_change_rate: "0.010000000000000000"
max_rate: "1.000000000000000000"
rate: "0.070000000000000000"
update_time: "2024-09-27T03:18:14.385577987Z"
consensus_pubkey:
"@type": /cosmos.crypto.ed25519.PubKey
key: bIV4oNvEblriuduP9dBK2fKVeEj4bAAgRdSY+JJz6oM=
delegator_shares: "10000000000000000000000.000000000000000000"
description:
details: my-validator details
identity: ""
moniker: my-validator
security_contact: ""
website: <https://my-validator>
jailed: false
min_self_delegation: "1"
operator_address: 0xD4d6B184E53a5625d7B842245E8E46842912F151
relayer_address: 0xa6bFd1EB8657bE66f7B9AcA7d27dB804214e2Af2
self_del_address: 0x0FD3375177f9B118142738Fd732D242465A18a70
status: BOND_STATUS_BONDED
tokens: "10000000000000000000000"
unbonding_height: "0"
unbonding_ids: []
unbonding_on_hold_ref_count: "0"
unbonding_time: "1970-01-01T00:00:00Z"
...

One-step

For ease of execution, we have encapsulated the above process into a script.

Prepare validator, delegator, validator BLS, relayer, and challenger accounts

bash

./scripts/create_validator_proposal.sh generate ~/.mocad

This will print the generated validator_address and delegate_address.

bash

===== generate ====
add keys...
show keys...
generated validator proposal file...
create_validator_proposal.json has been generated successfully at ../scripts/proposal.json.
VALIDATOR_ADDR: 0xD4d6B184E53a5625d7B842245E8E46842912F151
DELEGATOR_ADDR: 0x0FD3375177f9B118142738Fd732D242465A18a70

You need to ensure that both addresses are funded with sufficient Moca to be used for the subsequent proposal submission. Check the balance:

bash

bash scripts/create_validator_proposal.sh balance ~/.mocad

Submit a Create Validator Proposal

bash

./scripts/create_validator_proposal.sh create ~/.mocad

Wait for the Proposal to pass

Alternatively, you can also check the proposal status with the following command:

bash

bash scripts/create_validator_proposal.sh query_proposal ~/.mocad

bash

.....
"status": "PROPOSAL_STATUS_PASSED",
"final_tally_result": {
"yes_count": "40000000000000000000000000",
"abstain_count": "0",
"no_count": "0",
"no_with_veto_count": "0"
},
....

Running a Validator ​

Validator Information ​

Minimum System Requirements ​

Setting up Validator Node ​

Install Fullnode ​

Prepare validator, delegator, validator BLS, relayer, and challenger accounts ​

Obtain validator, delegator, validator BLS, relayer, and challenger account addresses ​

Submit a Create Validator Proposal ​

Run create validator command to submit the proposal by local keys. Ensure the delegator account has enough $MOCA. ​

Wait for the voting until the Proposal is passed. ​

Query all validators ​

One-step ​

Prepare validator, delegator, validator BLS, relayer, and challenger accounts ​

Submit a Create Validator Proposal ​

Wait for the Proposal to pass ​

Running a Validator

Validator Information

Minimum System Requirements

Setting up Validator Node

Install Fullnode

Prepare validator, delegator, validator BLS, relayer, and challenger accounts

Obtain validator, delegator, validator BLS, relayer, and challenger account addresses

Submit a Create Validator Proposal

Run create validator command to submit the proposal by local keys. Ensure the delegator account has enough $MOCA.

Wait for the voting until the Proposal is passed.

Query all validators

One-step

Prepare validator, delegator, validator BLS, relayer, and challenger accounts

Submit a Create Validator Proposal

Wait for the Proposal to pass