Skip to main content

Validator Nodes

Stake, validate, and earn with slashing protection at the signer

Run validator nodes and staking nodes under a 99.95% uptime SLA. Slashing protection runs at the signer: an EIP-3076 database, doppelgänger detection, and a lease-gated failover lock.

Deploy a validatorSee key custody model
Slashing-protection DB
EIP-3076
Per validator, exportable
DVT support
Obol · SSV
On Ethereum validators
Relay set
MEV-Boost
Relays you select, or vanilla blocks
Performance reports
Monthly
Plus quarterly reviews for institutions

Your keys never leave you. Instanodes never holds them.

Strictly non-custodial across every key in the validator stack: signing, withdrawal, fee-recipient, and any associated wallet keys. Our beacon node sends signing requests to your remote signer (Web3Signer, Dirk) or your HSM, and the policy you set there decides what gets signed.

Your side

You hold every key

  • Validator (BLS) signing key

    Lives in your HSM or remote signer

  • Withdrawal key

    Authorises principal + reward withdrawal

  • Fee-recipient address

    Receives MEV + tips on every block proposal

  • Governance key

    Voting authority on protocol upgrades

Your custodian, your hardware wallet, or your multi-sig decides who can approve a withdrawal or an exit.

Instanodes side

We operate the stack, with no key access

  • Beacon + validator client

    Sends signing requests to your signer; receives signatures back

  • MEV-Boost relay set

    Picked by you; switchable any time

  • Slashing-protection DB

    Per-validator, replicated, exportable. Operates without holding keys

  • Monitoring + on-call

    24/7 observability, incident response, upgrades

We run beacon + validator clients and forward signing requests to your signer. Move providers any time without an exit or redeposit, and take your EIP-3076 slashing-protection history with you.

Non-custodial guarantee

Instanodes does not take custody of your validator keys, withdrawal keys, or wallet keys in any way.

  • We never generate your keys.
  • We never receive, store, or escrow key material.
  • We never have read access via support, recovery, or backup channels.
  • Signing happens at your signer, under your policy, on your hardware.
  • You can revoke our beacon node's signing-request access at any moment.
  • Stated in writing in your service agreement, before you sign.

Slashing protection, from the signer to the failover lock

Slashing is the one operational risk in staking that destroys principal. Each control below closes a specific path to it: a double-sign, a duplicate key coming online after a restart, or two signers active at once.

Customer-held signing boundary

Signing keys live inside your HSM or remote signer. Our beacon node sends signing requests, and your signer checks each one against its own policy before it signs.

Web3SignerDirkCustomer HSM

Slashing-protection DB

Every attestation and proposal is recorded in a persistent, replicated database before the signature is released. A double-sign attempt is rejected at the signer.

EIP-3076 formatPostgres replicas

Remote-signer model

Beacon node and signer run as separate processes on separate machines. Compromising the consensus client cannot compromise the keys.

Web3SignerDirkSeparate hosts

Doppelgänger detection

Before any validator activates after restart, it watches the network for evidence its own key is already active. If a duplicate is detected, the validator refuses to sign.

Epoch listen window before signing

Failover safety lock

Hot/cold failover runs on a single lease. The backup signer cannot activate until the primary's lease has expired, so two signers are never active at once.

etcd leaseLease expiry before takeover

Distributed validator (DVT)

On supported chains, signing duties are split across a cluster of operators behind a threshold, such as 3-of-4. Losing one node does not stop signing, and one compromised node cannot sign alone.

Obol CharonSSV Network

Track record since 2022

0

slashing events

Across the validators Instanodes has operated since 2022. We carry contractual operational liability for slashing caused by our infrastructure, covering double-signs, surround votes, and downtime penalties beyond the SLA.

Validator operations on 9+ PoS networks

Each chain has its own consensus quirks, unbonding schedule, and slashing economics, so we tune the signing stack and the reward strategy chain by chain.

  • Ethereum

    Gasper (Casper FFG + LMD-GHOST)

    Unbond
    Exit queue + ~27h + sweep
    Min stake
    32 ETH
    • MEV-Boost relays
    • Obol/SSV DVT
    • Slashing-protection DB

  • Solana

    TowerBFT + PoH

    Unbond
    1 epoch (~2 days)
    Min stake
    No minimum (delegate)
    • Vote-credit optimisation
    • MEV via Jito
    • Bare-metal hosts

  • Cosmos Hub

    CometBFT

    Unbond
    21 days
    Min stake
    No minimum (delegate)
    • IBC compatibility
    • Liquid staking ready
    • ICS validation

  • Polkadot

    BABE + GRANDPA

    Unbond
    24 – 48 hours
    Min stake
    Nominate, or 10K DOT self-stake
    • Nomination pools
    • Relay-chain validation
    • Session-key rotation

  • Avalanche

    Snowman / Avalanche

    Unbond
    Fixed term, 14 days – 1 year
    Min stake
    2,000 AVAX
    • P-Chain validation
    • Avalanche L1 validation
    • Delegation enabled

  • Celo

    Ethereum L2 · elected validator set

    Unbond
    3 days
    Min stake
    10K CELO locked per validator
    • Validator groups
    • Validator elections
    • Community RPC operation

  • Polygon PoS

    Heimdall + Bor

    Unbond
    80 checkpoints (~2 – 4 days)
    Min stake
    No minimum (delegate)
    • Heimdall checkpoint
    • Bor block production
    • Delegator dashboard

  • Tezos

    Tenderbake

    Unbond
    None if delegated
    Min stake
    6,000 tez to bake
    • Adaptive Issuance staking
    • DAL attestation
    • Delegation

  • Autheo

    Proof of Autheo (Cosmos SDK + CometBFT)

    Unbond
    —
    Min stake
    10K+ THEO
    • Sovereign NFT license required
    • One-click deployment
    • Slashing protection

Staking yield varies with network participation, validator commission, and MEV, and carries no guarantee. We quote expected returns net of our fee at onboarding. Stake and unbonding figures are protocol parameters and change when a network upgrades.

Adding networks regularly. Ask about Aptos, Sui, Sei, Near, Injective, dYdX, or other Cosmos SDK chains. We confirm a production timeline for a new chain after engineering review.

Who stakes through Instanodes

Institutions

Institutional staking

Compliance-friendly validator node operations with custodian integrations, monthly performance reports, and quarterly business reviews.

Treasuries

DAO and treasury staking

Multi-sig-gated staking operations with on-chain governance hooks. Earn yield on idle treasury without giving up custody.

Protocols

Protocol-owned validators

Run validators for your own protocol's PoS chain. Slashing protection, distributed key generation, and DVT support where available.

Onboarding a validator without handing over keys

  1. Choose a network

    Ethereum, Cosmos, Polkadot, Avalanche, Polygon, Celo, and other PoS networks. Mainnet or testnet.

  2. Generate keys on your side

    You generate every key (validator signing, withdrawal, fee-recipient) on your own HSM, hardware wallet, or remote signer, then import the public key into the dashboard.

  3. Configure monitoring

    Slashing detection, missed-attestation alerts, double-sign protection. Dashboards for rewards, performance, and inclusion distance.

  4. Start staking

    Bond your stake; we run the validator. 24/7 incident response, client upgrades scheduled around your duties, and regular performance reviews.

Keys, slashing, and fees

Need something specific? Talk to an engineer.

  • Ethereum, Cosmos Hub and IBC-connected chains, the Polkadot relay chain, the Avalanche P-Chain, Polygon PoS, Celo, Autheo, Solana (RPC Endpoints and limited validator), Tezos, and several others. We add new chains based on customer demand. Ask if your network isn't listed.

  • You do. All of them. Validator signing keys, withdrawal keys, fee-recipient addresses, and any wallet keys remain entirely under your custody at all times. Instanodes operates the validator node infrastructure via a remote-signer pattern (Web3Signer, Dirk) or DVT split (Obol, SSV), so signing requests are sent to your signer for authorisation. Instanodes never generates, holds, stores, exports, or has access to your private key material at any layer. You rotate, exit, or withdraw at any time without our involvement.

  • We carry operational liability for slashing caused by our infrastructure (double-signs, surround votes, downtime penalties beyond the SLA). Slashing protection is built into our signing infrastructure. We maintain a slashing-protection database per validator and use redundant attestation paths, and we have recorded zero slashing events across the validators we have operated since 2022.

  • It depends on the chain. Ethereum validators run on a monthly flat fee plus an optional MEV-Boost share; Cosmos and most other chains run on commission as a percentage of staking rewards, varying by chain and stake size. Full pricing shows in the dashboard before you pay, and institutional clients negotiate flat or hybrid terms. No hidden infrastructure surcharges.

  • Yes, on chains that support it. We operate validators with Obol Charon and SSV Network for Ethereum, which distributes signing across multiple operators to eliminate single points of failure.

  • Yes. We migrate validators on Ethereum, Cosmos chains, and most PoS networks without an exit or redeposit. You export your slashing-protection history (EIP-3076 on Ethereum), stop the old setup, and point your existing remote signer (or a new signer you control) at our beacon nodes. The only gap is a short, planned signing pause, so a key never signs from two places.

  • Real-time dashboards with attestation effectiveness, inclusion distance, sync-committee performance, missed proposals, and reward APR. Monthly performance reports, quarterly business reviews, and on-demand custom reports for institutional clients.

  • Sign in to your Instanodes dashboard, pick the chain, choose validator count and region, and pay online. Your validator provisions in minutes. You generate keys on your side and import the public key into the dashboard.

  • Cosmos, Polkadot, Avalanche, and most PoS validator nodes provision in minutes; entering the active set then follows each chain's own rules. Ethereum validators activate once your deposit transaction confirms and the activation queue clears.

  • Yes, for Ethereum. We run MEV-Boost with the relay set you select (Flashbots, bloXroute, Ultra Sound, Agnostic, and others), or build vanilla blocks if you prefer. We don't extract MEV ourselves. Relay choice is yours.

Stake with operators who carry the risk.

Deploy from the console, or talk to our validator team about your chain mix, custody constraints, and compliance reporting needs. You get a fee model and our operational liability terms for slashing in writing.

Deploy a validatorTalk to an engineer