Validators/Nodes

Every time pending transactions are to be finalized into a block (every 12 seconds), this requires the validation of five randomly chosen validators. These five validators are chosen randomly by the Network based on the following criteria:

1. Proof of Stake: One out of the top ten participants that have staked the most FONE

2. Proof of Time: One out of the top ten participants that have staked for the longest period of time (excluding any validators selected to be in position 1)

3. Proof-of-Authority: One out of the top ten participants with the highest “rank” (excluding any validators selected to be in positions 1 - 2)

4. Randomly chosen from all validators on the network (excluding any validators selected to be in positions 1 - 3)

5. Randomly chosen from all validators on the network (excluding any validators selected to be in positions 1 - 4)

The "Node Leader" is the Node responsible for selecting the five validators for the next block. After successful block formation, the current Node Leader chooses a new Node Leader randomly to continue the flow.

Each time a Validator validates a batch of transactions, its "Rank" is increased by a value of one, resulting in a higher chance to be chosen to validate future blocks.

If a Validator unstakes their FONE, their Rank and staking timestamp are reset to zero.