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Providers in Chromia

Providers are individuals or organizations that contribute computing power to the Chromia network by running nodes. These high-performance computers store and process data for Chromia and form the backbone of the blockchain.

Roles of providers​

Providers assume one of two roles, each with distinct responsibilities:

  1. System providers: These providers operate nodes within the network's system cluster. They manage the core infrastructure and ensure the smooth operation of the system chains that support Chromia. System providers vote on crucial proposals that influence the network's future, such as adding new system providers. They also initiate the creation of new dapp clusters as network demand increases.

  2. Node providers: These providers run nodes in dapp clusters, supplying the infrastructure for the decentralized applications (dapps) developers deploy. While system providers can run nodes in both system and dapp clusters, node providers can only run nodes in dapp clusters. A node provider can become a system provider through voting by existing system providers.

Providers in the Chromia network hold significant power in the decision-making process and vote on various proposals. A supermajority, defined as more than two-thirds of the votes, is necessary to approve substantial changes to the network.

Key pairs for providers​

Providers manage two types of key pairs:

  1. Provider key pair: This key pair allows providers to vote on and sign proposals, identifying them within the network.
  2. Node key pairs: Each node on the network has a unique key pair for its identification.

Provider staking requirements​

To participate in the network and support the community, providers must stake a specific amount of CHR tokens. The requirements are designed to align the providers' incentives with the network's welfare. Here’s a breakdown of the staking requirements:

  • System providers: Each node must have a total stake (including both self-staked and delegated) of 600,000 CHR. At least 10% of this total, or 60,000 CHR, must be staked directly by the provider.

  • Node providers: Each node must have a total stake (including both self-staked and delegated) of 300,000 CHR. At least 10% of this total, or 30,000 CHR, must be staked directly by the provider.

Providers must fulfill their self-stake requirements by staking native CHR directly on the Chromia Mainnet. Delegated stakes can come from a variety of sources, including native CHR, ERC-20 CHR, or BEP-20 CHR.

note

Please note that we periodically review staking requirements, and they may change over time.

User staking and delegation​

Anyone can stake their CHR at https://staking.chromia.com/ to earn a 3% annual percentage rate (APR) in governance rewards, though this rate may be subject to change.

The staking page supports native CHR on Chromia Mainnet, ERC-20 CHR on Ethereum, and BEP-20 CHR on BNB Chain.

During the staking process, users must delegate their stakes to a provider. This delegation enables users to support providers who demonstrate reliability through consistent uptime and strong node performance.

Provider rewards​

Providers receive compensation from a pool of hosting fees paid by dapps on the network. The compensation depends on several factors, including the computing power contributed, node uptime, and the provider's role (system provider or node provider). Proposals can modify the reward calculation formula as the network evolves in order to maintain an optimal balance among these parameters. For more details about the exact formula for provider rewards, refer to the provider section.

Next up​

Next, we will explore how to set up a local Rell development environment.