Live · Race to Mainnet

The Race to 16

Mainnet launches with 16 validators, and operators earn a seat by running the network well: coordinated upgrades, load days, disaster-recovery drills, and Horcrux migrations. Every task is worth program points that sit next to your live quality score - scored on-chain, updated every 15 seconds. The top 16 make the genesis set.

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Operator
Measured today
Program
Score
Status

Not in the program

Validators currently in the active set that have not registered for the Proving Grounds. Scored and ranked, but not competing until they enter.

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Operator
Measured today
Program
Score
Status

Your headline Score is the geometric mean of your quality dimensions - so you have to be good at all of them. One weak number drags the whole score down; one strong number can't cover a weak one. Here is what each dimension measures and exactly how to raise it. Two of them are scored live right now; the rest come from the program tasks as they run.

Independence

Live now

Proof you are a genuinely separate operator - a real, independent team, not a second seat of an existing validator or a member of a sybil cluster. It is a forensic score: Independence = 100 - suspicion. The more your node looks like someone else's, the lower it goes.

How it's measured
  • Operational fingerprints: shared non-standard P2P port, byte-identical node details, identical commission tuple, same cloud instance / VMI id.
  • Provenance: a funding or self-bond source that clusters with other seats.
  • Identity: a fabricated or duplicated Keybase / on-chain identity.
How to raise it
  • Run your own infrastructure - your own server/provider, not shared with another validator.
  • Use a unique moniker and register a real Keybase identity that resolves to you.
  • Pick your own distinct config - don't copy another operator's ports, commission, or details.
  • Fund your operator from an independent source (not a known clustered or faucet-farmer account).
  • One operator = one validator. A duplicate second seat sharing your fingerprint hurts you.

Reliability

Live now

How dependably your node does its job - signs blocks and stays online. Measured live from the chain's signing records over the blocks you were expected to sign.

How it's measured
  • Your missed-blocks count over your effective signing window (a brand-new validator is judged fairly on the blocks it has actually seen).
  • A double-sign (tombstone) is a permanent zero.
How to raise it
  • Aim for near-100% uptime - sign every block.
  • Monitor and alert on missed blocks; use sentry nodes / failover so a reboot or network blip doesn't jail you.
  • Never run two nodes with the same consensus key - a double-sign tombstones you (0, permanent). Use one signer or a remote signer (TMKMS).
  • Stay bonded - a jailed validator stops accruing. Unjail promptly if it happens.

Program points

Live now

The proof-of-work of running mainnet-grade ops - points you earn by actually completing the program's operational tasks. They sit next to your quality score and help decide the 16.

How it's measured
  • Each completed task is worth points. Upgrade execution is scored automatically from on-chain data; other tasks are verified by the team.
  • Only registered, admission-cleared validators earn points.
How to raise it
  • Apply and get admission-cleared - that unlocks points.
  • Do every task on time - see the Task Calendar tab.
  • Coordinated upgrades are the easiest points: just upgrade on schedule.

Upcoming dimensions

Scored soon

These are scored from the program tasks as they run - start preparing now, they carry real weight toward the top 16.

  • Load - sustained-throughput days. Keep signing and serving RPC under pressure.
  • Disaster recovery - restore-from-scratch drills. Practise fast, clean recovery.
  • Security - hardening checks: sentries, firewalls, key management, patching.
  • Horcrux - migrate your signing key to a Horcrux threshold-signer cluster.

The bottom line

Because the score is a geometric mean, balance beats a single spike - a 90 everywhere ranks far above a 100/100/20. And two things override everything:

  • A sybil link (Independence struck to 0) disqualifies you and drops you to the bottom, no matter how good the rest is.
  • A double-sign tombstones your Reliability permanently.

Run one honest, independent, reliable node, keep it signing, do the tasks - and your score takes care of itself. Ready? Apply to validate →

How tasks work Tasks are challenges you run on your own validator to earn points on the Proving Grounds leaderboard.
  1. All tasks live right here on this page - there is nothing to unlock, install, or log in to just to read them.
  2. Only registered, admission-cleared validators earn points - apply here.
  3. You do each task on your own validator during its window - starter tasks can be done anytime while they show Active.
  4. Tasks marked auto score themselves from the chain's commit signatures - nothing to submit, nothing to forget. For the others, click Submit evidence on the card: you prove you control your validator with a tiny 1 aLIMO memo transaction (the exact command is shown), then fill in the evidence form right here on this page.
  5. What can be checked on-chain is checked automatically; the team reviews the rest, then the points appear on your scorecard. Questions or stuck mid-task? The Limonata Discord is the place for help.

Monthly snapshots of the standings and program points. Each one is a fixed record of where operators stood at the end of the period.

Published tallies