Validator

A validator on Canton Network is an operator running a participant node connected to the Global Synchronizer. The name describes the work: validating the transactions its hosted parties are involved in, confirming activity, and holding the resulting contract state. Every organization or individual that wants direct, self-custodied access to the Canton Coin economy runs one.

Canton's validator differs from the proof-of-stake archetype. There is no staking of capital and no global block production race; a validator does not process the whole network's transactions, only the slice involving its own parties, in line with Canton's privacy architecture. The barrier to entry is operational, not financial: run the node software, stay live, participate correctly.

The network pays for this participation. Validators earn minted Canton Coin through validator rewards, the share of the issuance schedule reserved for node operators who remain active. This seeds broad, decentralized participation: holding infrastructure rather than capital is what earns the reward.

Validators sit one tier below super validators, who additionally operate the Global Synchronizer itself and carry its governance duties. Most ecosystem participants, including application operators, fall in the validator tier.