BlockmetricsVM

With AVAX’s ACP-77 update, L1s gain complete validator control. Validators are among the most important actors in crypto. But what is a validator? And how do they work? The definition of validator changes depending on what kind of blockchain we’re talking about. Bitcoin was the first blockchain, and it used a Proof-of-Work (PoW) protocol to validate transactions. Bitcoin validators (also known as miners) were required to solve complex mathematic equations in order to validate transactions and create new blocks. They are rewarded on-chain for solving these equations But the computers capable of solving these equations (mining rigs) are expensive and energy-intensive. The superior option is Proof-of-Stake (PoS) where token holders stake their tokens in order to validate transactions. Validators require a certain amount of a token to qualify, but these tokens can come from a number of different sources all pooled together. PoS validators not only verify transactions (that the buyer of an NFT actually holds sufficient funds to purchase the asset, for example) but secure the network from malicious transactions like double purchases. Validators that validate malicious transactions will lose their staked coins. Validators also validate smart contracts, automating their execution. As transaction frequency increases on the chain, generated rewards increase, more tokens are staked as a result, and the token price increases proportionally. The threshold for validation is different for every blockchain. For example, AVAX validators are required to stake 2000 $AVAX to validate the main-chain. But if AVAX L1s are going to function as independently, permissionlessly, and uniquely as possible, they need to be able to set their own validator parameters! This is exactly what the ACP-77 upgrade allows! L1s that determine their own validator metrics essentially function as independent L1s while maintaining access to the liquidity, dev support, and app ecosystem on AVAX. And because Landslide is connecting the ecosystem of AVAX L1s to the entire $131-billion Cosmos ecosystem, crosschain liquidity and interoperability increases exponentially.