Staking & Validators

RougeChain uses Proof of Stake (PoS) for consensus. Validators stake XRGE tokens to participate in block production and earn rewards.

How It Works

1. Stake tokens - Lock XRGE to become a validator
2. Propose blocks - Selected validators propose new blocks
3. Earn rewards - Collect transaction fees from blocks you produce
4. Unstake - Wait for unbonding period to withdraw

Requirements

Become a Validator

Via Web UI

1. Go to the Validators page
2. Click Stake
3. Enter amount (min 10,000 XRGE)
4. Confirm transaction

Via SDK (Recommended)

import { RougeChain, Wallet } from '@rougechain/sdk';

const rc = new RougeChain('https://testnet.rougechain.io/api');
const wallet = Wallet.fromKeys(publicKey, privateKey);

await rc.stake(wallet, { amount: 10000 });

Via API (v2 Signed Request)

All write operations require ML-DSA-65 client-side signing. See Staking API for the full request format.

# The payload must be signed client-side with your ML-DSA-65 private key.
# Use the SDK or build the signed request manually:
curl -X POST https://testnet.rougechain.io/api/v2/stake \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "payload": {
      "amount": 10000,
      "from": "your-public-key-hex",
      "timestamp": 1706745600000,
      "nonce": "random-hex"
    },
    "signature": "ml-dsa65-signature-hex",
    "public_key": "your-public-key-hex"
  }'

Check Your Stake

curl "https://testnet.rougechain.io/api/validators?publicKey=your-public-key"

Response:

{
  "validators": [
    {
      "publicKey": "your-public-key",
      "stake": 10000.0,
      "status": "active",
      "blocksProposed": 42
    }
  ]
}

Unstake

Via SDK

await rc.unstake(wallet, { amount: 5000 });

Via API (v2 Signed Request)

curl -X POST https://testnet.rougechain.io/api/v2/unstake \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "payload": {
      "amount": 5000,
      "from": "your-public-key-hex",
      "timestamp": 1706745600000,
      "nonce": "random-hex"
    },
    "signature": "ml-dsa65-signature-hex",
    "public_key": "your-public-key-hex"
  }'

Validator Selection

Block proposers are selected using:

1. Stake weight - Higher stake = higher probability
2. Quantum entropy - Unpredictable randomness
3. Round-robin fallback - Ensures all validators participate

Rewards

Validators earn from an EIP-1559-inspired fee model:

Fees are credited immediately when a block is finalized. See Validator Economics for detailed reward calculations.

PQC Security

All validator operations use ML-DSA-65 signatures:

• Block proposals are signed
• Stake/unstake transactions are signed
• Signatures are verified by all nodes

This ensures quantum-resistant security for the entire consensus process.