Expanding Humanode validators pool and updating the rules

Dear Human nodes, Community members, and Friends,

The Humanode Team is excited to announce our next step in the Humanode evolution!  

With the Humanode Network reaching the milestone of self-sufficiency with our current validator node pool, we have decided to take the next step and expand the subsidized validator pool from the current 150 to 1,000 validator nodes, and expand the maximum number of validator nodes to the current technical limit of 10,000!  If you are not yet a validator of the Humanode Network, this may be your chance to become one.

Our goal is to firmly establish Humanode as the most decentralized network in the world, and remain there!  We are currently No.3 in the Nakamoto Coefficient chart but are only a short hop away from No.1.  With your participation, we will be able to reach this goal shortly, propelling Humanode to new heights.

For those of you who are new to validation on the humanode chain, anyone can launch a validator node (details here: https://gitbook.humanode.io/docs/launcher/about ) as long as you are a unique human being and pass bio-authentication.  The node can be launched on a virtual server (which will cost you roughly US$7 US to US$12 per month, or you can run it from home.  You are required to go through a biometric scan once a week to validate your node to remain a validator.  The validators that are in the set of nodes that are subsidized will receive US$25 per month and eventually will be able to share the profit generated by Humanode equally.  Remember though, one person, one node.

In making this decision, The Humanode team went over all aspects of the “rules” concerning running nodes, and starting today, the new rules will apply.  The new rules are as follows.

• Every validator who scores 84 epochs is guaranteed the full reward per epoch.  If 2,000 people score a perfect 84 epochs, 2,000 validators will be rewarded.
• Those who score 83 epochs will still get a full reward per epoch if in the top 1000.  If 990 validators get a perfect 84 epochs, and 1010 people get 83 epochs, the 990 who scored 84 epochs will be rewarded, but only 10 of those who get 83 epochs will be rewarded.
• Those who score less than 83 epochs but are in the top 1000 will receive 1/2 of the reward per epoch.  Please note that ½ the reward will be enough to cover the cost of running the server (assuming you were running the server from home, or rented a cheap server).

One major change to note is that those who received Proof-of-Devotion will no longer be receiving guaranteed rewards until the launch of decentralized governance.  Having said that, they will still be accumulating Proof-of-Time which will play a major role later on.

We would also like to acknowledge that there was a discussion about raising the price of the subsidy, as a number of validators raised the point in the hope that a higher price point would make validation more attractive.  After some serious discussion and calculations, it was decided that the price point would not be raised at this time.  The reason is simple.  Unlike Proof-of-Stake and Proof-of-Work blockchains, Humanode does “mint” new tokens in order to give out rewards, and we do not want to dilute the value of HMND owned by the HMND holders through dilution.  We work on a cost-based fee system, meaning that we set prices of transactions and subsidies based on the actual cost + a minor profit, and in this one year, the price of servers has not increased, thus there is no economic reason to increase the price.  We also believe that as the network grows, the profit that goes beyond the amount required for subsidizing the nodes will be shared equally as all validator nodes are co-owners of Humanode. Thus, the amount to be distributed will increase naturally over time.  

And finally, as the fees are paid out in HMND, the value of what you receive will most likely grow as the network grows.  As an example, the value of $25 per month in HMND for those who participated in the early validation, has increased by x10 (If they held on to the HMND).  If you are to believe in the future of Humanode and HMND and can afford the $7 per month in server fees, this might be a way to farm HMND in preparation for a bull market.

Having said that, we fully believe that most of our validators are those who are not here for the $25 per month, but are here for the future we envision and the possibilities that Humanode can bring.  Needless to say, we are eternally grateful for your confidence in Humanode.

We look forward to new human nodes joining our ranks, and to the further growth of this great community that we will be building together!

The Humanode Core Team