How to Choose Validators

Intermediate 10 minutes

When you stake crypto, you often delegate to validators. Choosing good validators affects your rewards and safety. Here's what to look for.

What is a Validator?

Nodes that validate transactions and create blocks
Stake their own capital as security deposit
Earn rewards for honest participation
Can be "slashed" for misbehavior

Key Validator Metrics

Metric	What It Means	Look For
Commission	% of rewards validator keeps	5-10% is reasonable
Uptime	% of time online	>99%
Self-stake	Validator's own funds	Higher = more aligned
Total delegated	All funds staked	Not too concentrated

Commission Rates

Validators charge commission on staking rewards:

0% - Suspicious, may raise later
5-10% - Standard, sustainable
10-20% - Higher but may offer extras
>20% - Likely too high

Beware 0% Commission

Validators offering 0% can raise commission anytime. They may also be unsustainable or new validators trying to attract stake. Some 0% validators have later raised to 100%.

Uptime & Performance

Higher uptime = more blocks validated = more rewards
Look for 99%+ uptime
Check historical performance, not just current
Consider multiple data centers for reliability

Slashing Risk

Validators can be slashed (penalized) for:

Double signing - Signing two blocks at same height
Downtime - Being offline too long
Attacks - Attempting to manipulate consensus

Slashing Affects Delegators

If a validator you delegated to gets slashed, you lose some of your staked tokens too. This is why validator selection matters.

Decentralization Matters

Avoid validators with too much total stake
Concentration is bad for network security
Consider delegating to smaller, reliable validators
Helps keep network decentralized

Red Flags

0% commission - Unsustainable model
No identity - Anonymous operators
History of slashing - Check explorer
Too much stake - Centralization risk
Poor communication - No updates or contact

Where to Research

Cosmos - mintscan.io, keplr wallet
Solana - solanabeach.io, phantom
Polkadot - polkadot.js.org
Cardano - adapools.org
General - stakingrewards.com

Diversify Validators

Don't put all stake with one validator. Spread across 3-5 validators to reduce risk from any single validator having issues.

Validator Selection Checklist

Commission between 5-10%
Uptime above 99%
Has self-stake (skin in the game)
Known team or company
No slashing history
Not in top 10% by stake (decentralization)
Active communication/updates
Infrastructure in multiple regions

Changing Validators

Most chains allow re-delegation
Usually no unbonding period to switch
May be transaction fee
Don't hesitate to switch if needed

Network-Specific Notes

Cosmos Ecosystem

21-day unbonding period
Can redelegate without unbonding (once per 21 days)
Slashing for downtime and double signing

Solana

~2 day unlock period
Performance impacts rewards significantly
Check skip rate and vote performance

Cardano

No lock-up period
Can switch pools anytime
Check saturation level