It is essential for users to stake their PoS tokens with a dependable and highly performant collator, which is why we have rolled out our Verified Provider Program in June 2022. Through this program, we thoroughly scrutinise potential validators, evaluating factors such as security measures, their on-chain reliability, their provider setup, and value-added services for the whole ecosystem.
You can find more information about the providers that have been verified in VPP Batch 1 and Batch 2. collators that are part of the VPP will have a blue checkmark displayed next to their names on our website.
When choosing a validator to delegate to, there are numerous factors to take into account:
Commission Rates: There is no commission charged by collators on the Moonbeam network. Collators receive 20% of the annual inflation directly from the protocol, while 50% of the annual inflation is shared amongst delegators.
Number of Users: A large number of delegators may signal a positive reputation for a collator.
Collators Self-Staked balance: Collators with significant amounts of self-staked tokens may have a greater motivation to maintain their operations, as they have more at risk than those with lower self-staked balances. However, to optimize your staking rewards, you should generally choose a collator with a lower total amount bonded. In that case, your delegation amount will represent a larger portion of the collator’s total stake and you will earn proportionally higher rewards. But keep in mind, there is a higher risk of the collator being kicked out of the active set and not earning rewards at all.
Current Status: You can see whether the collator is currently active or not by checking the collator list shown on this page. You should make sure the collator is currently active before delegating your tokens to them.
Network Share: When selecting a collator to delegate to, it’s generally advisable to avoid choosing one with the highest or lowest network share. Delegating to the most popular collators can increase the risk of centralization within the network as they will have more influence in governance and a greater share of blocks. On the other hand, choosing a collator with a low network share may be less profitable and increases the risk of them ceasing their operations. Finding the balance and choosing a collator with a moderate network share could be the best approach to keep the balance in decentralization and profitability.
Performance: To ensure the best results, it’s important to select a collator with high uptime performance. You can view a collator’s performance on the Moonbeam Validator Dashboard. Our suggestion is to only choose collators with an uptime performance of 99% or higher.
Value Add to the Ecosystem: Another way to assess the long-term vision of collators is to check if they offer additional services to their delegators, such as tax reporting tools, explorers, etc. This can be a useful filter when comparing different providers.