Become a Moonbeam Collator

Collators Help Maintain the Network

The main purpose of a collator is to produce blocks and support block liveness on the network. From there, collators offer up blocks to validators on the relay chain for finalization.

This is similar to the role of miners in Proof of Work networks but, unlike miners, collator nodes do not contribute to the safety of the network and are critical to liveness, decentralization, censorship resistance, and security. Essentially, collators work to produce state transition proofs for validators based on the Polkadot and Kusama relay chains and maintain a full node on both the relay chain and parachain in which they operate.

This is an opportunity to support the Moonbeam project and gain specialized knowledge while also earning real network rewards, such as Moonbeam’s native utility token, Glimmer (GLMR), and Moonriver’s native utility token, Moonriver (MOVR).

Collators Aid Block Production on Moonbeam

Helpful Experience

  • Proven experience running Substrate-based nodes and infrastructure
  • Familiarity with NPoS staking functionality on the Polkadot and Kusama relay chains
  • Experience with Linux and DevOps automation

What You Need

  • Appropriate hardware or virtual infrastructure to perform collator activities
  • A full node that runs with collator options
  • An Ethereum/Moonbeam H160 style account to stake funds, nominate others and collect rewards
  • A session key to generate an author ID and sign proposed blocks
  • Minimum staking balance for candidacy
  • A Telemetry server to run the full node is encouraged but not required
  • More than 1 person to run a 24/7 service
Learn More About Collating

The Benefits of Becoming a Moonbeam Collator

Moonbeam Icon Neon 100

Polkadot, Moonbeam & Web3

Help support the protocols deployed on Moonbeam and Moonriver by actively participating and helping to support the security and decentralized operation of the platform.

Help Build Moonbeam

Build & Contribute to The Network

Contribute your DevOps, technical, and operational skills to the network and gain rewards for producing blocks.

Learn About Moonbeam

Learn & Gain Valuable Experience

Learn how to perform the role of collator within Polkadot. We are the first Polkadot parachain to support an open and decentralized collator set.

Join the Moonbeam Orbiters Program

The Moonbeam Foundation recently announced the Moonbeam Obiters Program, a new trial program that allows collators to participate in the diversity and security of the network even if they do not have enough funds or backing to otherwise be in the active set. Currently, the Orbiters program consists of 24 Orbiters split amongst 4 Orbiter pools on Moonbeam and 8 on Moonriver. As with the name, the orbiters regularly rotate active slots to maintain a fair distribution of active rounds.

Commitment From Participants

  • An initial bond of 400 MOVR for Moonriver or 30K for Moonbeam
  • Operate the collator continuously regardless of if the collator is live or in rotation
  • Provide advance notification if they elect to leave the pool, so a new collator can be selected and rotated in
  • Collators must remain in good standing, as measured by their peers

Program Eligibility

  • All Orbiters must pass identity verification
  • Orbiters cannot run another active collator on the same network as their Orbiter but can run a collator on one network and an orbiter on another network.
  • Must have been in adherence to stated collator guidelines in the past.

Application Preparation

  • Prepare your node by syncing it and generating session keys
  • Register your session keys and post the associated mapping bond
  • Register as an orbiter via the moonbeamOrbiters.orbiterRegister() intrinsic and post the associated orbiter bond
  • Orbiters will be placed on a waiting list for each network until a slot is available
  • Once a slot opens up, begin producing blocks and receiving rewards
Collators Producing Blocks

Earn Rewards from Inflation

In an effort to contrast the “race to the bottom” that has occurred in other PoS networks, we are allocating 1% of the total supply to go directly to block producers on an annual basis. This allocation is specifically for collators and will not be shared with stakers (who receive 2.5%).

These rewards will be given to individual collators and teams and will be distributed to on-chain collators in the token of the network on which they’re collating (MOVR on Moonriver or GLMR on Moonbeam). This rewards system is designed to prevent larger collators from operating at a loss to force out smaller collators. We want the system to be compatible with small, professional validator teams!

Moonriver Collators at Launch

Bloclick Staking Logo

BloClick Staking

Staking Provider

SendIt Staking Logo

SendIt Staking

Staking Provider

Utopia & TF Alpha logo

Utopia & TF Alpha

Community Collator

Eaglenode logo

EAGLENODE

Staking Provider

EarnX Logo

EarnX

Validator and Staking Provider

Bitcoin Suisse Logo

Bitcoin Suisse

Custodial Staking Provider

Dominodes logo

DomiNodes

Validator and Staking Provider

Figment Hubble

Figment Hubble

Staking Application & Collator

Bware Labs

Bware Labs

API Provider & Collator

Pathrocknetwork

Pathrocknetwork

Validator and Collator

Blockdaemon Logo

Blockdaemon

Leading Blockchain Node Infrastructure

Anonstake Logo

Anonstake

Staking Infrastructure Provider

GP | Validator

GP | Validator

Validator

Hetavalidation Collator

Hetavalidation

Professional Staking Service

Stake.Fish Logo

Stake.Fish

Validator and Collator

Crifferent

Crifferent

Reliable and Secure Staking Services

LetzBake Logo

LetzBake!

Reliable and Secure Staking Service

Simply Staking

Simply Staking

Highly Reliable and Secure Infrastructure

Ryabina

Ryabina

Validator and Blockchain Software Developer

TrueStaking Collator Logo

TrueStaking

Dedicated to Fast, Secure, and Dependable Validation Nodes

Anamix

Anamix

Experienced Infrastructure Team

Staking4All

Staking4All

Validator for Proof of Stake Blockchains

Ondin

Ondin

Validator and Delegator

Masternode24

Masternode24

Validator and Staking Provider

Collators.io

Collators.io

Staking Services for Substrate-based Networks

Staker Space

Staker Space

Small Independent Node Operator

ZKValidator

ZKValidator

Validator and Privacy Champion

AlfaStake

AlfaStake

Independent Group of Validators

Brightlystake Logo

Brightlystake

Staking Services for Retail by the Pros

Polkadotters

Polkadotters

Czech/Slovak-based Polkadot Community

Moonbeam's Staking Mechanism

Moonbeam is currently the only Polkadot parachain to engage with third-party collators.

Parachain Proof of Stake

Staking Operation

Moonbeam and Moonriver plan to stay on a DPoS mechanism. This will allow nominators to choose which collators they support and the amount of stake with which to support them.

Substrate Pallet

Custom Staking Pallet

Moonbeam’s staking system is implemented as a Substrate pallet, which has been submitted for a Web3 grant. In addition, Moonbeam also includes EVM staking precompiles so staking functionality can be easily accessed and used by developers.

Active Collator Set

Active Collator Slots

Moonriver was rolled out with an initial 32 active collator slots that were occupied by the highest-staked collators. As the network has grown the active collator set has increased to 72. The top 72 nominated collators are selected as the active collator set for a round, although the number of collators may continue to increase in the future.

Network Inflation

Supply Inflation

20% of Moonbeam’s annual inflation is evenly distributed to collators in active slots and in good standing. This amount may also change over time as network conditions change.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long is the commitment to be a collator?

Anyone can signal their intent to become a collator and can occupy an active slot if they meet the minimum staking requirements. Active collators can withdraw from the active collator status at any time.

How long is the commitment to be an Orbiter?

Orbiters will continue to rotate through active slots unless they have fallen out of good standing or choose to retire.

What support can I expect?

The Moonbeam team provides technical support and can answer any questions on the Moonbeam Discord. Moonbeam has an in-house experienced team that is running validators on Polkadot, Kusama, and other Substrate-based chains, including the Moonbase Alpha core infrastructure. The core Moonbeam devs are available as necessary if any code-level issues need to be addressed or if critical troubleshooting is needed.

How many collators are there?

Moonbeam has 72 collators at the moment, including 8 orbiter pool accounts, while moonbeam has 68 collators with 4 orbiter pool accounts. The Moonbeam Foundation may adjust these numbers in the future depending on demand for the program.

How will I be rewarded for being a collator?

Collators receive 1% of the total supply annually. This, however, does not include staking rewards which are accounted for separately.

How will I be rewarded for being an Orbiter?

Rewards are based on blocks successfully produced during your time as an active Orbiter.