Orbs releases Single Nominator Smart Contract to enhance TON validator Security

Telegram Open Network (TON) is a layer-1 blockchain designed to offer rapid, scalable, and secure transactions. The network uses validators or network participants who validate blocks and earn Toncoin while contributing to network security.

However, the Proof of Stake consensus algorithm used by TON requires validators to stake their own Toncoin as collateral to partake in the validation process. This incentivizes validators to act honestly and comply with network regulations, as they face the possibility of losing their stake if they engage in malicious behavior or neglect their responsibilities.

However, not everyone can qualify as a validator, as there are criteria for hardware, network availability, and the amount of stake required. To become a validator, a minimum of 10,000 Toncoin is necessary, which currently translates to approximately $1.2 million, a significant barrier to entry for most people.

To address this, TON enables nominators, who can loan their assets to validators. By choosing a validator they trust and delegating their stake, nominators receive a portion of the rewards earned by the validator based on pool settings. This method allows nominators to provide support to the network and generate passive income without having to operate a validator node themselves.

It’s for this reason, that Orbs, a prominent TON ecosystem contributor, announced the release of the Single Nominator smart contract for TON validators. This ingenious solution enables secure TON blockchain validation using an air-gapped cold wallet designed explicitly for validators with sufficient self-stake to validate independently without relying on third-party nominators.

The Single Nominator contract provides a simplified alternative to the Nominator Pool smart contract developed by the core team, which significantly reduces the attack surface and boosts security by only supporting one nominator.

The contract has been thoroughly audited by Certik, TON’s most reputable auditor and major blockchain auditor, which recently announced a partnership with TON to audit future projects on the network.

Orbs, known for its projects such as TON Minter and TON Contract Verifier, developed the Single Nominator contract in-house to provide enhanced security for validators who both stake their funds and run a TON validator node.

This tool considered the most secure and robust option for running a validator node on TON, is now offered to the community as a free, open-source product.

The Single Nominator contract also mitigates potential attack vectors by separating the validator node’s hot wallet from the principal staking funds, protecting the balance from gas spending attacks, and allowing the owner to change the validator address in case of a compromised wallet.

Additionally, the contract enables stake recovery in emergencies such as Elector upgrades.

The Single Nominator smart contract sets a new standard for deploying TON smart contracts, reflecting Orbs’ commitment to the TON ecosystem’s growth and security.

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Founded in 2017, Orbs is a public, open, decentralized blockchain infrastructure powered by a network of permissionless validators using Proof-of-Stake (PoS) consensus. Using a multi-layered blockchain stack, Orbs acts as a separate decentralized execution layer operating between existing layer-1 and layer-2 solutions and the application layer. This approach opens up a new horizon of capabilities for Web3 segments, including DeFi, NFTs, and GameFi, as it delivers a decentralized backend for smart contracts.