Secure a network no one owns.
Aksum is a sovereign proof-of-stake network with no owner — sudo was removed long ago, so the validator set is the network's security and its decision-making backbone. Validators produce blocks, finalize settlement for every market on Mitra, and earn staking rewards for doing it honestly. Misbehavior is slashed.
What you need
Hardware
8-core modern x86_64 CPU, 32 GB RAM, 1 TB NVMe SSD, 500 Mbps symmetric, stable public IP. Validators are latency-sensitive — bare metal or dedicated instances beat burstable VMs.
Software
Linux (Ubuntu 22.04+), the Aksum node binary, and a Substrate wallet holding enough AKSUM to bond. Minimum bond is read from chain state — check the explorer before committing hardware.
Accounts
Use two: a stash (holds the bond, stays cold) and a staking proxy (signs day-to-day transactions). Never keep stash keys on the validator machine.
Five steps to the active set
Install the node. Download the latest release, verify the checksum, run it as a systemd service, and let it fully sync.
Generate session keys. Call author_rotateKeys on the local RPC. Private keys never leave the machine.
Bond and set keys. Bond AKSUM from your stash, submit session.setKeys, then staking.validate with your commission.
Attract nominations. Set on-chain identity. Nominators back visible identity, sane commission, and clean uptime.
Operate it like it matters. Monitor via Prometheus, never run two nodes with the same session keys, keep the stash cold.
Adulis: same flow, zero stakes
Get test AKSUM from the faucet, bond it, validate. The testnet program — including the validator incentive track — concludes September 2026. Break things here, loudly. The full step-by-step guide with commands lives on adulis.network.