Core Validator Election

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Overview

Core's Satoshi Plus consensus draws validator support from three delegation sources:

• Delegated Proof of Work (DPoW) from Bitcoin miners
• Self-Custodial Bitcoin Staking from Bitcoin holders
• Delegated Proof of Stake (DPoS) from CORE token holders

Each source contributes to a validator's hybrid score, which determines their election into the active validator set.

Election Process

1. Delegation of Support

Validators receive support from three sources:

• Bitcoin Holders: Timelock Bitcoin using CLTV and embed validator metadata in the redeem script to vote for validators.
• Bitcoin Miners: Delegate hash power by including validator votes in the op_return field of Bitcoin coinbase transactions.
• CORE Token Holders: Delegate CORE tokens directly to preferred validators.

Each form of delegation contributes to validator selection and reward eligibility.

2. Hybrid Score Calculation

Validators are ranked by a hybrid score that blends the three forms of support:

$$S = (\frac{rHp}{tHp})* m + (\frac{rSp}{tSp})*k + (\frac{rBp}{tBp})*l$$

Where, $m + k + l = 1$

• $rHp$: Bitcoin hash power delegated to a validator.
• $tHp$: Total hash power on Core.
• $rSp$: Amount of CORE tokens staked to a validator.
• $tSp$: Total CORE tokens staked on Core.
• $rBp$: Amount of BTC tokens staked to a validator.
• $tBp$: Total BTC tokens staked on Core.
• $m$: Ratio assigned to hash power.
• $k$: Ratio assigned to CORE staking.
• $l$: Ratio assigned to BTC staking.

This formula promotes proportional and fair influence across all delegation sources.

3. Validator Selection and Block Production

• The top 29 validators with the highest hybrid scores are elected every round (1 day)
• Validators produce blocks in a round-robin fashion, with each slot lasting 3 seconds
• The validator set is updated every 200 blocks to promote consistency and prevent disruption from underperforming or penalized validators
• Core maintains liveness as long as fewer than ⅓ of validators are malicious

Flow Summary

The validator election cycle proceeds as follows:

1. Delegation: Miners, CORE stakers, and Bitcoin stakers delegate support
2. Score Calculation: Hybrid scores are computed using the defined formula
3. Election: Top 29 validators are selected based on scores
4. Block Production: Validators take turns producing blocks
5. Rewards: CORE tokens are earned by validators and distributed proportionally to delegators
6. Cycle Repeats: Validator set updates every 200 blocks