Who are validators and why are they needed?
Blockchain is a distributed database. Information is recorded in blocks in the form of transactions. Each block contains part of the information from previous blocks. In order to confirm the correctness of information recording, it is necessary to check the information recorded in the last block with the entire blockchain. This check is carried out by special nodes of the blockchain called "Nodes". If the majority of nodes confirmed the integrity of the block, it is recorded in the blockchain and new information is recorded in the next block.
The consensus algorithm according to which nodes synchronize and confirm transactions is called Proof of Stake (PoS) or Delegated Proof of Stake (DPoS).
Technical support of "Nodes" is provided by validators. In addition, they participate in improving the operation of the blockchain itself, its updates and improvements. In fact, validators create network decentralization and implement its distributed management in the form of a DAO (Decentralized autonomous organization).
Each validator has a rating. The higher the rating, the weightier his vote when making decisions in voting. To increase the rating, it is necessary from a technical point of view to maintain a high uptime of the node, fast confirmation of transactions and fast updating. From a financial point of view, it is necessary to have the largest number of project tokens on the account. The validator can buy them on the market and independently secure them or attract them from other token holders. It is the second option that is most often used by validators. Those participants who sent their tokens to the staking validator are called Delegators.
Validators are rewarded for supporting Nodes in the form of blockchain tokens. The validator keeps part of the reward in the form of a commission (usually 3%-10%), and sends the rest to the delegators (90%-97%).