Zeeve is expanding its rollups-as-a-service (RaaS) offering with an advanced node sale launchpad for the node sale infrastructure. All kinds of optimistic rollup projects seeking to add an additional security and monitoring layer can leverage the Launchpad service to implement a robust verifier node system in their ecosystem. And, with that, web3 projects can create new paths for enhanced security, additional token utility and funding options. Let’s dive deeper to understand more about Zeeve’s Verifier node sale launchpad also while briefing verifier nodes, the node sale process, and the projects that have announced verifier node sale. 

What exactly are verifier nodes?

Verifier nodes, also sometimes called checker or sentry nodes, refer to an additional standalone component responsible for maintaining security and robustness for Layer2 optimistic rollups. Instead of assuming the transactions to be valid after the challenge period, you can actually appoint honest third-party screeners who will proactively monitor the entire on-chain operations and ensure there are no errors or malicious activities that potentially hamper security and decentralization. 

Projects are free to set criteria for operators interested in running verifier nodes. For example, the staking requirement can differ, hardware requirements can be distinct, etc. With everything in place, you can simply sell node licenses to the node operators so that they can set up and run nodes on their system. However, rollups first need to add a verifier node layer into their protocol, which can be complex. And that’s where Zeeve’s verifier node sale infrastructure helps. We will learn more about this later in the article.

Why are more L2/L3 rollups opting for node sales? 

Following are some of the top benefits that Layer2/ Layer3 Optimistic rollups can leverage through verifier nodes:

• Enhanced network security & decentralization:

The most important role of verifier nodes is to act as a powerful, unbiased screener for the rollup transactions, ensuring security compliance and standards at each network layer. Note that verifier nodes do more than just detect fraudulent activities. They are optimized to achieve significant enforcement against misbehaving nodes and protect users’ sensitive data. Due to their decentralized structure, verifier nodes eliminate challenges like single points of failure to achieve greater reliability.

• Additional token utility:

Adding more utility to native tokens can be a challenge for independent Rollups. That’s because tokenomics in L2/L3s are not as mature as established layer1 blockchains. Through verifier nodes, networks allow node operators to lock/stake their tokens, pay a transaction fee in the native token, and receive an incentive in the same native token for their contribution to ensuring security and decentralization. This way, rollups add significant utility to their token and generate its higher demand.

• A solid source of funding: 

Getting enough funds is definitely a big challenge for Web3 projects. Now, they have another funding option through verifier nodes. By selling the node license for a continued duration, projects can unlock a solid revenue stream to support the development of their protocol in the long run. A good example of this is HYCHAIN, which raised 8M+ funding through the sale of 16000+ node license keys in just 2 days. 

• Community engagement:

Rollup protocols that want to build their brand and reputation often seek better community engagement. Through verifier nodes, optimistic rollups entail the seamless participation of additional, community-run nodes that promote community engagement without much heavy lifting. 

How does the entire node sale process work? 

Although new, verifier nodes have started getting traction across rollups due to the tremendous benefits we discussed above. However, we must understand that the implementation of an additional validation system like verifier nodes is not supported natively on optimistic rollups as of now.  

Therefore, Layer2 rollup projects need the service offered by RaaS providers. These providers allow rollups to seamlessly add verifier node systems to their ecosystem and sell node licenses to eligible operators. The software for implementing verifier nodes and the node license — both components are essential for node sale, which projects require from their RaaS partner.

Protocols that have announced verifier node sales so far:

• Athier- Aethir, the reliable provider of decentralized GPU cloud infrastructure, announced its AI node sale a few months ago. The network has decided to make 10,000 nodes available for sale via a tiered pricing approach, which will be sold publicly. The initial price for checker nodes is decided to start from $500, and the node license will be sold as NFTs. Further, checker nodes on Athier are transferable 1-year after their sale, and there will be no cap on the number of nodes one can purchase.

• KIP protocol- KIP protocol, one of the pioneers in merging blockchain technology with AI, has recently announced the upcoming sale of KIP checker nodes. It is confirmed that node licenses will be distributed as NFTs to operators. Checker nodes have an important role in the KIP protocol’s overall operation and governance. Hence, these nodes monitor KIP’s distributed verification system and consensus-based checking to ensure the network’s integrity and decentralization remain intact. KIP rewards its node operators with $KIP tokens while claiming to have allotted 20% of the total $KIP token supply as rewards.

• XAI Protocol- XAI, the Ethereum Layer2 scaling solution, has announced the sale of its sentry nodes, which are in charge of monitoring the XAI rollup ecosystem. Node runners on XAI are required to stake esXAI and abide by a probabilistic algorithm to determine their rewards. Starting in 2023, XAI sentry node sales started at $300 for Tier-1 nodes, and the price went up with every tier. Also, XAI claimed that the protocol will only offer 50,000 Sentry nodes. To operate a sentry node, operators must purchase at least 1 Sentry license key, and they successfully pass the KYC screening to be eligible for rewards.

• CARV Protocol: CARV protocol, the modular data layer for enabling seamless exchange of data and value distribution, has announced its verifier node sale. Verifier nodes on CARV validate the on-chain TEE attestations, confirming if the outcome is reliable and their process aligns with the data privacy standards. CARV mainly has two offerings: buy a license key (non-transferrable NFTs) and run a node or delegate your license key to NaaS (node-as–a-service) providers. For both scenarios, CARV claims to distribute 25% of the $CARV token supply to verifiers. 

Try Zeeve’s verifier node sale launchpad: Super easy way to sell node licenses

Zeeve’s verifier node sale launchpad is designed to serve all kinds of Optimistic rollup chains. For example,  L2s built with Arbitrum Orbit or OP Stack can leverage the launchpad service to add a verifier node layer into their protocol and thereby open up the node license for sale. 

Essentially, Zeeve provides the set of software needed for the implementation of the verifier node infrastructure into rollups, as well as the node license that node operators will buy to run their verifier nodes. 

By doing this, Zeeve streamlines verifier node sales for Optimistic L2/L3s, allowing them to leverage benefits like unparalleled security, easy funding, and additional token utility. Here’s an image showing how you can launch & manage verifier node sales with Zeeve in some simple steps:

As discussed, verifier nodes introduce an innovative concept for enhancing security and decentralization on rollup protocols. Looking forward, we expect a lot of optimistic rollup L2/L3s, especially for the new players, to leverage verifier nodes into their networks. However, for a simple selling approach, they can always use Zeeve’s verifier node sale launchpad. Also, Zeeve offers node-as—a-service (NaaS) for people interested in running, managing, and scaling verifier nodes with the benefits of a fully hosted service. For other RaaS services or blockchain-related offerings at Zeeve, connect with our experts. Mail us your queries or discuss your project requirements in detail on a one-to-one call.