Hello Splinterlands players!
Finally, after a long wait, SPS Node has launched in splinterlands and no doubt, this mega update is creating quite a buzz among the community. The news was aired when yesterday on 19th February RoyaleEagle announced it in the official Splinterlands discord channel and right now, it is the hottest talk in town. So, in this post, I am going to talk about what exactly is it and will also cover all the updates. So, if you are holding Node Licenses or are interested, let’s take a jump without any further ado.
SPS Chain
From now on, Splintershards (SPS), the in-game Reward and Governance token of splinterlands will be operating as an open-source system that will allow anyone, anywhere in the world, to validate transactions in a decentralized manner, without any central authority. This open-source system will use the same Hive blockchain as its foundation (Layer 1), while SPS will operate as a "Layer 2" platform on Hive, ensuring all transactions and smart contracts run smoothly and independently of the Splinterlands company.
At the initial stage, the SPS Chain will execute and manage all the transactions for SPS, VOUCHER and LICENSE tokens. However, in the future, there are plans to incorporate all Splinterlands assets - such as DEC, cards, land and marketplaces to be managed using this system. This transition will ensure a safe decentralized system where different splinterlands token balances and contracts can be independently verified.
Major Updates & Improvements
Just 2 days ago, we got an announcement from RoyaleEagle about this upcoming change with a reminder of scheduled maintenance to implement the changes. As expected, the long-awaited SPS Validator Network officially launched yesterday February 19, 2025. Now, Here’s what is changing with this mega update.
Validator Updates
- All the SPS related transactions will be now validated by the SPS Validator Nodes, enhancing security, transparency and decentralization.
License rewards will be temporarily paused for 2 weeks and will resume once validators become fully functional.
In the first week, it will be verified if the transition went smoothly and if the network is running and functioning properly. If it goes right, then at the end of week 1, a snapshot will be provided to help bring the nodes online.
- If everything goes well, All the node owners will have another week to bring their nodes online and after the end of week 2, the license rewards will go live again. From that point onwards, it will be necessary to stake your license being active in a node to start receiving rewards again.
- Users can easily stake and unstake licenses on the License Management page located in the splinterlands game. However, while you can stake your Licences right now, rewards will only be available once nodes are publicly operational after 2 weeks as mentioned above.
Technology behind Validator Node
Delegated Proof of Stake (DPoS)
SPS Chain will be running on a Delegated Proof of Stake (DPoS) consensus mechanism, which is a more improved version of the Proof of Stake (PoS) mechanism. If you don’t know, PoS is an efficient alternative to the traditional Proof of Work (PoW) mechanism. Earlier with the PoW mechanism, users had to use physical computing devices like Graphics Cards or ASIC machines to verify and encrypt transactions but later in the PoS mechanism, instead of physical devices, staked crypto tokens are used to verify a transaction. For example - Ethereum migrated from PoW to PoS consensus mechanism lately mainly to reduce power usage and become more efficient.
Anyway, the DPoS consensus mechanism uses a decentralized voting process to select which delegates will perform or validate transactions, the same way we as Hive users vote with our Hive Power for Witnesses who validate the Hive transactions. Here, SPS tokens which are in staked form will be used to validate transactions, ensuring security and transparency.
Validator Nodes
Validator Nodes will play an essential role in maintaining the integrity of the SPS blockchain. They will work in the same way as mentioned above to verify transactions and prevent any type of fraudulent activities. Anyone can run an SPS node, but in order to earn SPS rewards, you must own and stake at least one Validator License.
How to Set Up a Validator Node
Setting up a node requires some technical knowledge, but the community has provided resources to help. If you wish to run a node, please follow the easy setup guide provided below.
- Easy Setup Guide - Guide by @jef-001
- Validator GitHub - Coding Instructions
Now, those who prefer not to set up a node themselves may choose trusted third-party services to run the SPS nodes for them for a minimal fee. For example - @asgarth and the whole @peakmonsters team are currently working on an SPS Node Hosting Service. This will allow users to stake their licenses and earn rewards without handling the technical setup for a fee.
Using a Node Hosting Service
If you own a Validator License but do not want to run a node yourself, you can use a hosting service. Here’s how it works
Choose a trusted hosting provider (for example - PeakMonsters).
The provider will set up and run the node on their hardware.
You will provide a Reward Account (e.g., @mango-juice) where your rewards will be sent periodically.
Once the node is active, you can stake your licenses to start earning rewards.
FAQs
- Do you need a separate node for each license?
Ans - No, you can stake multiple licenses to one node.
- Does each account need its own node?
Ans - Yes, each account must have a unique node to ensure decentralization.
Final Thoughts
With the launch of the SPS Validator Network, splinterlands has achieved another significant step towards full decentralization in their ecosystem. By running validator nodes, users can now actively contribute to the network’s security while earning rewards. So, no matter if you are planning to set up your own node or use a hosting service, don’t wait anymore and get involved asap and take advantage of this new system. In case you are interested and want your skin in the Node game, you can easily purchase a Licence from the official in-game shop page or from the Hive-Engine secondary market and start your validator journey!
Please note: I am not a Financial Advisor and this post is not financial advice. Please do your own research before investing in crypto.
I hope you enjoyed reading my post about the SPS Licence and Validator Node. Please let me know your thoughts about this update in the comment section below and I will look forward to seeing you all in my next post.
Thanks for visiting my post, hope we meet again!
Stay well and keep playing Splinterlands!
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