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Delegating your peaq tokens to a validator supports the security and stability of the peaq network, and earns you a share of the block rewards that validator produces. Which validator you pick decides how much you earn, so it pays to look before you delegate. This guide is a high-level strategy for deciding who to delegate to.

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Before you start

  • You have a wallet holding peaq tokens: a Substrate wallet, or an EVM wallet such as MetaMask if you delegate through the peaq app.
  • You know how to read validator statistics on Subscan or in the peaq app.

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1. Research validators

  • Official sources: the peaq app shows validators in the active set. Querying parachainStaking → candidatePool under Developer → Chain state in polkadot.js returns every candidate, including those outside the active set.
  • Community reputation: peaq’s Discord gives you a sense of which validators are well regarded. Word of mouth is valuable, especially for validators with a long record of reliable performance.
  • Explorer metrics: Subscan’s validator page shows each validator’s total stake, commission rate, and blocks produced.

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2. Evaluate key factors

  • Commission rate: a validator keeps a percentage of the rewards its delegators earn. A lower commission leaves more of the reward with you, but a very low commission can come with less reliable infrastructure.
  • Block production: your reward is proportional to the blocks your validator authors, so a validator that drops offline earns you less.
  • Stake distribution: check whether the validator already holds a large share of the network stake. Spreading stake across validators keeps the network decentralized.
  • Infrastructure: look for validators running on dedicated or cloud servers with monitoring and backups. Many share their setup in community channels or on their own websites.

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3. Delegate your tokens

  1. Narrow the list to a few validators that fit your preferences. Splitting your delegation across more than one validator means one of them going offline does not stop your rewards.
  2. Bond your tokens and select your validators, either through a Substrate staking UI or, for an EVM wallet, through the peaq app.
  3. Check the validator address before you confirm the delegation.
  4. Track the delegation on the explorer or the staking dashboard.

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4. Monitor and adjust

Validator reliability changes over time. Watch your validator’s block production and commission rate, and re-delegate if either moves against you. Network upgrades and other announcements go out in the community channels.