AERE Network achieves sub-second block times with immediate finality using QBFT consensus, a deterministic, committee-based algorithm that doesn't depend on proof-of-work or on a lottery of stakers competing to propose the next block. This article explains how QBFT validators operate, how a validator is admitted by a governance vote (no staking, no bonding), and how block fees flow to whoever proposes each block.
QBFT stands for Quorum Byzantine Fault Tolerant. It is a variant of the PBFT (Practical Byzantine Fault Tolerance) family of consensus protocols, adapted for Hyperledger Besu. In QBFT, a fixed set of validators takes turns proposing blocks in a round-robin rotation. When a validator proposes a block, the other validators vote on it. Once two-thirds plus one of the validators have signed the block, it is final, no reorganizations, no probabilistic waiting.
This design has two important properties for a production network:
The active validator set is maintained by Besu's QBFT protocol itself and can be read at any time with the qbft_getValidatorsByBlockNumber RPC method. Validators are admitted through governance, they are not anonymous nodes competing with compute power, and there is no stake, bond, or deposit that turns an address into a validator. There are 7 Foundation validators today, with a public path to 7 and then 21.
Admission is a vote of the existing set: each current validator calls qbft_proposeValidatorVote with the candidate's address and true, coordinated by the Foundation. Once a majority has proposed the candidate, QBFT adds it at the next epoch. The same mechanism removes a validator: a majority proposing an address with false drops it from the set.
Validators earn the per-block fee remainder: after each block's coinbase split is routed by the AereCoinbaseSplitter (0xb4b0eCe9011613A5b84248a9B42a0f309E6F01Ec) and AereCoinbaseSplitterV2 (0x8C1A48eFA57b66fEE743A00E3899c29ad3Fd27b4), the remaining fees go to the block's proposer. Their reward is therefore proportional to participation: a validator that misses rounds proposes fewer blocks and earns less than one that participates in every block. To run one, see aere.network/run-a-validator.
Because no stake is ever posted, AERE has no slashing. Nothing is burned, there is no equivocation penalty, and there is no unbonding period. A validator that misbehaves or stays offline is instead removed by the same governance mechanism that admitted it: the remaining validators call qbft_proposeValidatorVote with the offender's address and false, and once a majority agrees the address is dropped from the active set at the next epoch. Accountability is operational and social, backed by the power to remove, not financial.
This keeps the model simple and honest: there is no on-chain slashing contract to trust, no self-stake or delegated stake at risk, and no complex reward accounting. A validator's incentive to stay online is direct, an offline node proposes no blocks and earns no fee remainder, and a persistently faulty one loses its seat.
Running a validator does not involve staking, and staking does not make you a validator. Staking on AERE is a distinct product for any holder who wants yield without operating infrastructure. It has nothing to do with the validator set or block production.
There are two real staking paths:
| Product | What it is | Yield |
|---|---|---|
sAERE (ERC-4626)0xA2125bE9C6fd4196D9F94757Df18B3a2A5e650b0 | A liquid staking receipt. Deposit AERE, receive sAERE. | Variable staker-yield from the AereSink 15/40/45 split (0x69581B86A48161b067Ff4E01544780625B231676) |
AereLockedStaking0x21108c28A849b05aE6b7a3a5bc435C9Bc897E7Ad | Fixed-term locks for a set APY. | 30d/10%, 90d/15%, 180d/22%, 365d/30% APY |
Neither product grants validation rights, block-proposal duties, or any control over the validator set. They are simply ways for holders to put idle AERE to work.
| Validator | Staker | |
|---|---|---|
| Infrastructure required | Yes (Besu node, 24/7 uptime) | No |
| How you join | Admitted by governance vote of the existing validator set (qbft_proposeValidatorVote true) | Deposit AERE into sAERE or AereLockedStaking |
| Stake required to join | None (no bond, no deposit) | Any AERE amount you wish to stake |
| Reward source | Per-block fee remainder via the coinbase splitter | AereSink yield (sAERE) or fixed APY (locked staking) |
| Slashing | None; accountability is governance removal (vote false) | None |
To run a validator, follow the onboarding guide at aere.network/run-a-validator. You will stand up a synced Besu node and submit your validator address to the Foundation, which coordinates the admission vote of the current set. No AERE is staked or deposited.
To stake for yield as a holder, the staking interface is available at /stake.html. You'll need MetaMask connected to AERE Network (chain ID 2800) and AERE in your wallet. Choose sAERE for a liquid, variable-yield receipt or AereLockedStaking for a fixed-term rate, approve the token allowance, and stake.
For developers building on top of the staking contracts, the full ABI and documentation are available at /docs.html.
← Back to Blog