Validator Operators Approved: Keyrock, BlackNodes, STAKEME, TJS Analytics, Amberdata, 6th Man Ventures, Saxon, TechNova Labs, Rodion
The following (10) Validator Applications have passed
Name of Applying Institution: Keyrock S.A.
URL to website of Applying Institution: https://keyrock.com/
Short description of Applying Institution: Market making and liquidity provider
Please provide information about why you believe you qualify to operate Validators in the Canton Network and why you would prefer to do this yourself instead of using one of the existing operators: We're not just market maker but also ecosystem developpers and contributors. We currently have a nodes infrastructure and run nodes for Aptos, Pyth, Redstone, and many others
How did you hear about us?: Georg Schneider
How do you plan to further contribute to the Canton ecosystem?: Build and use the derivatives collateral platform
Country of Incorporation: Belgium
Name of Applying Institution: BlackNodes
URL to website of Applying Institution: https://www.blacknodes.net/
Short description of Applying Institution: BlackNodes a leading Enterprise-Grade Validator and staking platform based out of India, provides reliable nodes, services and infrastructure to the network we support. Based out of INDIA we aim to diversify the validators pool which mitigates risks associated with relying solely on concentrated geolocation. We 5+ years of experience supporting 60+ Mainnet and Testnet and more than $150M staked with 99.99% uptime.
Please provide information about why you believe you qualify to operate Validators in the Canton Network and why you would prefer to do this yourself instead of using one of the existing operators: "We believe we qualify to operate validators in the Canton Network due to our extensive operational experience and infrastructure specialization. With over 5 years of experience across 60+ networks and >$150M in total value staked, we have developed a mature, decentralized validator infrastructure.Running our own validator allows us to:
Ensure full-stack control of security and monitoring (HSM key storage, 24/7 alerting, Prometheus/Grafana dashboards).
Maintain low-latency, high-uptime infrastructure tailored to each network’s needs.
Innovate rapidly by building internal tooling and improving performance.
Delegating to third-party operators would limit our ability to apply our infrastructure optimizations and security best practices and most importantly our goal to decentralization."
How did you hear about us?: Through mutual institutional validators
How do you plan to further contribute to the Canton ecosystem?: Tooling & Infrastructure: Building out public RPC/gRPC endpoints, node monitoring dashboards, and one-click setup scripts to accelerate validator and developer onboarding. example - https://services.blacknodes.net/ Community Support: Hosting AMAs, publishing validator setup guides, and creating educational content to simplify adoption for new developers and stakers. example - https://blog.blacknodes.net/ Developer Introductions: Leveraging our network of South Asian Web3 builders and communities to introduce projects and developers to the Canton Foundation. Sovereign App Demos: Creating proof-of-concept applications or rollups using the Canton stack and various infra apps. example - https://map.blacknodes.net/
Country of Incorporation: India
Name of Applying Institution: STAKEME LLP
URL to website of Applying Institution: https://stakeme.pro/
Short description of Applying Institution: The Stakeme team is a professional validator providing secure staking with high uptime, advanced Web3 monitoring tools, and 24/7 support. We maintain staking infrastructure across 30+ networks, support 22,000+ stakers, and manage over $66M in TVL. Our services include RPCs, snapshots, and custom monitoring tools. Our community counts more than 200 thousand people in Discord, and 10 thousand on Twitter, there we also develop our telegram channel. We prefer to run several nodes - this increases reliability and in case of failure of one node, we can go to the next node (with different locations and data centers). In addition, we have a own metal in Asia (China) and a backup server in the Far East. Team: Our team consists of 10 people: Beckend, Frontend, Product designer, Devops Engineer STAKEME now a verified staking provider on StakingRewards This confirms our transparency, reliability, and commitment to the community: https://www.stakingrewards.com/provider/stakeme
Please provide information about why you believe you qualify to operate Validators in the Canton Network and why you would prefer to do this yourself instead of using one of the existing operators: "We believe we are well-qualified to operate Validators in the Canton Network based on our extensive experience managing infrastructure across over 15 blockchain networks, including Celestia, IOTA, Sei, Story, and others. Our team at STAKEME consists of senior DevOps engineers, backend developers, and security experts who maintain high-uptime validator operations, custom monitoring systems, and infrastructure tools like RPC endpoints, snapshots, and automated alerting.We prefer to operate our own validator because it ensures full control over uptime, performance, and security standards. We’ve built internal tools and procedures for 24/7 monitoring (including role-based rotation across time zones), active response systems, and integration of custom explorers and dashboards. Operating independently also allows us to innovate quickly and tailor our contributions to the network’s needs, such as building AI-enhanced infrastructure tooling and testnet support systems.
Being hands-on helps us contribute directly to the health and decentralization of the network, rather than relying on a third-party provider."
How did you hear about us?: Twitter
How do you plan to further contribute to the Canton ecosystem?: "We plan to contribute to the Canton ecosystem in several meaningful ways: 1. Build Tools & Infrastructure: We’re already developing ecosystem-specific infrastructure, such as explorers, smart faucets, and monitoring dashboards. These tools improve transparency, developer experience, and network reliability. 2. AI-Powered Assistants: We are working on an AI assistant similar to MonadAI, which can be adapted to Canton. It would help users query validator data, block history, and smart contract interactions through a user-friendly interface — boosting accessibility and understanding of the network. 3. Developer Onboarding & Support: We actively engage developers by providing testnet tools, documentation, and hands-on support. We also maintain an active Discord community where new teams can get technical help and guidance. 4. Community Growth: We’ll promote Canton to our global network of developers and validator partners. We often introduce high-quality projects and early-stage teams to foundations and help match them with the right resources. 5. Governance Participation: As active participants in governance across multiple networks, we’re committed to contributing feedback, proposals, and decisions that align with long-term ecosystem health. In short, we aim to be not just validators, but ecosystem enablers — providing tools, talent, and technical depth to help Canton grow."
Country of Incorporation: Kazahstan
Name of Applying Institution: TJS Analytics LLC
URL to website of Applying Institution: https://swishandkick.com
Short description of Applying Institution: Swishandkick is an AI-driven platform under TJS Analytics LLC focused on fantasy sports intelligence. It currently operates as a statistical engine for player analysis and market detection in the NFL and NBA, and is expanding into token-based reward models for community and AI contributions. The system is built around long-term infrastructure planning, with a strategic interest in decentralized incentives and gold-backed value storage.
Please provide information about why you believe you qualify to operate Validators in the Canton Network and why you would prefer to do this yourself instead of using one of the existing operators: "We bring both technical infrastructure capability and a use-case-driven approach to validator participation. We’ve studied the Canton architecture and are aligned with the principles of privacy-preserving, composable RWA protocols.Rather than outsourcing validator operations, we intend to manage the node directly to:
Maintain uptime and reliability
Validate smart contracts linked to contributor-based workflows
Build and test new Daml-based applications with real-world reward mechanisms
We’re developing a proof-of-concept app called GoldScout, which rewards high-signal AI contributions (e.g., player usage insights, edge models) in sports analytics with tokenized gold via automated smart contracts. Canton’s privacy controls, validator incentives, and composability make it the ideal foundation for this protocol."
How did you hear about us?: Protocol-level research and analysis of the tokenized gold and RWA infrastructure space.
How do you plan to further contribute to the Canton ecosystem?: Operate a validator node with high uptime and support for Daml-based application validation Deploy and iterate on GoldScout, an app rewarding AI-generated and user-submitted sports data with tokenized gold payouts Help onboard fantasy and sports analytics contributors as validator-integrated users Provide thought leadership and reporting tools to help new developers understand app-validator interactions and incentives Expand tokenization narratives beyond finance into sports, intelligence, and decentralized collaboration
Country of Incorporation: United States
Name of Applying Institution: Amberdata
URL to website of Applying Institution: https://www.amberdata.io
Short description of Applying Institution: Amberdata delivers data, analytics, and comprehensive tools and insights that empower financial institutions to research, trade, and manage risk and compliance in crypto and other digital assets. We serve as critical infrastructure empowering the financial markets of today and tomorrow.
Please provide information about why you believe you qualify to operate Validators in the Canton Network and why you would prefer to do this yourself instead of using one of the existing operators: We manage and monitor hundreds of millions of daily events across blockchains, DeFi protocols, and centralized exchanges, meeting the SLAs required by global banks, asset managers, and regulators, while ingesting over 2TB of data per day. Our infrastructure team brings deep expertise in operating real-time streaming systems, enabling us to run Canton validators with the reliability, precision, and resilience expected of Tier 1 network participants.
How did you hear about us?: Jacob Mccrum
How do you plan to further contribute to the Canton ecosystem?: We’re exploring ways to bring off-chain data into the network and have actively discussed several potential application ideas.
Country of Incorporation: USA
Name of Applying Institution: 6th Man Ventures
URL to website of Applying Institution: https://6thman.ventures/
Short description of Applying Institution: Crypto venture capital firm investing in early companies and ecosystems
Please provide information about why you believe you qualify to operate Validators in the Canton Network and why you would prefer to do this yourself instead of using one of the existing operators: We usually run validators and/or hold the native asset of ecosystems where we invest capital into the App Layer, for example Eth and Sol. We have run validators on Ethereum previously that secured $mm in value. We also would be open to using an existing operator validator if that is the best path.
How did you hear about us?: Eric + Melvis
How do you plan to further contribute to the Canton ecosystem?: We primarily publish research, be vocal thought leaders, and invest in the App Layer of networks/ecosystems we have high conviction in. Venture Capital firms play an important role in helping networks grow a thriving layer of infra + apps
Country of Incorporation: United States (w/ int'l sub entity)
Name of Applying Institution: Saxon
URL to website of Applying Institution: https://saxon.xyz
Short description of Applying Institution: Saxon is a tech-driven advisory, venture investor, validator, and market-maker for digital-asset ventures and institutions.
Please provide information about why you believe you qualify to operate Validators in the Canton Network and why you would prefer to do this yourself instead of using one of the existing operators: Saxon operates high-performance, security-first infrastructure on major networks (ethereum, bittensor, polymesh, peaq) on behalf of large clients. We have the expertise to be able to contribute technically to the project. Finally, we would like to offer validation services to our clients alongside aid in building a thriving ecosystem on the Canton Network.
How did you hear about us?: W Eric Saraniecki
How do you plan to further contribute to the Canton ecosystem?: We plan to extend the opensource code via PRs where we feel we can add value. Additionally, through our advisory we can introduce projects and venture investors (including ourselves) to Canton, alongside providing application development services to the foundation, etc.
Country of Incorporation: United Kingdom
Name of Applying Institution: TechNova Labs, Inc.
URL to website of Applying Institution: https://www.technovalabs.io
Short description of Applying Institution: We are a blockchain infrastructure and R&D company focused on enterprise-grade solutions, decentralized identity, and digital asset interoperability. We have experience operating validator nodes across multiple permissioned and public networks.
Please provide information about why you believe you qualify to operate Validators in the Canton Network and why you would prefer to do this yourself instead of using one of the existing operators: Our team has extensive experience managing highly available infrastructure in regulated environments. We currently operate validator nodes for enterprise consortium networks, and we’re deeply familiar with maintaining SLAs, compliance requirements, and secure node configurations. We prefer to operate directly to ensure end-to-end security, faster iteration, and to deeply understand the network’s mechanics in order to better support application development on Canton.
How did you hear about us?: Via industry newsletter and a recommendation from a partner project using Canton.
How do you plan to further contribute to the Canton ecosystem?: We plan to build and open-source SDK tooling for Canton smart contract developers, host community events/webinars in our region, and actively engage with enterprise clients looking to build on Daml. Additionally, we aim to onboard two fintech partners to explore tokenized asset solutions.
Country of Incorporation: Estonia
Name of Applying Institution: Rodion
URL to website of Applying Institution: https://validator-online.com/
Short description of Applying Institution: We are a dedicated infrastructure operator providing secure, resilient, and professionally managed validation services across a diverse range of blockchain networks. With a strong track record in both layer-1 and middleware protocols, we actively contribute to ecosystems such as Obol, Supra, Solana, Axelar, The Graph, Taiko, Lava, Polkadot, Kusama, and Avail. Our mission is to support decentralization at scale by delivering high-availability node infrastructure, operational reliability, and deep technical engagement from testnet to mainnet.
Please provide information about why you believe you qualify to operate Validators in the Canton Network and why you would prefer to do this yourself instead of using one of the existing operators: "I believe I’m well-qualified to operate Validators in the Canton Network due to my extensive hands-on experience running secure and reliable infrastructure across multiple blockchain networks. I have successfully deployed and maintained validators in ecosystems such as Polkadot, Kusama, Solana, Supra, Axelar, and Lava, using both bare metal and cloud environments. My infrastructure is closely monitored, optimized for uptime, and hardened for security.I prefer to operate my own validator rather than delegating to a third-party provider because I value transparency, independence, and direct accountability. Running the infrastructure myself allows me to maintain tight operational control, ensure high availability, respond quickly to network updates, and contribute actively to the ecosystem. I take pride in maintaining best practices and applying deep technical engagement in early-stage and production environments alike."
How did you hear about us?: I discovered SYNC through validator discussions and announcements on Twitter.
How do you plan to further contribute to the Canton ecosystem?: I plan to contribute to the Canton ecosystem by operating highly available and secure validator infrastructure, actively participating in testnets and governance processes, and supporting the network’s early stability and decentralization. Additionally, I aim to help grow the ecosystem by introducing fellow developers and projects to Canton, sharing insights with the validator community, and potentially exploring tooling and integrations that enhance validator operations or network monitoring.
Country of Incorporation: RussiaCongratulations on having your validator approved! We're very excited to have you spin up your validator node and join MainNet. Please find the next steps below. Feel free to reach out with any questions.
Deploy your validator on DevNet/TestNet:
- Set up your own node using the public docs.
- Alternatively, ask one of our partners to spin up your validator node today. Reach out via email to any of them for more information.
- We currently have a waitlist for deploying to MainNet.
Slack
The email used in your application has been invited to the Slack channel #validator-operations hosted by the Global Synchronizer Foundation using Slack Connect. This email should have a Slack Pro account, otherwise the Slack Connect will not work.
→ Please let me know if others in your org should join and also need an invite.Media
We’re excited to share the news of your arrival on our blog and social channels! To make this happen, we have a template outlining the key details for the announcement. Please make a copy of the document, fill in your information, and share it back with us. Once we receive it, we’ll get started on the social posts!
Stay Connected:
There are a few other mailing lists you might consider joining to stay updated:
High-Level Steps:
- Spin up your node on DevNet
- On Slack, share the fixed IP you'd like whitelisted on DevNet for your Validator node
- Spin up your node for DevNet
- Request a DevNet onboarding secret - via API call (curl)
- Spin up your node on Mainnet
- On Slack, share your fixed IP you'd like whitelisted on MainNet for your Validator node
- Spin up your node on MainNet
- Reach out directly on Slack DM to request a MainNet onboarding secret
Socials:
Get social with us on LinkedIn or X.
Dr. Amanda L. Martin
814-359-6544Director of Program Management