XChain
Learn Understand Overview How it works Use cases Why XChain Look things up FAQ Glossary Try it Get started The wallet The explorer
Developers For developers The SDK Example contracts Actions Components Testing White paper GitHub
Run
Platform Main site Wallet Explorer Documentation Encoder status Bootstraps & sync Validator hub MCP for agents

XChain › hub

The validator hub

xchain-hub is the platform's config oracle and cross-chain coordinator: a network of staked validators that runs a decentralized price oracle, attests cross-chain trades, and governs the protocol, without ever taking custody of funds.

Become a validator Hub docs → xchain-hub on GitHub

Runs on any blockchain.Live today onBitcoin·Litecoin·Dogecoin·more chains coming

What the hub does

Coordination, not custody

Config oracle

Serves the canonical, signed protocol configuration that every service discovers at startup.

Decentralized price oracle

Validators aggregate prices by trimmed median and finalize each round through PBFT consensus, powering fiat-priced fees and dispensers.

Cross-chain attestation

Validators that support both chains reach consensus that a swap's source action is real and confirmed before settlement.

Cross-chain calls

Validators relay a contract's call to another chain and carry the result back, each leg quorum-signed and checked by the receiving chain's indexers.

Bridge settlement

Once an XBRIDGE lock or burn confirms, validators sign the transfer and the destination chain credits it automatically.

State checkpoints

Validators sign snapshots of each chain's state, and one elected validator publishes each checkpoint on-chain, so anyone can verify or rebuild state from the chains alone.

Governance

Protocol parameters change only through a transparent off-chain validator governance process: a 7-day voting period with 2/3 approval and quorum. No single party has unilateral control.

Validators

What is a validator?

A validator is a hub with a staked on-chain identity. It signs the work the network needs done: publishing prices, attesting to outside facts, matching cross-chain actions. There is no application and no registration; you stake XCHAIN naming your signing key, and the network starts counting you automatically. Anyone can run one, and there are two ways to do it.

Lightweight validator

Runs no coin node at all. It replicates the finished chain databases through xchain-sync instead, so it fits on a small board or a modest VPS. It participates, signs, and earns the base oracle reward, and it is never penalised for being lightweight.

Full validator

Runs its own coin node, decoder, and indexer, so it can prove it holds a copy of the chain. That proof is the one extra capability full validators have, and it earns the additional full-node reward tranche once armed.

Stake floors

Capabilities qualify automatically

Each capability has a stake floor; any key whose stake clears a floor qualifies for that capability on its own, with nobody's approval. A single stake of 25,000 XCHAIN qualifies for everything at once, or you can start small and grow.

500 XCHAIN

Anchoring and price publishing: publishes signed oracle rounds to the chain.

1,000 XCHAIN

Price rounds and attestations: signs price consensus rounds and attests to off-chain facts for contracts.

2,000 XCHAIN

Full-node proof: proves possession of the chain. The one capability that needs a coin node.

5,000 XCHAIN

Cross-chain matching: verifies and matches actions across chains for swap settlement.

10,000 XCHAIN

Web attestations: serves the http_get attestation provider.

25,000 XCHAIN

AI attestations: serves the llm attestation provider, and clears every other floor along the way.

Getting started

From an empty machine to a working validator

The testnet is live and open, and on testnet everything is free: the XCHAIN you stake is minted from a faucet token, and the coins that pay fees come from test faucets. You need a machine that runs Docker, a public address with TCP port 10002 open, Node 22, and git.

  1. 1

    Install the CLI

    Clone xchain-node, then npm install and npm link. Every step below is one command from there.

  2. 2

    Create your identity

    validator init generates your keys offline in a second and prints two testnet addresses to fund from faucets. Back up the keys it writes.

  3. 3

    Stake

    validator stake --broadcast mints and stakes 25,000 testnet XCHAIN to your key. It goes live six blocks after it confirms.

  4. 4

    Start the hub

    install master xchain-hub boots the validator with your keys wired in. Peers admit you within about 30 seconds. You do not need to tell anyone.

Validator quickstart Running a validator →

For node operators

The hub is bundled and managed by xchain-node. To run the full platform yourself (including a hub), start with the node operator quickstart.

Node operator quickstart Run a node →