# 4. Setup a Validator Account

To become a validator on the Cifer Chain network, you'll need a dedicated account to stake your CIF tokens. This account will serve as your validator identity within the network.

This section will guide you through the process of creating a validator account and configuring it to participate in the consensus mechanism.

> **Note:** Before starting the next step, please make sure your node is active as it shows in Terminal that you run your node similar to this example:

{% code overflow="wrap" %}
```bash
Blockchain is running
  
  ✔ Added account alice with address cife… and mnemonic:
  <24-word mnemonic phrase>
  
  ✔ Added account bob with address cife… and mnemonic:
  <24-word mnemonic phrase>

🌍 Tendermint node: http://0.0.0.0:26657
🌍 Blockchain API: http://0.0.0.0:1317
🌍 Token faucet: http://0.0.0.0:4500
  
  ⋆ Data directory: /Users/devname/.cifer
  ⋆ App binary: /Users/devname/go/bin/ciferd
```
{% endcode %}

## 4.1 Configure Your Validator Account

To streamline the setup process, we've included a placeholder validator account named `"change_validators_name"` in the `config.yml` file. You'll need to replace this placeholder with your desired validator name.

In `config.yml` file, locate the section labeled `"change_validators_name"` then rename to your desired validator name.

<pre class="language-yaml" data-title="config.yml" data-overflow="wrap" data-line-numbers><code class="lang-yaml">version: 1
validation: sovereign
accounts: 
<strong>  - name: change_validators_name # Change validator keys name here
</strong>    coins:
    - 10000000ucif
    - 200000000stake
  - name: bob
    coins:
    - 10000000ucif
    - 100000000stake
client:
  openapi:
    path: docs/static/openapi.yml
faucet:
  name: bob
  coins:
  - 5token
  - 100000stake
validators:
<strong>  - name: change_validators_name # Change validator keys name here
</strong>    bonded: 10000000ucif 
    app:
      api:
        address: :1317
      grpc:
        address: :9090
      grpc-web:
        address: :9091
    config:
      p2p:
        laddr: :26656
        seeds: "0e8ff52fd093a99bd08b3c294d683761fbad7ca8@34.128.114.243:26656"
      rpc:
        laddr: :26657
        pprof_laddr: :6060
      moniker: "cifer-2"

</code></pre>

In this case, we will rename validator keys name to `“myvalidator”`.

<pre class="language-yaml"><code class="lang-yaml">version: 1
validation: sovereign
accounts:
<strong>  - name: myvalidator # New validator keys name
</strong>…
validators:
<strong>  - name: myvalidator # New validator keys name
</strong>…
</code></pre>

## 4.2 Obtain Your Validator Keys

To create a validator configuration file later, you'll need your validator's address and public key. To get them, run the following command in your terminal:

{% code overflow="wrap" %}
```bash
$ ciferd keys list
```
{% endcode %}

The output will look similar to this:

<pre class="language-bash" data-overflow="wrap"><code class="lang-bash"><strong>address: cife... # Your validator's address
</strong>name: myvalidator
pubkey: ‘{“
@type
<strong>”:”/cosmos.crypto.secp256k1.PubKey”,”key”:”....”}’ # Your validator's pubkey
</strong>type: local
</code></pre>

> #### Important Note:
>
> * The address, name, and pubkey displayed is your validator's. You'll need them in the future steps.
> * This address is your wallet address and account. You can deposit, withdraw, and transfer $CIF and other compatible cryptocurrencies using this address.

## 4.3 Fund Your Validator Account

Before your validator node can actively participate in the network, you must fund it with a sufficient amount of CIF tokens. The size of your stake directly influences your validator's voting power.

### Staking Requirements

* **Minimum Initial Stake:** To become a validator, you must initially stake at least 1 CIF or 1,000,000 uCIF.
* **Voting Power:** The amount of CIF staked by a validator determines its voting power in the consensus mechanism. A higher stake translates to a greater influence on network decisions.

### Funding Options

* **Transfer Existing CIF:** If you already hold CIF tokens, you can transfer them to your validator account address obtained in the previous step.
* **CIF Airdrop:** During this initial phase, you can request an airdrop of CIF tokens to test running a validator [HERE](mailto:info@cifer.ai).

Once your validator account is funded, you're ready to proceed with registering your validator node.
