In order to become a candidate for a validator on the Aleph Zero network, one will need to have a minimal stake of 25’000 AZERO and align with the hardware requirements. Validators will be responsible for running nodes that will verify the truthfulness of transactions conducted on the Aleph Zero network. Validators will be a crucial element of the decentralized governance of the chain and will be vouched for by the nominators who will delegate their stake to validators they deem trustworthy. Rewards assigned to a particular validator, are split among the validator itself and its nominators proportionally to their stake. In the event of dishonest behavior, the validator's and it’s nominators stake will be slashed.