Validator Installation - c8ntinuum Docs

These values are grounded in the current c8ntinuum genesis and node code.

Network constants

Field	Value
Binary	`ctmd`
Home directory	`~/.ctmd`
Cosmos chain ID	`continuum_2184-1`
EVM chain ID	`2184`
Account prefix	`c8`
Validator prefix	`c8valoper`
Consensus prefix	`c8valcons`
Staking denom	`ctm`
Display symbol	`CTM`
Denom exponent	`18`

Create validator

Generate an operator key. eth_secp256k1 is the default account key algorithm for ctmd.

ctmd keys add validator --algo eth_secp256k1 --keyring-backend file

Get the node consensus public key from the validator home:

ctmd comet show-validator --home ~/.ctmd

Create validator.json. The pubkey must be the /cosmos.crypto.ed25519.PubKey output from ctmd comet show-validator.

{
  "pubkey": {
    "@type": "/cosmos.crypto.ed25519.PubKey",
    "key": "<base64-consensus-pubkey>"
  },
  "amount": "888888000000000000000000ctm",
  "moniker": "<validator-name>",
  "identity": "",
  "website": "",
  "security": "<validator-security-contact>",
  "details": "",
  "commission-rate": "0.10",
  "commission-max-rate": "0.20",
  "commission-max-change-rate": "0.01",
  "min-self-delegation": "888888000000000000000000"
}

Submit the transaction:

ctmd tx staking create-validator validator.json \
  --from validator \
  --chain-id continuum_2184-1 \
  --node <comet-rpc> \
  --fees <fee>ctm \
  --gas auto \
  --gas-adjustment 1.3

c8ntinuum enforces a validator creation floor of 888888000000000000000000ctm (888888 * 10^18) for both the initial self-delegation amount and min-self-delegation. The current genesis validators use this minimum self-delegation and have 999912000000000000000000ctm self-bonded. For the module-level policy details and EVM staking precompile coverage, see Minimum Self-Delegation Check.

Commission bounds

Genesis validators use:

Field	Value
`commission-rate`	`0.10`
`commission-max-rate`	`0.20`
`commission-max-change-rate`	`0.01`
Chain-wide `min_commission_rate`	`0`

General staking validation still applies: commission values cannot be negative, rate <= max-rate, max-rate <= 1, max-change-rate <= max-rate, and commission can only be increased once per 24 hours by no more than max-change-rate.

Keys and Ledger

Account/operator keys default to eth_secp256k1.
Supported account algorithms are eth_secp256k1 and secp256k1.
Consensus validator keys are CometBFT ed25519 keys exposed through ctmd comet show-validator.
The SDK default coin type is 118, with default path m/44'/118'/0'/0/0.
Ledger coin type 60 uses the Ethereum app and creates an eth_secp256k1 public key.
Ledger coin type 118 uses the Cosmos app and creates a Cosmos secp256k1 public key.
ctmd keys add --ledger rejects a custom --hd-path; use --coin-type, --account, and --index.

ctmd keys add validator-eth-ledger \
  --ledger \
  --coin-type 60 \
  --algo eth_secp256k1

ctmd keys add validator-cosmos-ledger \
  --ledger \
  --coin-type 118 \
  --algo secp256k1

KMS and sentry architecture

The repo does not encode a required KMS or sentry topology; use these as operational recommendations.

Lowest-complexity signing uses the local CometBFT file signer under ~/.ctmd/config/priv_validator_key.json, but this has the largest key-exposure risk.
Remote signing can be implemented with TMKMS or Horcrux-compatible CometBFT remote signer setups.
For threshold signing or high availability, prefer Horcrux-style threshold signing over running duplicate live validator keys.
Never run the same validator consensus key in two active signers at once.
Keep the validator node private and connect it only to sentry nodes.
Public sentries should expose P2P and any intended public RPC surfaces; the validator should use sentries as persistent peers.
Recommended validator-side settings include pex = false, no public RPC, and firewall access limited to sentries and the signer.
Recommended sentry-side settings include pex = true, persistent_peers including the validator, and private_peer_ids including the validator node ID.

Ports and services

Service	Default	Notes
CometBFT P2P	`tcp://0.0.0.0:26656`	Public on sentries
CometBFT RPC	`tcp://127.0.0.1:26657`	Keep private unless intentionally exposed
ABCI	`tcp://0.0.0.0:26658`	Internal application transport
Cosmos REST API	`tcp://localhost:1317`	Disabled by default
Cosmos gRPC	`localhost:9090`	Disabled by c8ntinuum app config default
gRPC-Web flag default	`0.0.0.0:9900`	Requires gRPC/gRPC-Web enablement
EVM JSON-RPC HTTP	`127.0.0.1:8545`	Disabled by default
EVM JSON-RPC WebSocket	`127.0.0.1:8546`	Disabled by default
EVM JSON-RPC metrics	`127.0.0.1:6065`	Enabled with JSON-RPC and `--metrics`
Geth metrics address	`127.0.0.1:8100`	Used by telemetry/API metrics plumbing
CometBFT Prometheus	`:26660`	Disabled by default

API, gRPC, JSON-RPC, and telemetry are disabled by default unless explicitly enabled in config or via start flags.

Monitoring

Monitor at least:

Process health and automatic restart behavior for ctmd.
Sync status from ctmd status; alert if catching_up is true on a validator.
Peer count and sentry connectivity from CometBFT RPC.
Block height progress, block time, disk usage, memory, file descriptors, and database growth.
Validator signing info from ctmd query slashing signing-info $(ctmd comet show-address).
Missed blocks well before the downtime threshold; alert before 500 missed blocks in the 1000 block window.
JSON-RPC, gRPC, API, and indexer latency only on nodes intentionally serving those surfaces.

Validator incentive state is tracked by x/valrewards, including epoch reward settings, reward-pool funding, outstanding reward queries, and one-time validator reward claims. See Validator Rewards for CLI and precompile details.

Slashing, jailing, and unjail

Checked-in slashing params:

Param	Value
`signed_blocks_window`	`1000`
`min_signed_per_window`	`0.500000000000000000`
`downtime_jail_duration`	`600s`
`slash_fraction_downtime`	`0.010000000000000000`
`slash_fraction_double_sign`	`0.050000000000000000`

A validator is jailed for downtime when it misses more than half of the 1000 block signing window after the slashing warm-up period. Downtime burns 1% and jails for 600s. Double-signing burns 5%, jails, and tombstones the validator; tombstoned validators cannot be unjailed. Unjail only after fixing the signer/node issue, waiting until jailed_until has passed, and confirming self-delegation is at least 888888000000000000000000ctm.

ctmd query slashing signing-info "$(ctmd comet show-address)"
ctmd query staking validator <c8valoper...>

ctmd tx slashing unjail \
  --from validator \
  --chain-id continuum_2184-1 \
  --node <comet-rpc> \
  --fees <fee>ctm \
  --gas auto \
  --gas-adjustment 1.3

Upgrade flow and emergency contacts

Use Upgrade Instructions as the canonical upgrade runbook. Validators should layer signing-key safety, sentry topology, TMKMS, and double-sign protection checks on top of each release-specific upgrade notice.

​Network constants

​Create validator

​Commission bounds

​Keys and Ledger

​KMS and sentry architecture

​Ports and services

​Monitoring

​Slashing, jailing, and unjail

​Upgrade flow and emergency contacts