This proposal registers a new node-type known as a validator with minimum $AUDIO stake of 200,000 and maximum $AUDIO stake of 15,000,000.
This infrastructural change consolidates features of the discovery node and content node and modernizes the underlying architecture to allow for a more efficient protocol, formally introducing this evolution as the Open Audio Protocol, an L1 Blockchain For Music (built on top of both Solana and Ethereum). Validator nodes are designed to be more economically efficient for node operators currently serving the Audius network today.
Unlike the existing content-node service, there are no strict hardware requirements for validators. Instead, protocol dev teams will recommend hardware specifications and the protocol itself will enforce that two service level agreements (SLA) nodes are met:
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A non-zero quota of blocks are produced per node
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Storage proofs for files that nodes are required to store
This ensures that the network makes forward progress and is able to meet the demand for real-time streaming.
More formally, instead of requiring a 2TB storage availability from content nodes, every validator node is expected to be able to store its (easily computable) proportional share of the network: (total_storage * replication_factor) / number_of_nodes. This enables elastic storage and allows for the network to grow and meet demand in a manner much more similar to Web2 streaming models while also allowing node operators to make use of more cost-effective blob storage options available from many cloud providers. Today, this storage need works out to roughly 1.2TB per node. All validator nodes expose this value using the storage.v1.StorageService/GetStatus RPC call.
Other validators on the network regularly produce rollups of SLA data over ranges of 2048 blocks. Failure to consistently meet SLAs leads to consistent slashing recommendations that all other nodes can attest to the validity of. An example of such a proposal can be seen at 155.
A follow-up proposal will be launched to set the target version of validator to 1.0.0 and announce new tokenomics to support artist coins.
Anticipated Adoption Timeline:
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Oct 2025: Opt-in phase
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Nov 2025: Opt-out phase
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Dec 2025: De-registration of discovery-node, protocol requirements of content-node to match validator node
Discussion: gov.audius.org