DAY 10 — 30 DAYS INSIDE CANTON

What is a CANTON VALIDATOR?
If the Global Synchronizer is the coordination layer, then Validators are one of the main gateways into Canton.
Think of a Validator as a secure gateway between users/applications and the Canton Network.
A Validator node can:
→ Connect users to Canton applications
→ Host parties and manage their relevant transactions
→ Validate transactions involving the parties it hosts
→ Connect to synchronizers
→ Provide access to Canton-native assets and applications
And here's something important:
A Validator does NOT need to see every transaction happening across Canton.
It primarily handles the transactions involving the parties it hosts.
That's another piece of the privacy architecture.
And there's an interesting incentive behind running one.
Validators provide infrastructure and utility to the network, and can earn Canton Coin rewards for doing so.
So the simplified picture is:
User / Application
↓
Validator
↓
Synchronizer
↓
Other relevant participants
This is starting to make the Canton architecture much easier to understand.
Parties determine who participates.
Validators provide access and manage their parties.
Synchronizers coordinate transactions.
And the Global Synchronizer connects the wider ecosystem.