Run a node

Smart Engines is built to be run by its node runners: independent people and companies who operate validators, hosts and gateways, each with HSUITE at stake. HSuite will open the network to permissionless, decentralized and trustless node operation after mainnet goes live and the bootstrap and genesis are secured. Until then, HSuite operates the genesis validators.

Where the network stands

Today. HSuite runs the genesis validators. The testnet is live on these HSuite-operated validators, and it opens to developers once the security audit is complete.
Mainnet. Mainnet goes live, still run by the genesis validators. It has no date yet.
The network opens. Once mainnet is live and its bootstrap and genesis are secured, anyone who meets the stake can apply to run a validator, a host or a gateway.

The three roles

Every node takes one or more of three roles. Each role stakes a fixed amount of HSUITE.

Validator

10,000,000 HSUITE

The core of the network. Validators hold the key shares, sign for every account the network controls (always together, never alone), and check each operation against its published rules before they sign.

Host

5,000,000 HSUITE

The backend apps call: wallet sign-in, a per-app database with Merkle proofs, file storage, serverless functions and real-time messaging. A host holds no keys; anything on chain goes to the validators.

Gateway

2,000,000 HSUITE

The front door. A gateway routes each request to the right app, enforces rate limits, verifies a host’s identity before it routes to it, and fails over to another cluster when the local copy of an app is down.

Role	Stake	What it does
Validator	10,000,000 HSUITE	Consensus, threshold signing, rule enforcement
Host	5,000,000 HSUITE	Backend-as-a-service for apps
Gateway	2,000,000 HSUITE	Routing, rate limiting, host verification

One node can take more than one role. A single application lists every role you want, and the stake is the sum: validator and host together stake 15,000,000 HSUITE, and all three stake 17,000,000. These are the amounts the platform uses today; they may change before the network opens.

How the stake is held:

HSUITE on XRPL. You stake HSUITE on the XRP Ledger.
No one holds it alone. The stake sits in a multisig account on XRPL that only a threshold of validators can move, not HSuite and not any single validator.
Locked for a term. The default term is one year, and you can renew it. The stake is meant to come back to you when you leave after the term ends; the step that pays it back is still being built.
A membership NFT. Your roles and term are recorded in a membership NFT on XRPL, the on-chain proof of what your node may run and until when.

See Staking & node-runners for the full staking model.

Why run a node

Earn from real usage

Apps pay for Smart Engines with HSUITE subscriptions. 40% of settled subscription revenue goes to the node-runner pool.

Usage burns HSUITE

Another 40% of the same revenue is burned, taking that HSUITE out of circulation. The last 20% goes to the protocol treasury.

Secure the network

Validators decide together: no account moves and no new member joins without a quorum of them.

Run on your terms

Pick the roles you stake for. The planned installer will let you run on the cloud provider of your choice.

The runner share collects in a protocol-owned multisig account on XRPL, not in an HSuite wallet. Paying that pool out to each node, in proportion to its stake, is built but not switched on yet. Value flows follows the money from an API call to the pool.

How joining will work

Planned This is the design for when the network opens. None of these steps is open today.

Stake HSUITE for your role. Apply with the roles you want and stake the HSUITE for them into your deposit account on XRPL. Your membership NFT is minted once the deposit is confirmed.
Get your node licence. Node software ships as protected images, and each node runs under its own signed licence (details below).
Launch with the few-click installer Planned. HSuite will provide an installer that sets up a Smart Engines node on the cloud provider of your choice in a few clicks. It arrives as the network opens to node runners.
Your node joins the network. For a validator, the current validators approve the join with a quorum of signed approvals. They then run a resharing ceremony: every existing key is re-split to include you, so you receive your own share. The reshare never rebuilds a key, and the on-chain accounts keep their keys, so nothing on chain has to change.

Leaving works the other way: the remaining validators reshare without you. After your term ends, your stake is meant to be paid back to you; that step is still being built. A validator that the others vote to ban for misbehaving forfeits its stake.

What you run: protected node images

Smart Engines node software ships as protected images:

One encrypted file per service. Each service is bundled into a single file, obfuscated, and encrypted with AES-256-GCM.
A key in two halves. The decryption key is split in two. One half ships inside the image; the other half comes only with your signed, per-node licence. Without a valid licence the code cannot be decrypted and will not run.
Checked at runtime. When the node starts, the loader checks the code’s integrity and resists debugging.

How the platform makes sure the images it runs are the ones it approved is on Harbor & content-addressed images.

Get ready now

Hold the stake

Validators stake 10,000,000 HSUITE, hosts 5,000,000 and gateways 2,000,000, on XRPL.

Learn the architecture

Read how the three tiers fit together and what each one is trusted with.

Follow the announcement

The opening will be announced by the official HSuite account on X, @HSuiteNetwork.

Start with the platform tour

Smart Engines: the platformThe three tiers and how they compose.

Staking & node-runnersDeposits, membership NFTs, renewals and rewards.

Network & tiersWhat each tier is responsible for, and what it can't do.