# Requirements and rewards for BTC Validators

### Requirements for $BTC Validator

$BTC Validators must stake a minimum of 100 $BTC to qualify as a **BTC Validator**. This initial 100 $BTC cannot be raised through delegated staking from the community.

Once a Validator becomes qualified, they are allowed to accept delegated staking from community members.

### XSAT rewards received

If the Bitcoin block hash submitted by a BTC Validator matches the final exSat consensus, the Validator will receive the reward for that block.

BTC Validators receive 65% or 70% of the block rewards, depending on whether the Synchronizer receives current block rewards also mined the corresponding Bitcoin block:

* If the Synchronizer mined the corresponding Bitcoin block, the BTC Validator receives 65% of the current block rewards.
* Otherwise, the BTC Validator receives 70% of the current block rewards.

### **Reward Types:**

BTC Validator rewards are divided into two categories:

1. **Staking Rewards:**\
   These are rewards earned from staking BTC. The amount is proportional to the quantity of BTC staked. This portion of the reward is received by [the EVM address that completed the staking process](https://docs.exsat.network/guides-of-data-consensus/others/operation-references/validator-operations/change-stake-address).
2. **Commission:**\
   Community members who either do not meet the 100 BTC minimum or prefer not to run a Validator client can delegate their BTC to a BTC Validator to earn consensus rewards.\
   In return, the BTC Validator may charge a commission on the delegated BTC. The **Commission = Total Staking Rewards × Commission Rate**, and the commission rate is determined by the BTC Validator. The commission is received by the [Reward Address](https://docs.exsat.network/guides-of-data-consensus/others/operation-references/validator-operations/change-reward-address) set by the Validator.

> For BTC Validators using [Credit Staking](https://docs.exsat.network/guides-of-data-consensus/credit-staking-and-xbtc-staking#credit-staking), the BTC staking occurs on the Bitcoin network, not on the exSat chain. As a result, there is **no** Stake Address on the exSat chain for the staking operation.\
> Therefore, both the **staking rewards** and the **commission** earned are distributed to the Validator’s designated [Reward Address](https://docs.exsat.network/guides-of-data-consensus/others/operation-references/validator-operations/change-reward-address).

### Rewards distribution

XSAT rewards are distributed among BTC Validators proportionally based on the amount of BTC they have staked. 

After receiving the rewards, a validator deduct its commission, and the remaining amount is distributed among all stakers proportionally based on their BTC stakes.

For example:

* BTC Validators can receive 70% of the current block rewards, equivalent to 35 $XSAT.
* If a Validator staked 10% of the total BTC staked, it receives 3.5 XSAT.
* Assuming the Validator’s commission rate is 5%, and there are two stakers:
  * The Validator itself, staking 100 BTC.
  * A delegate staker from the community, staking 10 BTC.

The rewards are distributed as follows:

1. **Commission**: 3.5×5%=0.175 $XSAT, retained by the Validator and claimable through its Reward Account.
2. **Validator's Stake Rewards**:\
   (3.5−0.175)×100/110 ≈ 3.0227 $XSAT, claimable by the staker address of the validator.
3. **Delegate Staker's Rewards**:\
   (3.5−0.175)×10/110 ≈ 0.3023 $XSAT,claimable by the delegate staker.