We may see them called miners, validators, block producers in different networks. We call them witnesses. They are the protectors of the network who make the network gears spin, blockchain blocks filled, accounts secure, and simply make sure things work uninterrupted. The roles block producers play and what they do different from blockchain to blockchain, from one protocol to another. Hive utilized Delegated Proof of Stake. While stakes are what gives accounts influence in governance, these influences are delegated away to witnesses to make important blockchain decisions by voting for them. Witnesses are ranked based on how much of staked votes they receive. Higher they are in witness ranks, more block producer rewards they receive, and higher is their influence in the blockchain. Top twenty witnesses are considered consensus witnesses and they produce blocks all the time, and the twenty first turn is rotated among backup witnesses. But you already knew all this.
Witnesses play a crucial role in making the decentralization possible. Decentralization in itself is the most important feature or state or goal for any blockchain network. It makes sure the blockchain indeed does deliver what it promises. One of the most important promises is the complete ownership of accounts/wallets. This can't happen without decentralization. Hive knows this better than anybody, that centralization is possible in blockchain networks and if achieved can pose a threat to any and all accounts/wallets and the all the property that is associated with these accounts/wallets. Complete ownership of wallets is not possible without decentralization. Witnesses make this decentralization possible. Of course other participants play big role as well. Hive is among the most decentralized networks. Since decentralization is not a state, the networks gets more decentralized as it grows, and get even stronger.
Anybody can become a witness. That is the beauty of open networks. Everybody is not only welcome to participate in the network as witnesses, but also encouraged to do so. More witnesses, more interest in running witness notes is better for Hive. We may hear that there are some prerequisites to become a Hive witnesses, there is some technical knowledge needed, etc. Some knowledge is needed to do anything worth spending time on. That doesn't mean witnesses need some college degrees, or completing some courses or bootcamps. With some interest, dedicating some time, investing a little bit of money anybody can run a witness node. It is probably to do so on Hive, because there are plenty of skillful participants and witnesses who wouldn't mind sharing their knowledge and pointing to the right resources. There is even a service by Privex that makes starting a witness node easy.
That said I have never ran a witness node. I always wanted to and I sure I would be able to gain all the knowledge and skills needed in no time. But since it is a task that should be taken seriously and may need some dedication of time, I haven't been able to do so yet. Priorities. However, I have talked with many witnesses and it is great to see the dedication they bring to the network. One day I may joined the ranks of witnesses. But that is not today, and probably not this year. In addition to serving the chain as witnesses, these individuals or groups also contribute to the network in many other ways. Many are developers, some are builders and investors, others are curious minds who are experimenting with new technology.
Decentralization is not easy. It requires participation. There are many ways to participate in the Hive network. One of them is participating in governance. Simplest forms of governance participation is voting for witnesses. The stakes determine the influence of the votes. But each vote counts. Even smaller stake votes benefit the witnesses. If not by stake influence, but by the number of individuals supporting the witness, which too can serve as a social influence. For example if I have higher stakes and deciding who to vote for, one of my criteria might be to vote for witnesses who have received more individual support. Of course since every participant and voter is different their priorities are different, and their criteria for voting are also different. It is a good practice to revisit the witness votes from time to time and review and recast them. For this reason I removed all of my witness votes yesterday, and will dedicate some time next week to recast them.
Hive witnesses run the witness nodes and contribute to the chain in various ways because they love the technology. Some of them are obsessed with it. Many of them are high capable and could be dedicating their skills, time, and energy elsewhere. But they choose to be here. That is win for the network. We need more dedicated individuals, groups, and entities who believe in the benefits of decentralized systems and solutions they offer. At Hive we are innovating and reimagining the web. Witnesses are the pioneers who continue to push these efforts forward. They understand the technology, they understand the potential, and they are among the most knowledgable about it. Most witnesses are approachable and wouldn't mind answering questions, and sharing information.
Every Hive backup witnesses goal is to reach the ranks of top 20 witnesses. From time to time you may see some say that is not their goal. It is not true. I have seen that, heard that. Once they are in the top, old humble talks of not really caring to be a top witness disappears. Why would you not want to be a top witnesses? If you are there you probably deserve it. This should just motivate them to grow and contribute more whichever way they find fit. I call top 20, million dollar witnesses. Rewards for top witnesses are decent. Just a little under 10k HP. USD value of this would depend on Hive's price. When Hive reaches $10 and above these witnesses will be making million dollars a year. It may seem wishful thinking now, but is definitely a possibility. This price would make Hive a $5 billion dollar network, which is not a lot considering what Hive offers. There is a lot of room to grow. Hive is definitely a billion dollar network. Market seems to disagree at this time. But sooner or later it will have to realize that as well.
While many witnesses, including the ones in top 20 ranks have been doing this for years, the witness ranks change all the time. Some witnesses drop out of top 20, some join the top 20. Backup witnesses do have opportunities to grow and step in to higher ranks when other witnesses get distracted with something else, or pursue other endeavors. Unlike proof of work networks, Hive doesn't require super expensive hardware to run witness nodes. Sure they're still a need for high quality hardware to make sure everything runs properly and without surprises and interruption. I am sure there are many options to choose from. It all depends how much one is willing to invest. Usually new witnesses start with some cheaper options, and as they move up the ranks start upgrading their hardware. Top witnesses and backup witnesses closer to the top run multiple nodes to make sure there are back up nodes when primary fails or stops.
In addition to witness nodes, witnesses also runs other nodes. Public nodes, seed nodes, etc can be run by anybody. There is no need to be a witness to run other nodes that benefit Hive. But since there are no rewards for running anything other than witness nodes, witnesses end up being the ones who run them too.
The most important role witnesses play is approving and running the Hive software. When there are new hard-fork candidates, witnesses need to test, review, and decide wether to approve or disapprove them. Consensus needs to be reached for the hard-fork candidate to be adopted as the latest update to the software. Some witnesses also involved in developing these hard-fork candidates. Hive, since its birth went through multiple hard-forks and made great progress as a technology. Core developers continue exploring new ideas and improvement to the network. Hive witnesses are also actively involved in these conversations, debates, and putting in the hard work, although not all witnesses participate in developing the core code.
Voting is participation, and participation is important for decentralization. Get to know your witnesses and vote. Not voting is also an option. We are always busy with so many things in life and may not be able to make educated voting decision. Another option is a passive participation. We can choose to delegate our voting power to a proxy account. Some participants are always actively engaged in the network, and participate in governance. If there is anybody we can trust would vote inline with what we think is beneficial for Hive, we can simply designate them as a proxy for our votes. This will increase the influence of their vote and it will be as if we copied their voting pattern. However, I think it is better for everybody to cast their votes on their one. There are many options in Hive.
Participate! Vote for your witnesses! or don't.