Network Roles

Every node in the Tenzro Network has a role that determines its responsibilities, capabilities, and reward eligibility. Roles range from full validators securing the chain to lightweight MicroNodes that participate via MCP without running any infrastructure.

Role Overview

Validator

Full validator nodes participate in HotStuff-2 BFT consensus, propose and vote on blocks, and earn transaction fee rewards. Validators must stake TNZO and maintain full state. TEE-attested validators receive 2x weight in leader selection.

Requires: TNZO stake, full state storage, persistent uptime

Earns: Transaction fees (gas), epoch rewards

ModelProvider

Serves AI models for inference requests. Providers register available models, set pricing, and earn TNZO per inference token. The network collects a 0.5% commission. Providers are health-monitored with circuit breaker integration.

Requires: GPU or capable hardware, model storage, optional TNZO stake

Earns: Per-token inference payments minus 0.5% network fee

TeeProvider

Provides trusted execution environment services: confidential computing, key management, attestation generation, and seal/unseal operations. Supports Intel TDX, AMD SEV-SNP, AWS Nitro, and NVIDIA GPU CC.

Requires: TEE-capable hardware, optional TNZO stake

Earns: Per-operation TEE service payments minus 0.5% network fee

StorageProvider

Maintains extended state storage and serves historical data. Storage providers help with snapshot distribution and state sync for new nodes joining the network.

Requires: Large storage capacity, reliable connectivity

FullNode

Non-validating full node that maintains complete state and serves RPC queries. Does not participate in consensus but verifies all blocks.

Requires: Full state storage

LightClient

Verifies block headers and proofs without maintaining full state. Suitable for mobile and embedded devices that need to verify transactions without downloading the entire chain.

Bootstrap

Seed nodes that help new peers discover the network via Kademlia DHT. Bootstrap nodes maintain full state and are the first contact point for joining nodes.

MicroNode

Zero-install, ultra-lightweight participants. Humans or AI agents join via the MCP server, Claude, ClawBot, or other agentic frameworks without running any infrastructure. MicroNodes get auto-provisioned TDIP identity and MPC wallet with 10 default capabilities.

Requires: Nothing (zero-install)

MicroNode documentation →

Role Capabilities

Role	Validates	Full State	Provider	Stake Required
Validator	Yes	Yes	No	Yes
ModelProvider	No	No	Yes	Optional
TeeProvider	No	No	Yes	Optional
StorageProvider	No	No	Yes	Optional
FullNode	No	Yes	No	No
LightClient	No	No	No	No
Archive	No	Yes	No	No
Bootstrap	No	Yes	No	No
MicroNode	No	No	No	No

Starting a Node with a Role

# Start as a validator
tenzro-node --role validator --listen-addr /ip4/0.0.0.0/tcp/9000

# Start as a model provider
tenzro-node --role model-provider --listen-addr /ip4/0.0.0.0/tcp/9000

# Start as a TEE provider
tenzro-node --role tee-provider --listen-addr /ip4/0.0.0.0/tcp/9000

# Start as a light client
tenzro-node --role light-client --rpc-addr 127.0.0.1:8545

Becoming a Provider

Providers (ModelProvider, TeeProvider, StorageProvider) earn TNZO by serving the network. Registration is done via the CLI or JSON-RPC:

# Register as a model provider
tenzro-cli provider register --role model-provider

# Stake TNZO for higher priority
tenzro-cli stake deposit --amount 1000 --role model-provider

# Start serving a model
tenzro-cli model serve gemma3-270m

# Set pricing
tenzro-cli provider pricing --set --per-token 0.001

# Check provider stats
tenzro-cli provider status

← Architecture Next: Consensus →