Verifying the chain and participating with stake are distinct roles.
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A person can check a game’s score without being selected to propose the next round.
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Receive, check and share across independent nodesStep 1 / 4
A node receives a proposed transaction or block-related message. Receipt is not the same as accepting its claims.
A node receives a proposed transaction or block-related message. Receipt is not the same as accepting its claims.The node checks the relevant authorization and protocol rules. Popularity does not make an invalid state transition valid.Valid candidate data can propagate to peers. Connections and timing differ, so there is no perfect simultaneous worldwide view.Peers validate under the same protocol rules. This illustration is about verification and propagation, not a complete proof-of-stake consensus algorithm.
Animated local teaching model. No wallet, RPC or live blockchain data. Some labels and hashes are abbreviated for readability.
A node verifies information
A node can receive blocks, check protocol rules and maintain chain data without acting as a validator. Independent verification does not require earning staking rewards.
A validator has additional duties
Validators participate in proof-of-stake activities such as proposals and attestations under the protocol’s stake and lifecycle rules. The duties carry reward, penalty and operational considerations.
Voting does not redefine validity
A validator’s vote does not make a mathematically invalid execution transition valid. Nodes still enforce the protocol rules for the chain they follow. Consensus coordinates valid history.
Separate operational choices
Running a node, running validator software and using a hosted RPC are different arrangements. This site teaches their roles without requiring any of them for its local tools.
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Must every node stake ETH and propose blocks?
Verification and validator participation are separate roles.