Nominators (Polkadot)

Nominators are holders of DOT, the native token of Polkadot, who lock their tokens to support one or more validators instead of running validator infrastructure themselves. Polkadot uses a design called nominated proof of stake, in which nominators choose up to a set number of validators they trust, and an election algorithm then picks the active validator set and spreads stake across it. When their chosen validators produce blocks honestly, nominators receive a share of the staking rewards after the validator's commission. If a validator misbehaves, for example by signing conflicting blocks, part of the stake backing it, including nominators' tokens, can be slashed. Nominators therefore have a reason to check validators' track records, and staked DOT is subject to an unbonding period before it can be withdrawn. Smaller holders can also join nomination pools. The model resembles delegated staking on other networks.