> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.oortech.com/oort/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.oortech.com/oort/infra/witnesses-nodes.md).

# Witnesses Nodes

Oort’s mainnet consensus operates on a Proof of Stake (PoS) model, where blocks are validated by witnesses (validators) who must stake a specified amount of $OORT tokens to participate. 

To qualify as a witness, an account must 

1. run a OORT witness node on a local or cloud machine that met the minimum hardware requirement.
2.  create a staking pool which holds a total of 500,000 $OORT tokens. The pool's creator is required to directly stake 200,000 $OORT tokens from his own account, while the remaining 300,000 tokens can be contributed by the community.