Game of stake incentive need to be more specific about what's the valid validator uptime
As we all know that validators which were created from genesis txs are of course valid validators. But what if some validators lost their priv_validator.json file but have secret words at hand. Because there’s no way to find the priv_validator.json file. It’s on the one hand. On the other hand, if they want to recreate validator just from original account, they have to wait several days to complete the unbond operation. Considering the high inflation rate, the cost is too high. Could they transfer the tokens to some other account. And with that account, validator can be created immediately. But, I’m not sure whether this validator uptime will be calculated when distributing incentive. Could someone make a clarification about it.
From what I understand, the incentive mechanism should be tied to the validator’s actual consensus participation rather than the wallet that originally held the stake.
If you move the tokens to a new account and create a new validator, it will essentially be treated as a different validator. The previous uptime history generally isn’t transferred, because uptime is associated with the validator identity (consensus key), not just the delegated tokens.
The tricky part is that recovering from the mnemonic alone doesn’t restore the original priv_validator.json, so if the consensus key is lost, the network has no way to recognize the new validator as a continuation of the old one.
That’s why it would be helpful if the team clarified exactly how validator uptime is measured for the incentive program - whether there’s a minimum uptime threshold, the evaluation period, and whether recreated validators are eligible immediately or have to build a new uptime record.
This discussion is a good reminder that validator uptime isn’t only about staying online — operational practices like consensus key management and backup procedures matter just as much. I recently read this overview on validator infrastructure that explains why things like failover, key management, and reliable operations have such a big impact on long-term validator performance: https://crouton.digital/blog/best-validators-for-cosmos-in-2026-beyond-the-hype. It doesn’t answer the incentive rules directly, but it gives some useful context.