#23 – Uroš Hudomalj: Valar - decentralized peer-to-peer staking on Algorand 1p3h6z

In this episode of the Awesome Algo podcast, hosts Al and Mike welcome Uroš, CEO of Valar Solutions and one of the founders of Valar Staking, to discuss their innovative peer-to-peer decentralized staking platform for Algorand. Uroš shares his background in electrical engineering and mechatronics, explaining how his team's vision for blockchain decentralization led to creating Valar - a platform that connects blockchain stakeholders directly with node runners through a permissionless marketplace. The discussion covers how Valar emerged from a winning hackathon project at Decipher 2024 and evolved through the Algorand Foundation's incubator program. The episode explores Valar's unique approach to staking that maintains self-custody while enabling s to participate in consensus through native delegation. Uroš explains the platform's architecture, including smart contracts, the daemon for node runners, and the interface, highlighting how it differs from traditional staking pools by eliminating commission on rewards and offering transparent service-based pricing. With impressive growth metrics - 320 active stakers managing 57 million ALGO across 70+ node runners representing over 15% of all consensus s - Valar is demonstrating significant impact on network decentralization. The conversation also touches on their Certify application for node runner verification and future roap items including improved monitoring, distributed validator technology, and solutions for "block anxiety." Uroš concludes with advice for aspiring Algorand developers, emphasizing the excellent developer experience with AlgoKit and the ive community ecosystem. References: Valar Staking: https://stake.valar.solutions/ Valar on X: https://x.com/ValarStaking Valar Discord: https://discord.com/invite/vSKNznSywt Valar GitHub: https://github.com/ValarStaking Block Anxiety: https://github.com/Algorand-Developer-Retreat/block-anxiety AwesomeAlgo website: https://awesomealgo.com/ Algorand Foundation: https://www.algorand.foundation/ Learn more about MakerX: Website: https://www.makerx.com.au/ Museum of Data History: https://museum.datahistory.org/ QRX Codes: https://qrx.codes/ Subtopia: https://subtopia.io/ Links: CleanShot X: https://cleanshot.sjv.io/GKoE29 722o5k