Prerequisites

The following are the prerequisites you need to ensure before you start deploying the chain.

Funding Requirements
L1 RPC Endpoint
Beacon RPC Endpoint
AWS IAM account
(Optional) Operators can stake TON to earn seigniorage rewards
Tools

Let's go step by step about each of them.

1. Funding Requirements

Funding for multiple EOA accounts is a critical aspect of network setup and operation. These costs can be categorized into deployment costs and post-deployment operational costs.

Operator account

The operator account plays a crucial role in the operation of the Thanos chain. It is mainly responsible for network upgrades, data availability, and network security.

Below is an explanation of the roles for each account:

Admin: the ability to upgrade contracts.
Batcher: Publish Sequencer transaction data to L1.
Proposer: Publish L2 transaction results (output roots) to L1.
Sequencer: Sign blocks on the p2p network.
Challenger: Resolve dispute game

Deployment Costs

Admin - 0.6 ETH
- The admin fee constitutes the primary deployment expense, covering the deployment of system contracts on L1. This process requires approximately 80,000,000 gas. Assuming a base fee of 7–8 gwei, the estimated cost is approximately 0.6 ETH.
- This cost is a one-time expense necessary to establish the foundational infrastructure.
Batcher, Proposer, Challenger
- Post-deployment, Batcher, Proposer, and Challenger accounts incur ongoing operational costs. These expenses are highly variable, depending on the network's configuration and usage patterns.
  - The explanation and process for customizing parameters can be found at: Chain Configuration
  - You can input the desired parameters to calculate the fees in the following spreadsheet: Thanos Stack Operation Fee Adjustment Spreadsheet
Sequencer - Not required.

To ensure smooth operation, users must define an operational funding strategy, including determining the appropriate funding intervals for these accounts. It is recommended to use the provided spreadsheet to estimate operational costs based on the desired network configuration. By doing so, users can allocate sufficient ETH to these accounts to cover anticipated expenses, thereby maintaining seamless network functionality.

2. L1 RPC endpoint

You need an L1 RPC endpoint to handle deposits, withdrawals between L1 and L2 chains, and to ensure data availability and security for the L2 chain.

We currently recommend Alchemy as the L1 RPC endpoint provider. Since Thanos is an Ethereum-based L2 chain, make sure to select Ethereum.

Alchemy

3. Beacon RPC endpoint

To reduce data availability costs by using blobs. You’ll need to set up a Beacon node. You can create an endpoint through Quicknode.

Quicknode

4. Set-up AWS account

Terraform is used to set up an AWS-based infrastructure to deploy the Thanos chain. For Terraform to function properly, it needs to be integrated with your AWS account.

Create IAM user

In the IAM console, navigate to Users and click Create User.

Enter the User name and click the Next button.

To select the Attach policies directly option and proceed with the deployment, you need most of the permissions for AWS resources, so select AdministratorAccess.

Click the Next button, then click the Create user button to create the user.
On the user screen, click on the newly created user.

In the Security credentials tab, click Create access key.

Select Command Line Interface as the use case and click Next.

Click on Create access key .

Copy and store the Access key and Secret access key.

Copy and securely store the Access key and Secret access key for later use. Ensure they are not exposed to unauthorized access

Configure the settings using the AWS command.

$ aws configure
AWS Access Key ID [****************G3HD]: [ Input your Access Key ID ]
AWS Secret Access Key [****************2suN]: [ Input your Secret Access Key ]
Default region name [ap-northeast-2]: ap-northeast-2
Default output format [json]: json

Use the following command to verify that the registration was successful.

$ aws sts get-caller-identity
{
    "UserId": "AIDA6ODU3FACNHKZTMP2I",
    "Account": "992382494724",
    "Arn": "arn:aws:iam::992382494724:user/thanos-stack"
}

Once the setup is complete, proceed to the next phase

5. Stake TON as an Operator

As detailed in our whitepaper, operators launching a new chain must deposit TON as collateral (optional for now) which is used for challenge mechanism and opportunity for operator to earn seigniorage rewards.

In the current Thanos Beta release, the operator registration mechanism for TON staking is not yet integrated.

This feature will be introduced in Staking v2.5, which is currently undergoing audit. However, operators who wish to explore staking early can use Staking v1 to stake TON and earn seigniorage rewards.

Note: TON staked in Staking v1 cannot be migrated to Staking v2.5 for operator registration.

🔗 More details: Whitepaper link

🔗 Try Staking v1: Staking v1 link

🔗 Staking v1 Guide: Guide