> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.crescent.network/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.crescent.network/introduction/liquid-staking/liquid-staking-validator.md).

# Liquid Staking Validator

### **Liquid Staking Validator**

Crescent Network’s liquid staking utility consists of whitelisted validators that receive delegation directly from the liquid staking module. When a user stakes their CRE, the delegated amount is distributed equally among the set of whitelisted validators that can be changed by governance, led by the Crescent Foundation.

Validator addition conditions:

* Maximum of 1 validator added each month to existing group when no performance issues exist on the network
* The validator’s performance and potential contribution to Crescent Network must be provided and addition must be agreed on by governance

Grounds of expulsion from group:

* Potential significant network performance drag caused by the validator
* Commission rate set differently than the commission rate decided by signal governance
* Statistical evidence of VEV(validator extractable value)

The Crescent Foundation can monitor the statistical differences between mempools in multiple full-nodes and the transactions in each proposed block to prevent VEV. When there exists very strong statistical evidence that a significant number of blocks are proposed by a certain validator, the below punishment on the validator can be executed via governance process:

* Expulsion of the validator from the liquid staking validator group
* Slash proportion of delegations towards the validator
* Tombstone the validator