# Validators In classical Byzantine fault-tolerant (BFT) algorithms, each node has the same weight. In Lithosphere, nodes have a non-negative amount of voting power, and nodes that have positive voting power are called validators. Validators participate in the consensus protocol by broadcasting cryptographic signatures, or votes, to agree upon the next block.\ Validators’ voting powers are determined at genesis or are changed deterministically by the blockchain, depending on the application. For example, in a proof-of-stake application such as the LithoSwap, the voting power may be determined by the amount of staking tokens bonded as collateral. --- # Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter: ``` GET https://whitepaper.litho.ai/makalu/packages/docs/validators.md?ask= ``` The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.