# River

The River/Towns protocol is a decentralized, end-to-end encrypted messaging infrastructure built on the EVM-compatible River Protocol, which operates as a Layer 2 blockchain leveraging decentralized nodes and smart contracts deployed on Base. Towns enables permissionless group chats, allowing communities to create, own, and manage digital spaces with customizable governance, privacy, and monetization features. The project is led by Ben Rubin, founder of Houseparty and Meerkat, and has attracted significant investment, raising $25.5 million in a Series A round led by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), with additional backing from Benchmark and Framework Ventures.

You can find the link to the block explorer below:

{% embed url="<https://explorer.towns.com/>" %}

* [Validator Address](#validator-address)
* [Performance](#performance)
* [Staking Mechanics](#staking-mechanics)

### Validator Address

{% tabs %}
{% tab title="Mainnet" %}

<table><thead><tr><th width="196">Type</th><th>Address</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Operator Address 1</td><td>0xdE42f8Fa9B9f856A8D0C3e92e25905BD8bC44545</td></tr><tr><td>Operator Address 2</td><td>0x4051199467518D05d3d5E8A220d05edA68a73A4B</td></tr></tbody></table>
{% endtab %}
{% endtabs %}

### Performance

Luganodes node performance can be tracked [here](https://alpha-1.river.lgns.net/debug/multi).

### Staking Mechanics

<table><thead><tr><th width="225">Metrics</th><th>Details</th><th data-hidden>Details</th><th data-hidden></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Reward Frequency</td><td>Bi-weekly</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Auto-compounding</td><td>No ( Need to redelegate rewards manually )</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Penalty</td><td>No slashing penalties, however River has an extendable reputation system which can impact a node’s participation or rewards.</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Slashing</td><td>No</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Stake Lockup</td><td>No ( Instant Delegation )</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Unbonding Period</td><td>60 day</td><td></td><td></td></tr></tbody></table>