Key Participants

Ender’s network is powered by various participants, each with a specialized role in processing intents and maintaining the system. Ender roles ensure that intents are transformed from ideas into executed reality securely and efficiently. The main participant types are Pathfinders, Action Builders, and Validators. (In the future, AI Agents will also play a role, which we’ll cover in an upcoming section.)

Pathfinders (Intent Solvers)

Pathfinders are the strategists and problem-solvers of the Ender Network. When a new intent comes in, Pathfinders compete to devise the best execution plan to fulfill that request.

• Role: They take an intent (the desired outcome) and figure out which sequence of actions (across which chains and protocols) can achieve it. This is like finding the best route on a map that spans all blockchains.

• How They Work: Pathfinders leverage the shared state graph and the library of available actions. They continuously scan for optimal paths, considering factors like gas fees, exchange rates, and success probability. Multiple Pathfinders might come up with different solutions to the same intent.

• Competitive Optimization: Only the most efficient solution is ultimately chosen for execution (for example, the plan that costs the least or executes fastest). This competitive aspect incentivizes Pathfinders to optimize their algorithms and stay up-to-date on new protocols or opportunities.

• Rewards: If a Pathfinder’s solution is selected and executed, they earn a reward (a portion of the fees from that intent). This reward system is similar to how “solvers” or “searchers” in other protocols get paid for finding valuable transactions. It ensures that Pathfinders are always hunting for the best way to serve intents.

In summary, Pathfinders turn high-level intents into concrete action plans. They are crucial for abstracting away complexity – as a developer, you don’t need to manually chart out every step; Pathfinders will do it for you.

Action Builders (Abstraction Publishers)

Action Builders are the creators and maintainers of the building blocks that Pathfinders use. They develop and publish the smart contract abstractions (the “actions”) to the Ender Network.

• Role: They encapsulate direct interactions with specific smart contracts or protocols into standardized actions. For example, an Action Builder might write an abstraction for “Swap on Uniswap v3” or “Stake in Protocol X”. This involves writing code or definitions that tell Ender how to perform that action (which contract to call, what parameters to pass, how to verify the outcome).

• Contribution: By adding these actions to Ender’s shared state, they make those capabilities available to any intent. Action Builders essentially widen Ender’s skillset – the more actions available, the more things intents can do.

• Quality and Security: Action Builders are expected to create high-quality, secure, and efficient abstractions. Each action should handle edge cases and not introduce vulnerabilities. There may be a review or audit process for new actions before they are accepted by the network (especially once Ender is decentralized).

• Incentives: Whenever Pathfinders use an action in a solution and that solution gets executed, the Action Builder who contributed that action earns a small fee or reward. This encourages developers to contribute useful and popular actions (for instance, an action that connects to a major DeFi protocol could be used in thousands of intents, generating ongoing rewards for its author).

In essence, Action Builders provide the toolkit that makes intent execution possible. They focus on integrating individual protocols, so that Ender users don’t have to.

Learn more about Composable Actions and how Ender uses smart contract action abstractions.

Validators (Network Guardians)

Validators are the security and integrity enforcers of the Ender Network. In the future decentralized Ender blockchain, they will perform the critical work of verifying transactions and maintaining the network’s ledger.

• Role in Centralized Phase: While Ender is in a centralized beta, “validator” duties (like checking solutions and executing transactions) are handled by the Ender service. Once the network decentralizes, Validators will be independent nodes that validate intent solutions and add them to Ender’s blockchain.

• Validating Solutions: When Pathfinders propose solutions for an intent, Validators authenticate the proposals. They check that the proposed series of actions is valid (no invalid transactions or security breaches), that all required signatures or approvals are in place, and that the solution indeed fulfills the intent. They also ensure that the same intent isn’t executed twice or manipulated.

• Consensus and Execution: Validators come to consensus on which solution wins (e.g., the lowest-cost valid plan) and then help execute it. Because Ender’s execution might involve sending transactions on multiple chains, Validators coordinate that process and monitor success on each chain.

• Rewards and Staking: Validators earn rewards for securing the network and processing intents. In Ender’s economic model, a portion of fees from each intent or block of intents will go to Validators. To participate, Validators will likely need to stake Ender’s native tokens, which can be slashed if they behave maliciously or incompetently. This stake provides security: if a validator tries to cheat, they risk losing their deposit.

• Integrity and Trust: Thanks to Validators, developers and users can trust that once they submit an intent, the outcome is correct and final. Validators ensure the network’s integrity, so no one has to manually double-check results on each blockchain – Ender’s consensus does that.

Overall, Validators make Ender a trustworthy execution environment. They uphold the rules, secure the process, and allow Ender to operate as a reliable layer on top of many blockchains.