CertiK takes a validator seat on ONEchain, moving from auditor to block producer

In Brief:

• NEXUS said CertiK has joined ONEchain as a network validator, operating its own node infrastructure on Mainnet 2.0.
• The two signed an MOU in December covering security, auditing and infrastructure, then a separate validator participation agreement in May.
• CertiK now sits in a validator set that also includes NEXUS, ONEstore, H Lab, OnchainLabs and RaidLabs.

CertiK is signing blocks on ONEchain. NEXUS said Sept. 3 that the security firm joined the network’s validator set and will build and run its own node infrastructure, handling block creation, transaction verification and network maintenance on ONEchain Mainnet 2.0.

It’s a role change more than a new client. CertiK checked ONEchain’s code from the outside. It now helps operate the chain it was checking.

What CertiK actually runs

Mainnet 2.0, titled “Breakpoint,” uses proof of staked authority. Designated validators produce blocks after meeting self-staking requirements and keeping nodes online continuously. The upgrade went live June 1 with a 21-validator set, following a governance vote that carried with roughly 98% approval.

Base fees are burned permanently under that design, and a first-year reward pool of 300 million tokens is split between validators and delegated staking. The network runs a full EVM stack at Cancun/Prague, with PoSA and BLS signatures, and NEXUS pitches it at games, DeFi and AI agents.

ONEchain said the network cleared 5.72 million transactions in August.

The paperwork came first

NEXUS and CertiK signed a memorandum of understanding in December covering security, auditing and infrastructure. A validator participation agreement followed in May. In June, CertiK ran an AI Skill security scan of ONEchain Skills, then still called CROSS Skills.

“CertiK’s participation as a validator goes beyond a simple security audit agreement, and it is evidence that ONEchain is growing into a network that global institutions trust and take part in directly,” said Henry Chang, CEO of NEXUS.

Who else signs blocks

The set currently includes CertiK, NEXUS, ONEstore, H Lab, OnchainLabs and RaidLabs. Chang also runs a validator in a personal capacity.

ONEstore came on July 15. NEXUS had acquired an 89.03% stake in the Korean app market in June for about 62.6 billion won, or roughly $40.74 million, and the store ships on more than 38 million devices. On Aug. 7 it opened an “AI Games” section built around titles made with AI tools, launching with 20 games including Ragnarok Breaker and Heros Unite.

NEXUS has added infrastructure and platform operators to the set first and a security specialist second. The company said it plans to keep expanding the composition.

Background

CROSS was renamed ONEchain and $CROSS became $ONE, with the ticker change taking effect Sept. 4 at 00:00 UTC. There was no migration and no new asset. Validator set and supply were unchanged. $ONEUSD is named the ecosystem’s common unit, serving as the medium of exchange, with ONE positioned as the store of value.

NEXUS reports 2.18 million cumulative ONEpocket wallets as of July 2026. It says on-chain transactions have grown steadily since the network launched in 2025, though the company’s published platform metrics carry a preliminary internal estimate date of July 31, 2026.

CertiK has been collecting validator seats elsewhere. It became an institutional masternode validator on XDC Network on June 25, deploying and operating nodes through SkyNode, its enterprise infrastructure platform.

Chang said NEXUS isn’t finished: “We will continue to expand our validator set with proven global partners.”