Nillion Blacklight Brings Community Verification to the Blind Computer

The transition of the Blind Computer to Ethereum established a global coordination layer and laid the groundwork for true community operation and verification. Building on that shift, Nillion has introduced Blacklight, a decentralized verification network designed to ensure that private computations on the Blind Computer are executed correctly without revealing sensitive data or execution details. With Blacklight now live, anyone can run a node, help verify private workloads on the network, and earn rewards for securing the system.

At its core, Nillion Blacklight allows independent, continuous verification of private computation. Rather than trusting operators to self-report that workloads are behaving correctly, Blacklight empowers the community to confirm that the right code is running in secure environments, strengthening trust across the network.

Why Trusted Execution Environments Need Continuous Verification

Trusted Execution Environments have moved from niche infrastructure to a default choice for secure computation. As more providers offer TEE-based compute, deploying sensitive workloads inside secure enclaves has become cheaper and more accessible, particularly for large-scale production systems such as AI inference and data-driven applications. TEEs promise that code can run inside a secure enclave that even the hardware operator cannot inspect, and that the code itself can be cryptographically verified.

This assurance relies on attestation reports generated by the TEE, which prove that the correct code is running in an untampered enclave. However, this guarantee only holds if attestations are verified continuously. A one-time check at deployment does not ensure that the enclave remains secure or that the workload has not changed. While users could theoretically verify attestations themselves, the process is complex, time-consuming, and error-prone, leading most systems to fall back on implicit trust in operators. Blacklight was built specifically to eliminate this “trust me” gap.

How Blacklight Nodes Secure the Network

Blacklight nodes form the backbone of the verification network. These permissionless nodes are operated by the community and are responsible for continuously challenging TEE-based workloads to confirm that the expected code is running inside real secure enclaves. At launch, Blacklight supports Nillion’s confidential compute layer, nilCC, as well as other registered TEE-based environments. Over time, the network is expected to expand to provide accountability across a broader range of TEE and storage infrastructure providers.

Importantly, Blacklight nodes do not execute applications or handle user data. Their sole purpose is verification and reporting results back to the network. This narrow focus makes them a critical component in transforming the Blind Computer into infrastructure that is both community-operated and cryptographically verifiable.

Incentives and Rewards for Node Operators

Community participation is incentivized through protocol-level rewards. By running a Blacklight node and staking NIL, operators become eligible to receive verification tasks assigned by the Nillion Layer 2 network. Nodes with higher stakes are assigned more work and earn a larger share of rewards. A minimum stake of 70,000 NIL is required for a node to become active and receive assignments.

Rewards are funded directly by the network through an annual allocation equal to 0.5% of the total NIL supply, distributed proportionally based on each node’s stake relative to the total staked across all Blacklight nodes. As the ecosystem matures, developers deploying workloads will also be able to directly fund verification, aligning incentives between application builders, verifiers, and the broader network.

Getting Started With a Blacklight Node

Running a Blacklight node is designed to be accessible. Operators need to migrate their NIL from Cosmos to Ethereum and Nillion’s Ethereum Layer 2 in order to stake, along with a standard computer to run the node. The setup process guides users through starting the node, generating a node wallet, staking NIL, and monitoring verification activity and rewards through the Blacklight dashboard. Once activated, the node automatically begins receiving verification tasks in proportion to its stake, contributing directly to the security and transparency of the Blind Computer.