Run a node on the post-quantum chain.
A HashKinetics Node Key is the license to register and operate one node on the HashKinetics network at mainnet — the L1 whose consensus, accounts and shielded pool run on hash-based signatures alone. Tier 1: 0.1 ETH for the first 3,000 keys, then 0.2, then 0.4 — a ladder compiled into the contract. No auctions, no wallet limits: buy one key or the whole supply. Have an invite code? 5 % off.
One key, one node, on a chain that already runs.
1The license
A transferable ERC-721 that lets you register exactly one node in the HashKinetics node registry when mainnet opens, and operate it under the network rules published then. Transferable until you register it; transferable again if you de-register.
2The network
Not a roadmap: testnet-1 has run since 2 Sept 2026 — hash-based BFT with eleven validator seats, a shielded pool verified by every node, a live bridge from Sepolia, wallets on Windows and Android. Every number on hashkinetics.org is a receipt you can re-verify.
3What it does not include
A Node Key is an ERC-721 node licence and does not entitle the holder to any token. No return is promised.
Mint, hold, refer — from one wallet.
No ETH yet? Buy with a card, deposit from an exchange, or swap — inside the wallet window.
Gas is extra. Keys are numbered in mint order.
Contract: 0x36edb45c4610AE2A7FE6334343D9D958Fb81EC84 · the price ladder and the payout address are fixed at deployment; a mint pushes the proceeds to the payout address in the same transaction once at least 0.1 ETH is waiting (the sweep threshold), and anyone can push a smaller amount with sweep(). The company Safe that owns the contract can open, close and pause the sale, change the referral settings, and withdraw the free balance (what waits under the sweep threshold, and stray ETH) to any address. It cannot withdraw or sweep the referral escrow; the only exception is an on-chain, logged fraud cancellation of one referrer's unpaid rewards.
Each key becomes a node license at mainnet: bind it to your node's root key in the registry. Until then it is a plain ERC-721 you can hold or transfer.
Become a referrer — one transaction
Registering writes an invite code bound to this wallet address into the contract (it cannot be transferred, changed or guessed). Buyers who mint with your code pay 5 % less. You earn 20 % of the tier price on every key they mint — 0.02 ETH per tier-1 key, 0.04 at tier 2, 0.08 at tier 3 — claimable 96 block confirmations after each mint (a constant in the contract), paid when a claim transaction is sent (by you, or by anyone on your behalf). Your escrowed rewards cannot be withdrawn or swept by anyone, owner included; the only exception is a fraud cancellation of one referrer's unpaid rewards, which is an on-chain event shown in this ledger. Settlement pauses while the contract is paused. If the hold-a-key setting is on when you register, your wallet must hold a key at that moment. It is checked once, at registration, and not again.
Costs gas only. One code per wallet, permanent.
Mint today, run at mainnet.
1Mint
Connect a wallet and mint any number of keys at the current tier price (tier 1: 0.1 ETH). Orders above 5,000 keys are sent as several transactions — one wallet can hold the whole supply.
2Set up a node
Any Linux box: 4 cores, 8 GB RAM. The join kit and the operator runbook are public today; you can run a testnet-1 node right now to learn the ropes.
3Register
At mainnet, bind one key to your node's root key in the registry. From then on the key is that node's license (transferable again if you de-register).
4Operate
Keep it up, keep it current, keep 15 % disk free.
Plain answers.
What exactly am I buying?
A software license, as an ERC-721 on Ethereum: the right to register and operate one node on the HashKinetics network at mainnet. It is not a token, not equity, not a share of revenue, and not a validator seat by itself.
Is there a limit per wallet?
No. One wallet may buy every key. A single Ethereum transaction can carry up to 5,000 keys (the block gas limit, not a rule of ours); larger orders are simply several transactions, which the page sends one after another.
I have an invite code — what does it do?
Open the page through the invite link (or paste the code) and every key you mint is 5 % off the tier price: 0.095 ETH instead of 0.1 at tier 1. The discount is applied by the contract itself. An invalid code simply means no discount.
Can I become a referrer?
Yes. Connect a wallet and open Referral programme in your dashboard: one transaction registers an invite code bound to your address, and your dashboard shows every mint made with it. The programme terms are shown there.
I don't have a wallet or any ETH — can I still buy?
Yes. Press Connect wallet and sign in with an email or a Google, Apple, X, Discord or GitHub account: a wallet is created for you, held in a secure enclave and unlocked by that login (it is yours — you can export or upgrade it later; keep the login safe, it is the key). Inside the wallet window you can buy ETH with a card, deposit from an exchange account, or swap another token for ETH, then mint. Card purchases go through third-party providers who apply their own identity checks and country rules; anyone who already holds ETH is unaffected.
Is a Node Key the same as a validator seat?
No. The genesis validator set is a separate, limited programme. A Node Key is the prerequisite for the mainnet node registry; a registered node can later apply for a consensus seat through the network's published governance path, which has its own bond and rules.
Is there a token?
Yes, since 2026-10-19: ERC-20 HKN, the pre-mainnet form of HKN, is sold on Base at sale.hashkinetics.org; it converts 1:1 into native HKN at mainnet through the burn portal, with no deadline, and the only valid addresses are on that site's signed address list. It is a separate product from a Node Key: A Node Key is an ERC-721 node licence and does not entitle the holder to any token. Nothing on this page promises a token or a return. You may lose all of the money you put in. The ERC-20 has no use until mainnet other than the 1:1 bridge. Mainnet may be delayed.
How is the price set?
By a ladder compiled into the contract at deployment: 3,000 keys at 0.1 ETH, then 3,000 at 0.2, then 4,000 at 0.4. No auctions, no owner setter — the next key always sells at the current tier's price, and an order that crosses into the next tier is priced across it.
Where does the money go?
To one payout address compiled into the contract at deployment; it cannot be changed. Every mint pushes the proceeds there in the same transaction (anything under 0.1 ETH waits for the next one). The company Safe that owns the contract can withdraw the free balance (what waits under the threshold, and stray ETH) to any address. It cannot withdraw or sweep the referral escrow; the only exception is an on-chain, logged fraud cancellation of one referrer's unpaid rewards, which turns them into free balance.
Can I resell a key? Refunds?
Yes — it is a standard ERC-721 until you register it to a node. Marketplaces that honour EIP-2981 pay a 5 % royalty on resales to the same payout address. No refunds; sales are final. The contract takes exactly the amount shown and rejects anything else — it never sends ETH back to a buyer.
Where do the image and the animation live?
On Ethereum. The contract draws each key's image itself (an animated SVG with the serial number and tier) and holds the animation as code (HKNodeKeyMedia); tokenURI returns both as data URLs. No IPFS gateway, no pin and no server sit between you and your key's picture. A copy of the animation is also pinned on IPFS as a mirror.
Is the contract audited?
Not yet by an independent firm — we say so plainly. The contract is about 500 lines; it was self-reviewed and tested with unit, adversarial (re-entrancy, front-running, misbehaving tokens and payout targets) and stateful-fuzz suites, and its source is verified on Etherscan and Sourcify, so anyone can read exactly what is deployed. No independent review is booked yet. When one is, this answer will name the reviewer and the date. Until then a bug bounty is open: up to 1 ETH for a report that shows how funds could be lost or locked in the sale contract, paid from proceeds at our discretion — write to security@hashkinetics.org, and please do not test against the live contract with other people's money. The HashKinetics node software itself is unaudited testnet software today, as its own site says.