The Incentives Of Running A Blocknet Service Node

The Blocknet Protocol allows for the monetisation of inter-chain and multi-chain services and for interactions between any smart contract platform and any other blockchain, even those that do not have smart contract capabilities. (e.g non Ethereum chains.) XRouter was designed from the ground up to provide interoperability with ANY and ALL blockchains, including all DTL’s (such as IOTA and Hashgraph.) and private chains (such as Hyperledger or R3.) There is no limit on the data XRouter can consume and verify. It is not limited to blockchain data only. XRouter can also verify external data sources such as those used in Oraclize. (In this example, a non-blockchain weather data call can be utilized.) The Blocknet Protocol is supported by a network of Service Nodes, which are similar to Masternodes but with an increased level of participation. Service Nodes host full nodes of the supported blockchains, host microservices, verify UTXOs, route communication between blockchains, and perform anti-spam and anti-DOS measures for the network. BLOCK is the utility token of the Blocknet blockchain and is used to pay fees for the network’s services, such as those provided by XBridge and XRouter. Through these fees, BLOCK is used as compensation to participating Service Nodes to incentivize support. In addition to receiving fees for supporting the network, operators of Services Nodes also receive 100% of fees generated from use of the network’s services (XBridge, XRouter, XCloud). Blocknet Service Node owners therefore have a great incentive to maintain their nodes. This is a marked difference to operating a normal Ethereum node where there is a lack of an economic model to encourage operators to continue to run Ethereum nodes. (Rewarding full Ethereum nodes isn’t part of the base layer). This may be a contributing factor to the decline in the number of Ethereum nodes. There are currently approximately 450 Blocknet Service Nodes spread across the planet providing a stable decentralized network with access to over 100 blockchains. Because of this, the network is not susceptible to centralized failure or censorship and the potential for node collusion is very small when compared with a centralized collection of servers where it would be easier to game the system. Moreover, running a Blocknet node means that node operators will be providing the framework for a brand new API ecosystem where 100% of provider fees go to Service Nodes.