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Specific TOKEN amounts, slash percentages, and fee splits on this page are not finalized. Tokenomics is under active review — see tokenomics for status. Treat numbers here as illustrative of the leading candidate model, not committed.
A node operator runs one or more staked nodes that cache and deliver content in exchange for per-MB fees. You are a small-to-medium infrastructure operator — a bare-metal host, a few cloud VMs, a home server with good connectivity. You stake TOKEN, run the binary, and earn per-MB fees in any governance-allowlisted ERC-20. You do not need to be a content provider. Popular content flows toward cheap, fast, well-reputed caches regardless of origin. Your job is to be that cache.

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What you stake vs. what you earn

ItemDenomination
StakeTOKEN (required to join the mesh)
Challenge bonds50 TOKEN
EarningsAny allowlisted ERC-20 (USDC, etc.)
GasArbitrum One ETH
Buy-back-and-burn recycles 20% of protocol fees into TOKEN burns (tokenomics).

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What you risk

The four slashable offenses (slashing):
  1. Corrupted delivery — BLAKE3 hash mismatch on bytes you sent.
  2. Phantom announcement — you said has_blob: true and then failed to deliver.
  3. Rate manipulation — you charged more than you advertised.
  4. Blacklist violation — you served a hash that was blacklisted past the compliance window.
Slash schedule: 5% / 10% / 20% for corruption/phantom/rate (escalating within 90 days); 10% / 25% / 50% for blacklist. Challenge bonds protect against griefing — anyone challenging you pays a bond that is returned only if the challenge succeeds.

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How this tab is organized

PageWhat it covers
Getting startedSystem requirements, install, first-run config
Staking & registrationFunding, approvals, registerNode, key rotation
Running a nodeConfig keys, cache tuning, region selection, pull-through
Economics & ratesRate-setting, bounds, effective revenue, egress cost framing
ReputationHow scores are built, how to protect yours, cold-start
Watchtower setupRegistering with 2–3 watchtowers, fee escrow
ObservabilityMetrics, /health, slash-risk alerts
Disputes & slashingResponding to challenges, filing counter-evidence, recovering

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Where to start

If you’re evaluating whether to run a node at all: Economics. If you’ve decided and want to go: Getting started.