Sources

Sources are a new actor being introduced to the POKT network. These are the builders/maintainers of the data sources hosted by Suppliers and served to users via Gateways.

The Incentive Gap

Historically, there has not been a market incentive for chains to encourage their users to use POKT Network, since those that economically benefit from POKT Network have only been Suppliers and Gateways. With the Shannon upgrade, we aim to close this gap so that chain foundations and future data sources have incentives to come to POKT Network and bring their users.

POKT Network will be the only web3 protocol driving direct revenue to the data source builders. For example, in POKT Network’s early days, the Avalanche Foundation was running RPC infrastructure for their community, which was doing 3B relays a day. With Shannon, we have the ability to turn those 3B relays a day into a source of revenue for the Avalanche Foundation and the client developers. When modelled out, 3B relays a day could generate the Avalanche Foundation 100s of thousands dollars a year, enabling them to put more resources into actual client development. It would also further strengthen ties between the POKT and AVAX communities.

The POKT DAO will have the ability to set the parameters for this incentive. The goal can be to provide the right amount of rewards to attract data sources to build a revenue source off the POKT Protocol.

This completes a full cycle of incentives for the entire POKT Network ecosystem. Gateways, Supplier, and Sources, all have the ability to build business within the POKT Protocol, each one using the other actors to abstract away areas they don’t want to worry about. Growth in any of these domains generate value for the whole.

Reaching New Markets

We want POKT Network to be an ecosystem where builders generate value from their work. For example, with Sources rewards in the LLM space, POKT could be a direct source of revenue for open-source LLMs. The builders behind the LLMs may not be interested in acquiring all the hardware required to host their own LLM service.

Source rewards complete the incentives needed for POKT to reach new players in new markets. Shannon will create real reasons why AI, indexing, oracles, other data sources, services, relayers, etc, would want their technologies in the POKT Network ecosystem.