Gateway Operators
A Gateway is the access layer between applications and Pocket Network’s supplier pool. When a developer makes an API call to an RPC endpoint, that request hits a Gateway before being routed to a Supplier node. Running a commercial Gateway means operating this access layer as a business — serving customers who pay for RPC access, while routing their traffic through Pocket’s decentralized infrastructure.
This is the same model PNF uses to operate api.pocket.network. The difference: as a commercial Gateway operator, you set your own pricing, serve your own customers, and keep the margin.
The Business Model
| Your Revenue | Your Cost | |
|---|---|---|
| Source | What customers pay you for RPC access | Protocol burn (POKT per relay) + infrastructure |
| Your margin | Revenue minus protocol cost minus infrastructure |
Volume rebates: Shannon introduced DAO-funded rebates that reduce your effective protocol cost at higher volumes. Tiers and percentages are governance-controlled — check poktscan.com/params for current values.
Technical Setup
| Component | Purpose |
|---|---|
| PATH | The gateway software — routes requests, manages QoS, handles sessions |
| Gateway stake | Minimum 5,000 POKT staked on-chain |
| Application stake(s) | One per customer segment — the payment mechanism (burn POKT per relay) |
| Backend nodes | Optional — PATH routes to Pocket’s Supplier pool by default |
Getting Started
- Install PATH — Clone and configure PATH. It’s the same software PNF uses in production.
- Configure services — Set which chains you want to support
- Stake your Gateway — Submit a gateway stake transaction via
pocketdor the staking UI - Stake Applications — Each Application burns POKT for relay traffic
- Point customers — Your customers use your endpoint URL as a drop-in replacement for any RPC provider
- Monitor and scale — PATH exposes Prometheus metrics; scale horizontally with Redis
Active Gateway Operators
- PNF (api.pocket.network) — the reference implementation, 60+ chains
- DevDAO Cloud — community-operated gateway
- POKT.ai — AI-focused gateway routing LLM traffic through Pocket
- Additional operators joining post-Shannon — see Discord #gateway-operators
What’s in This Section
- Gateway Staking — stake configuration and CLI commands
- Application-Gateway Delegation — how delegation works
- Gateway Business Model — revenue, rebates, cost structure
- Use Cases — how teams are building on Pocket
In this section
Application-Gateway Delegation
How Applications delegate to Gateways and how the delegation model works.
Learn more →Gateway Staking
Stake POKT as a Gateway operator — concepts, delegation, and CLI commands.
Learn more →Gateway Use Cases
How teams are using Pocket Network's gateway layer to build commercial products and services.
Learn more →