Relay Mining Estimation & Parameters

A gentle high-level introduction to token minting and burning, intended to understand the different variables involved and how they interact.

Mathematic Representation

$$\begin{aligned} \text{Claim.NumRelays} &= \text{scaleDown}(\text{RelayMiningDifficulty}, \text{ActualNumberOfRelays}) \\ \text{ClaimedComputeUnits} &= \text{Claim.NumRelays} \times \text{ComputeUnitsPerRelay} \\ \text{EstimatedOffchainComputeUnits} &= \text{scaleUp}(\text{RelayMiningDifficulty}, \text{ClaimedComputeUnits}) \\ u\text{POKT} &= \frac{\text{EstimatedOffchainComputeUnits} \times \text{ComputeUnitsToTokenMultiplier}}{\text{ComputeUnitCostGranularity}} \end{aligned}$$

• Claim.NumRelays = scaleDown(RelayMiningDifficulty, ActualNumberOfRelays)

• ClaimedComputeUnits = Claim.NumRelays × ComputeUnitsPerRelay

• EstimatedOffchainComputeUnits = scaleUp(RelayMiningDifficulty, ClaimedComputeUnits)

• uPOKT = EstimatedOffchainComputeUnits × ComputeUnitsToTokenMultiplier / ComputeUnitCostGranularity

Relay Mining Parameters & Function

Parameter	Type	Scope	Controller	Description
RelayMiningDifficulty	Dynamic Parameter	Service Specific	Onchain protocol business logic	The probability that a relay is reward applicable
ComputeUnitsPerRelay	Static Parameter	Service Specific	Service Owner	Number of compute units each reward applicable relay accounts for
ComputeUnitsToTokenMultiplier	Static Parameter	Network Wide	Network Authority	Number of onchain tokens minted/burnt per compute unit
ComputeUnitCostGranularity	Static Parameter	Network Wide	Network Authority	Enable more granular calculations for the cost of a single relay (i.e. less than 1 uPOKT)
scaleDown	Offchain procedure	Service Specific	RelayMiner & Onchain Params	A methodology to ensure RelayMiner scalability
scaleUp	Onchain procedure	Service Specific	Validator & Onchain Business Logic	A methodology to ensure fair token distribution

Claim & Relay Estimation Flow

1

Tree Construction

Converts actual offchain number of relays to the probabilistic number of reward applicable relays.

2

Claim Creation

Sums up the total number of reward applicable relays in the tree into a single claim.

3

Claim Settlement

Estimates the total number of consumed compute units based on the claim and service parameters.

4

Token Distribution

Converts the estimated compute units into uPOKT and distributes it to relevant stakeholders.

(Workflow elements referenced: Sparse Merkle Sum Trie root sum of reward-applicable relays, RelayMiner co-processor, Service.RelayMining Difficulty, Session.Cost in uPOKT, Service.ComputeUnitsPerRelay, Claim.NumRelays.)

💰 Example with Numbers

Assume the following Offchain market driven numbers:

• POKT price: $0.1/POKT

• Market rate: $5M for 1M relays

• Session: Num actual offchain relays between App (User) & Supplier (Operator)

Num Relays	Description	RelayMiningDifficulty (RMD)	ComputeUnitsPerRelay (CUPR)	ComputeUnitsToTokenMultiplier (CUTTM)	ComputeUnitCostGranularity (CUCG)	Estimated Compute Units (CU)	uPOKT Result	USD (at $0.10/POKT)
1,000,000	Baseline values	1.0	1.0	50	1	1,000,000 × 1 × 1 = 1,000,000	1,000,000 × 50 / 1 = 50,000,000 uPOKT = 50 POKT	$5.00
1,000,000	High multiplier / High granularity	1.0	1.0	50,000,000	1e6	1,000,000 × 1 × 1 = 1,000,000	1,000,000 × 50,000,000 / 1,000,000 = 50,000,000 uPOKT = 50 POKT	$5.00
1,000,000	High compute units per relay	1.0	5.0	50	1	1,000,000 × 1 × 5 = 5,000,000	5,000,000 × 50 / 1 = 250,000,000 uPOKT = 250 POKT	$25.00
10,000,000	Adjusted relay mining difficulty	0.1	1.0	50	1	1,000,000 × (0.1 / 0.1) × 1 = 1,000,000	1,000,000 × 50 / 1 = 5,000,000 uPOKT = 5 POKT	$5.00

FAQ

Why do we need relay mining difficulty?

To be able to scale a single RelayMiner co-processor to handle billions of relays while being resource efficient.

How do we prove the claim?

Visit the claim and proof lifecycle docs for more information: https://dev.poktroll.com/protocol/primitives/claim_and_proof_lifecycle

Why is every relay the same number of compute units?

We will handle variable compute units per relay in the future.

How does rate limiting work?

Rate limiting is an optimistic non-interactive permissionless mechanism that uses a commit-and-reveal scheme with probabilistic guarantees, crypto-economic (dis)incentives, and onchain proofs to ensure that suppliers do not over-service applications.

How does burning work?

Burning is a mechanism that puts funds in escrow, burns it after work is done, and puts optimistic limits in place whose work volume is proven onchain.