The DIG (Decentralized Internet Gateway) Network is nearing its prime-time launch, and we’re inviting individuals to participate in our alpha test. By joining, you could potentially earn some XCH while helping us refine the software. We’re excited to announce our first incentive program on the DIG Network. However, please note that participation in this program does not guarantee any payout, and you may encounter issues during the process. We aim to collaborate with the community to resolve these issues, making this a rewarding experience for everyone. Let’s explore how this alpha test will work.
Requirements
To participate in this alpha incentive program, there are a few technical prerequisites:
- Router Port Forwarding: You must know how to port forward on your router to ensure your DIG Node is accessible externally. Specifically, you need to forward port 80 (for the DIG Node’s Content Server) and port 4159 (for the DIG Node’s Propagation Server). Even if your DIG Node is running, it will not be visible to the network, and you will be ineligible for incentives if these ports are not open on your firewall and router.
- Docker Knowledge: You should have a basic understanding of Docker, which must be installed on your machine. The DIG Node operates as a set of containers using a Docker Compose file. If you cannot set this up, you will be unable to run a DIG Node and participate in the program.
- XCH Funding: Your DIG Node must have a small amount of XCH loaded, approximately 0.25 XCH. Without this, your DIG Node won’t be able to register on the network, making you ineligible for incentives. Disclaimer: The DIG Node is still in its alpha stage, and any funds loaded into it should be considered at risk. Neither the DIG Network nor I, Michael Taylor, can be held responsible for any loss of funds. You agree to participate at your own risk.
- Setup and Installation: You must follow the setup guide to install and run the software. While community support will be available on Discord, the responsibility for setting up the DIG Node lies with you.
- Understanding of Alpha Software: Please be aware that this is alpha software, and some features may not work as expected. We seek participants who are interested in improving the software. Participation does not guarantee incentives, and you may not receive any rewards due to technical issues, bad luck, or other factors. Do not participate if you expect guaranteed payouts.
If you agree to the above requirements and can set up your DIG Node, welcome to the program!
Now, let’s dive into how the “Pay-to-Propagate” system works.
How Incentives Are Paid in “Pay-to-Propagate”
The concept is that data publishers will offer an XCH incentive per epoch, distributing it evenly among all active, high-quality mirrors hosting their content. For example, a publisher might offer 1 XCH for an epoch. If only one mirror accepts the offer, that mirror receives the entire incentive. If two mirrors participate, each would receive 0.5 XCH, and so on. The system is designed to be profitable for mirrors; as long as it remains profitable, more mirrors will join. If it becomes less profitable, some mirrors may drop out. Over time, market forces will balance the number of mirrors so that running a mirror remains worthwhile.
In theory, a mature system will settle on the number of mirrors per XCH to be just above what they would have earned if they dedicated that storage space to farming plots on Chia. Making running a DIG Node more profitable then Farming on average.
In theory, a mature system will settle on the number of mirrors per XCH to be just above what they would have earned if they dedicated that storage space to farming plots on Chia. Making running a DIG Node more profitable then Farming on average. Since dApps and data publishers only need a handful of mirrors to achieve sufficient decentralization, and not every DIG Node in the world, it’s conceivable that we can simultaneously make decentralized hosting cheaper than centralized hosting while still being profitable for DIG Node operators to host. This is what we are interesting in finding out during this test.
An epoch lasts one week. Each week, all active DIG Nodes must spend a “Server Coin” to announce their availability for a particular data store. This requires enough XCH to perform the spend. If a node fails to spend the Server Coin, it becomes invisible to the network and ineligible for incentives. This mechanism prevents the accumulation of inactive peers in the on-chain registry, ensuring only active mirrors are considered.
The data publisher’s DIG Node will run a cron job every 10 minutes, selecting up to 5 random DIG Nodes to “test” by requesting a random resource. The first node to respond correctly and provide proof of inclusion will receive an XCH reward. If a node fails to validate, it will be blacklisted for the rest of the epoch and excluded from further incentives. This blacklist is on a per-store basis, meaning a node can still earn incentives from other stores if it validates correctly.
This process continues throughout the epoch or until the publisher’s XCH reserves are depleted. By choosing random winners at intervals, all mirrors will have a fair opportunity to earn incentives. However, if many mirrors are involved, payouts are not guaranteed. DIG Node operators will need to decide whether mirroring a store is worthwhile. Although not available now, future software will allow DIG Nodes to automatically select the most profitable data stores and dynamically adjust their participation based on expected payouts.
Please note that the data publisher could potentially “lie” and withhold payouts or stop paying altogether. DIG Node operators should be aware of this risk and might choose not to participate in such a program. In the future, indexers may provide confidence scores for data stores, helping DIG Node operators make informed decisions about which stores to mirror.
The dApp Flywheel
The mechanism described above introduces exciting possibilities for self-sustaining decentralized applications (dApps). A dApp with a fee structure can opt to allocate all or part of its fee revenue to incentivize DIG Network mirrors. This process can be automated, and with further research and development, it could potentially be done on a per-usage basis without relying on a backend cron job.
When configured correctly, every time the dApp is used, the generated fees can be funneled directly into the incentive program, motivating mirrors to participate. If certain mirrors drop out due to regulatory challenges, the reduced competition makes hosting the data store more profitable for other DIG Nodes operating under different regulatory environments, encouraging them to step in.
This creates a self-sustaining cycle—a “flywheel”—where the dApp remains resilient and continuously available. Even if one DIG Node is taken down, another one, potentially in a completely different location, will step up to claim the incentive, ensuring the dApp’s uninterrupted presence.
The DIG Network’s decentralized protocol operates without any centralized infrastructure, so if a dApp can fund its own decentralized storage costs, there will always be incentives for a DIG Node somewhere in the world to accept the task. This creates a self-sustaining cycle—a “flywheel”—where the dApp remains resilient and continuously available. Even if one DIG Node is taken down, another one, potentially in a completely different location, will step up to claim the incentive, ensuring the dApp’s uninterrupted presence.
This concept can be extended to NFT collections, where royalty fees are used to fund mirrors programmatically, creating true, permanent availability of the NFTs. By leveraging this mechanism, dApps and NFTs can achieve perpetual storage, ensuring their accessibility to the world indefinitely.
Upcoming Collaboration on TibetSwap
Yakuhito and I are teaming up to test this innovative mechanism on TibetSwap. While we’re close to launching, a few final developments are still in progress. Specifically, we need to integrate DIG Network publishing into TibetSwap, and I’m currently waiting on a pull request (PR) from a community member who is assisting with the setup of Epoch-based Server Coins. We’re almost there!
This article is designed to build excitement and encourage you to prepare to participate if you’re interested. However, please do not attempt to set up a DIG Node just yet. Any DIG Nodes set up before the final PR is merged will not have the necessary mechanisms in place to receive incentives.
We’re just around the corner, and I’ll provide more information very soon. This section of the article will be updated with further instructions when we’re ready to launch the program. Stay tuned!
