Collator Incentives

Collator Rewards incentivize the formation of the blocks necessary to ensure that the chain continues to function. Since Frequency is a Layer 1 chain in the Polkadot ecosystem, the Relay Chain is used for consensus and finality via the parachain leasing mechanism. However, block formation is still a Frequency responsibility that must be performed by Frequency-specific Collators. Public Collators must stake to the network to participate. All Collators participating in block formation activities will eventually begin to receive token rewards, though the details of this mechanism will be finalized as part of the process of launching Public Collators.

Collators are analogous to validators in other proof of stake networks, but the work done by Collators is significantly lower, requiring less computational overhead and lower participation levels, given that consensus and finality occur at the Relay Chain level. Public Collators are currently a roadmap item, and Frequency currently uses Invulnerable Collators that do not receive rewards for block formation.