Node Reward Model: Transitioning Toward Long-Term Sustainability

Hey Cornucopians,

First, thank you to every one of you who supported the launch of our node network. Whether you’re running a node pool or backing the ecosystem as a delegator, your contribution has helped us build a strong foundation for Cornucopias’ future.

As you know, our node pools, run by pool operators, provide critical download services to new players joining the game. These pools help us deliver a smoother, faster onboarding experience. Today, we want to share how we’re evolving the reward model to support a higher-quality player experience, ensure fair rewards, and move toward a sustainable, market-aligned system.

Quick Recap: Where We Are Now

We paid out 26 million COPI tokens in year 1, evenly divided among all node license holders—regardless of performance. This system was a great starting point, and it will remain in place over the next 6 months (13 million COPI tokens), with no change to the pace until re-evaluating at the end of the next six months (see phase 2 below).  

Phase 1: Introducing Performance-Based Rewards (July 1 – January 1)

While the payout size stays the same, we are shifting how those rewards are distributed. We’re moving from a flat, even payout to one that better reflects the uptime and reliability of each node. Nodes that serve more data to our players will earn more performance rewards.

Here’s the rollout schedule:

• Already live: 1% of rewards are performance-based
• August 1: 10% performance / 90% base
• September 1: 25% performance / 75% base
• October 1: 40% performance / 60% base
• November 1: 60% performance / 40% base
• December 1: 75% performance / 25% base
• January 1, 2026: 90% performance / 10% base
   

This approach ensures we are rewarding the operators who provide real value, while still honoring everyone who holds a node license.

Phase 2: Moving Toward Market-Based Pricing (Beginning January 2026)

After the performance rollout is complete, we’ll begin work on the next evolution: aligning rewards with market value.

Because the value of the COPI token fluctuates, we sometimes overpay or underpay for the download service nodes provide. To solve this, we’ll gradually transition to a model that benchmarks compensation in USD terms—so that node operators are rewarded fairly for the actual value of their work, and we maintain a sustainable business model.

Honoring Our Early Community

We sold node licenses to empower our community. Some of you became:

• Operators, purchasing node licenses and running pools, either in the cloud or on your own hardware, while also contributing your time.
• Delegators, backing the system financially by buying node licenses and helping grow our infrastructure.

Both roles are critical, and as we evolve, we’re doing it gradually and transparently, so we honor your early belief in this project while moving toward:

• A quality experience for new gamers.
• A fair and rewarding path for pool operators and node participants.
• A sustainable economic model for Cornucopias.

We’ll continue to share updates and tools to help you monitor performance and understand how rewards are evolving. As always, we welcome your feedback and appreciate your continued support in helping us shape the future of Cornucopias.

With gratitude,
The Cornucopias Team