# Relay Mining: Cryptographically Incentivizing Non-Validating Nodes

- Channel: [EthCC](https://streameth.org/ethcc)
- Date: 2024-09-09
- Duration: 20:34
- Topics: cryptocurrency, blockchain, web3, AI, decentralized
- Watch: https://streameth.org/watch/66dec242752c2afdaf440eea

## Description

Scaling at the protocol layer is not the only way to scale dapps. We must innovate at the application layer, to enable developers to scale across blockchains, and not just a single chain. Summary:

The video features a presentation by Olshansky, the head of protocol at Grove, discussing the incentive structure for read-only relays in the Pocket Network, a decentralized RPC protocol. Having previously worked in various tech companies and being an early ETH adopter, Olshansky introduces Relay Mining as a solution to incentivize non-validating nodes within blockchain networks. He emphasizes the importance of high-quality supply for read operations on blockchains and explains how this concept extends beyond Web3 to decentralized social platforms and large language models (LLMs).

Olshansky details the issues with current blockchain infrastructure primarily designed for write operations, whereas most real applications require more read operations from nodes. He then explains how Relay Mining works as a new primitive that rewards nodes for serving RPC requests, using cryptographic techniques like sparse Merkle trees and non-interactive fraud proofs.

He also touches on how decentralization is not an end goal but rather a byproduct of a permissionless and incentivized system. The talk includes technical deep dives into the relay mining process, session matching between applications and suppliers, and the commit-and-reveal scheme used for verifiable on-chain transactions.

Finally, Olshansky discusses future work including expanding Pocket Network to support LLMs and calls for collaboration with those