> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.blindference.xyz/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Rewards & Slashing

> How nodes earn fees and what gets them slashed

# Rewards & Slashing

## Earning Model

Nodes earn fees for successfully completing inference tasks. Fees are determined by:

| Factor               | Impact     | Details                                        |
| -------------------- | ---------- | ---------------------------------------------- |
| **Task complexity**  | Base fee   | More complex prompts earn more                 |
| **Model tier**       | Multiplier | Premium APIs (Groq, Gemini) earn premium rates |
| **Attestation tier** | Multiplier | Tier 1 (TPM) earns 1.5x, Tier 2 (TEE) earns 2x |
| **Reputation score** | Priority   | Higher scores get priority assignment          |

## Fee Distribution

```
Total Task Fee
├── Leader Fee (60%)
│   └── Base + Complexity Multiplier
├── Verifier Fee (20% each, 2 verifiers)
│   └── Base Fee
└── ICL Coordinator Fee (10%)
    └── Infrastructure costs
```

Note: Exact percentages are configurable by the ICL and may vary by task type.

## Reputation System

Reputation scores range from 0 to 10000.

### Gaining Reputation

| Action                          | Reputation Gain |
| ------------------------------- | --------------- |
| Successful job completion       | +100            |
| Verifier matching leader        | +50             |
| Consistent uptime (30 days)     | +500            |
| Tier upgrade (mock → TPM → TEE) | +1000 per tier  |

### Losing Reputation

| Action                                  | Reputation Loss |
| --------------------------------------- | --------------- |
| Verifier no-match (wrong result)        | -200            |
| Missed heartbeat (within grace period)  | -10             |
| Missed heartbeat (outside grace period) | -100            |
| Failed attestation                      | -500            |
| Timeout on assigned job                 | -300            |

## Slashing Conditions

Nodes may be slashed (lose stake/rewards) for:

### 1. Failed Attestation

**Condition**: Attestation certificate expired and auto-re-attest failed.

**Consequence**:

* Removed from active pool
* Cannot receive new assignments
* Existing assignments may be reassigned

**Recovery**: Fix connectivity issue, restart daemon. Auto-re-attest will retry.

### 2. Missed Heartbeat

**Condition**: No heartbeat within `HEARTBEAT_GRACE_SECONDS` (default: 300s = 5 minutes).

**Consequence**:

* Temporarily removed from active pool
* Reputation penalty

**Recovery**: Resume heartbeats. Node re-enters active pool after next successful heartbeat.

### 3. Bad Inference (Verifier Mismatch)

**Condition**: Verifier consensus shows leader produced wrong result.

**Consequence**:

* Leader reputation penalty (-200)
* Potential stake slashing (if stake > 0)
* May be temporarily excluded from leader role

**Recovery**: Fix model configuration, ensure determinism. Run determinism test:

```bash theme={null}
blindference-node test-determinism --model qwen2.5-7b --prompt "Hello, test"
```

### 4. Job Timeout

**Condition**: Failed to submit result within execution window (default: 600s).

**Consequence**:

* Reputation penalty (-300)
* Job reassigned to another node
* No fee earned

**Recovery**: Check inference performance, network connectivity.

### 5. Double-Claiming

**Condition**: Node claims a job but doesn't submit result, preventing reassignment.

**Consequence**:

* Reputation penalty (-500)
* Potential temporary ban

**Recovery**: Ensure job handler doesn't crash between claim and submit.

## Insurance & Coverage

The Reineira protocol provides insurance for inference tasks:

* **User pays premium** when submitting request
* **Coverage amount** is set based on task value
* **If result is disputed** and verified as incorrect, insurance pays out to user
* **If result is correct**, premium is distributed to nodes and ICL

Nodes benefit from coverage because:

* More tasks are submitted (users feel protected)
* Higher-value tasks are available
* Dispute resolution is automated

## Reward Claiming

Rewards accumulate in the `RewardAccumulator` contract on Arbitrum Sepolia.

### Claiming Process (Future)

The `blindference-node withdraw` command will:

1. Query accumulated rewards from contract
2. Submit claim transaction
3. Transfer rewards to node wallet

**Current status**: Withdrawal is a stub in v0.3.0. Rewards are tracked on-chain but claiming is not yet implemented.

## Best Practices

1. **Monitor reputation**: Keep reputation score > 5000 for priority assignments
2. **Maintain uptime**: Heartbeat every 60s, avoid extended downtime
3. **Run determinism test**: Before going live, verify model produces consistent outputs
4. **Use stable network**: Avoid mobile or unstable connections
5. **Keep logs**: Log retention helps debug disputes
6. **Update regularly**: New versions may have performance improvements and bug fixes