Pocket Network

Pocket Network is the TCP/IP of Web3 node infrastructure – a multi-chain relay protocol that incentivizes RPC nodes to provide DApps and their users with unstoppable Web3 access.

Pocket Network is a utility blockchain that provides vendor applications with access to non-native, external, or third-party blockchains, allowing applications to stake. It also encourages node operators to run third party external blockchain nodes by rewarding them with an embedded POKT.

The world is moving towards a multi-blockchain future. Infrastructure is a vital part of what allows blockchain application ecosystems to mature in this vision of the future. In April 2017, the Ethereum infrastructure platform Infura was processing 175 million API requests per day. Two years later, that number has increased by over 7,000% to over 12 billion requests per day. By lowering the entry barrier for developers to build decentralized applications and providing an easy-to-use, scalable infrastructure, Infura laid the foundation for Ethereum's exponential growth in 2017.

However, this growth is due to the reliance on centralized blockchain infrastructure solutions that create central points of failure for decentralized applications. This is a significant risk to the existence of Ethereum, Bitcoin and the wider blockchain community. This risk can largely be attributed to the problem of incentivizing nodes, where people are not interested in running full nodes for any of these blockchains. Bitcoin and Ethereum have infrastructure and developer advantages that other blockchains do not have. They have a well-maintained and documented infrastructure and API, making it easy for developers to build applications on their networks. New and future blockchains need similar support. A single Pocket interface can provide much-needed infrastructure support for any blockchain.

The Pocket Core protocol consists of three components: the application, the nodes, and the network layer. The application (DApp) sends an API request (relay) to the desired blockchain. The pocket nodes must then serve the desired blockchain for which they are intended by returning any data to that application. The network layer provides protocol rules, control, record keeping, and economics for hosts and applications.

Applications send an API request (relay) to the network, which allows them to read or write any data on the non-native network with which they interact.

At a high level, the process that an application sends to a relay looks like this:

-Falls into a pocket net;

-Passes this request to the pocket node;

-Passes this request to a non-native blockchain node;

-The non-native host processes the request on the non-native network;

-Redirects it back to the pocket knot;

-The application then receives the data (request).

In order for nodes in the network to be rewarded for their work, and for applications to ensure that their request was completed during the session, they would need a way to prove both aspects of this cycle.

This is done using digital signatures. The Digital Signature Algorithm (DSA) allows an application to use its public key or address to sign a request, and then the host accepts that request and checks if it should service the request. After the Validator node validates this request, it sends this relay to the requested blockchain. Once it receives the requested data or transaction response from the desired blockchain, it signs that relay, proving it has done its job, and sends it back to the application.

Applications can secure their applications by generating an application authentication token that will be distributed to that application's clients to access the network on behalf of the application.

The validator's Pocket node performs 2 main functions:

The control room is the first point of contact that the application interacts with. This is a dispatch module that assigns 5 pseudo-randomly selected nodes from the network and then services this request.

Service - Performs the actual relaying of a request, whether it be a read or write of data, to the desired blockchain.

For maintaining these relays, the node will be rewarded for doing this work.

As a Proof-of-Stake blockchain, each Pocket Validator node will be rewarded for every relay it serves in a session. In order to participate in the network, all nodes must have a minimum POKT stake of 15,000 POKT before participation, this rate represents the risk borne by the node operator; a percentage of their POKTs delivered will be burned, and Pocket Node could end up in jail if protocol rules are not followed.

Similar to "bootstrap nodes", the Pocket Seed node has 2 main functions:

Peer Discovery: Whenever another Pocket Node on the network connects to a Pocket Seed Node, it broadcasts its IP address and identity so Pocket Seed Node can propagate it to other Pocket Nodes on the network. This is what is known as the "Node Address Book", each pocket node contains one to store all the IDs and IP addresses of its peers.

The control room is the first point of contact that the application interacts with. This is a dispatch module that assigns 5 pseudo-randomly selected nodes from the network and then services this request.

Reliability: Pocket allows a developer to continuously maintain their DApp work with confidence and without having to rely on a single network provider. This is achieved by building various deployment artifacts such as Docker, Kubernetes, docker-compose, etc. to enable our node operators to install Pocket Core software on any server or machine.

Simplicity: We aim to simplify the work of node operators, as well as developers, by providing a JavaScript SDK for implementation in any web application, as well as to simplify the configuration of the Pocket Core command line interface, which a node operator can use to manage and deploy a pocket node.

Network cost: Developers can access the network by staking a minimum of 1 POKT token, which allows them to pay for the relay bandwidth allocated to them. Nodes generate a POKT for every validated API request.

Pocket Node is the core of the Pocket protocol that synchronizes its own blockchain and propagates network transactions. From this starting point, the node operator can choose to upgrade their pocket node to either a validator node or a source node.