Exit Node Selection Criteria & New Reward Plan

4 min readJan 11, 2023

Exit Node reward plans have changed. Please familiarize yourself with the updated selection criteria and reward plan.

In accordance with our earlier announcement, we are excited to announce the new exit node selection criteria and reward plan. First of all, we wish to thank everyone who contributed. Your contribution helped us shape the future of BelNet.

Exit Node Eligibility Criteria

Based on our analysis of bandwidth, speed tests, and the type of VPS from various VPS service providers that were added to BelNet in the past month, we have come up with the following criteria for BelNet exit nodes.

Exit nodes must have

Bandwidth: At least 1 Gbps bandwidth, the more the better
Type of VPS: Dedicated VPS
CPU Core: Minimum 2 cores
Stable connection
Both IPv4 and IPv6 enabled
Must only service BelNet

Reliability is a strong factor that we consider in picking exit nodes. An exit node may have a maximum downtime of 24 hours, during which period the operator will be informed. However, considering the time it takes to communicate with hosting service providers and rectify issues, an additional 24 hours is allocated to get the exit node online. If the exit node isn’t activated after 48 hours it goes offline, it may not be rewarded for the current month.

If the exit node is hosted on a home server (which we don’t recommend unless you’ve got a stable connection), then it should only be used to service BelNet.

Any exit node that doesn’t meet the above criteria may not be considered to be added to BelNet.

The New Exit Node Reward Plan

The base reward is 1000 BDX for a VPS with 1 Gbps bandwidth and 2 CPU cores.

(Base = 1000 BDX for CPU core = 2 Core, Bandwidth= 1 Gbps)

For every additional CPU core, the exit node will be rewarded 100 BDX and for every additional 1 Gbps Bandwidth, it will be rewarded 500 BDX.

Final reward = 1000(base fee)+ (Total number of cores — 2 core minimum)*100 + (Total Bandwidth — 1 Gbps minimum)*500

Here are a few examples:

The servers need to be dedicated servers by default.

Minimum 2 core and 1 Gbps bandwidth — 1000 BDX

4 core and 1 Gbps bandwidth — 1000 BDX (base fee) + 200 BDX (for the additional 2 cores) + 0 BDX (since there is no additional bandwidth) = 1200 BDX

4 core and 2 Gbps bandwidth — 1000 BDX (base fee) + 200 BDX (for the additional 2 cores) + 500 BDX (for 1 Gbps additional bandwidth) = 1700 BDX

Here are some more examples with additional cores and bandwidth,

10 core and 2 Gbps bandwidth — 1000 BDX (base fee) + 800 BDX (for the additional 8 cores) + 500 BDX (for 1 Gbps additional bandwidth) = 2300 BDX

16 core and 4 Gbps bandwidth — 1000 BDX (base fee) + 1400 BDX (for the additional 14 cores) + 1500 BDX (for 3 Gbps additional bandwidth) = 3900 BDX

Total Exit Nodes on BelNet

Based on feedback from the community and our exit node operators, we are increasing the upper limit of total exit nodes on BelNet from 20 to 25.

Please be informed that any exit node that offers a competitive edge over the other will be selected. This is to ensure the quality of browsing for BelNet users.

Thus, we recommend that users who plan to host an exit node reach out to our team via outreach@beldex.io first. The team will offer suggestions on the location and bandwidth requirements. Thereafter, once the exit node’s slot on BelNet is confirmed, users may go ahead with the purchase of their exit node VPS.

This will save expense, time, and effort in setting up an exit node.

If you’ve got an exit node suggestion in mind, then reach out to us with the following information,

Bandwidth and CPU core details
Name of the hosting service provider
Available locations

At present, there are 19 slots filled and 6 slots available (excluding the 3 hosted by the Beldex foundation). We will shortly share the list of exit nodes that have been selected for public use on BelNet. Though we understand that everyone might be interested to contribute to BelNet, to maintain fairness and decentralization of exit nodes, for the remaining 6 available slots, we will provide the opportunity to users whose exit node isn’t already selected.

The maximum exit nodes one can host on BelNet and be eligible for rewards is capped at 5.

When Are the Rewards Processed?

Currently, rewards are off-chain. We will enable an on-chain reward mechanism as we progress. Rewards will be processed at the end of every month (the last day of the month, or the day before the last).

In the near future: We understand that you might want to run your own exit node on BelNet. Personally hosted exit nodes may help secure your connection to a website or a mobile app while ensuring its speed, bandwidth, and reliability. Thus, we will introduce a feature to custom add your own exit nodes to BelNet. This option will ensure that anyone can add an exit node, by themselves, without having to rely on the Beldex team. Users can utilize such an exit node for their personal use. Further down the line, operators can monetize their exit nodes via a built-in authentication on the BelNet app. More information will be provided as we progress.