Devices earn AETHER credits for relayed bytes, weighted by reputation. Proof-of-useful-work + neighbor attestations prevent fraud. Credits redeem for QoS, hardware, or fiat off-ramp.
Earning
Credits per verified relayed byte, weighted by neighbor reputation attestations.
Anti-fraud
Proof-of-useful-work signatures + receipts from at least 2 honest neighbors.
Spending
Premium QoS, hardware purchase, or off-ramp via federated exchanges.
Bootstrap
Initial supply distributed via PoW mining + early-node grants.