Relayer Economic Incentives
Relayer economic incentives are the structured rewards and fees designed to encourage relayers to provide consistent, high-quality service for cross-chain communication. Because relayers incur costs related to gas fees and infrastructure maintenance, they must be compensated to ensure the network remains functional.
These incentives often include a portion of the transaction fees paid by users or native token emissions from the protocol. Designing these incentives is a complex task in behavioral game theory, as the reward structure must be sufficient to attract honest actors but not so high that it encourages the creation of sybil attacks or spam.
Proper alignment of these incentives is critical for the long-term sustainability and reliability of the bridge, as it ensures that the infrastructure remains well-maintained and responsive even during periods of high market volatility.