Node Operation

Passport Protocol will operate as a distributed and permissioned network of vetted node operators to ensure performance and reliability.

The decentralization roadmap focuses on:

• Node operator decentralization - Diversifying node operators to ensure integrity

• Incentive decentralization - Distributing economic rewards algorithmically based on contributions

Transparency

Throughout the whole process, 0xPass will maintain transparency by:

• Sharing the roadmap and criteria for node participation

• Disclosing the identities of initial node operators

• Releasing open source code for community review

• Providing public channels for feedback and questions

The community will have insight into Passport's evolution towards decentralization.

Phases

Decentralization will be phased across 4 stages:

Phase 1: Distributed Nodes

This initial phase implements distribution for security:

• Proactive secret sharing - Periodic share rotation

• MPC - Prevents single node key compromise

• Secure enclaves - Hardware-isolated computation

Phase 2: Third-Party Node Operators

Onboarding third-party operators with mechanisms like:

• Reputation systems - Track node reliability

• Random sampling - Prevent collusion

• Governance - Community-driven decisions

• Opensource

Phase 3: Scalability

Scaling the network through optimizations like Sharding. The focus of this phase is to allow the network to have more node operators.

Phase 4: Incentives

Introducing decentralized incentives:

• Tokenomics - Network tokens for compensation

• Fee mechanisms - Usage-based distribution

Onboarding Node Operators

Upon reaching Phase 2, operators can run nodes by installing the software. Incentives will encourage diverse participation.