> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.roam.network/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Contributor Rewards

> How contributors earn $XRO through validated data

## How Contributors Earn

Contributors earn **Roam Points** for validated data submissions. Points are non-transferable and accumulate during weekly **epochs**. At the end of each epoch, the protocol calculates a conversion rate based on:

1. The fixed token emission schedule for that epoch
2. Total global participation during the epoch

\$XRO tokens are then distributed pro-rata to all qualifying contributors. This epoch-based system decouples the act of data collection from token price movements. Contributors focus on generating quality data, not timing markets.

## Quality Weighting

Not all data is equal. A million measurements inside a single coffee shop are far less valuable than sparse readings along a drone corridor or a rural highway with no existing coverage.

The protocol employs dynamic **bounty and boost mechanisms** that automatically prioritize underserved areas, high-value enterprise zones, and data types that improve prediction accuracy. This ensures signal over noise without requiring manual intervention.

## Difficulty Adjustment

If the points supply grows too rapidly (for example, during a viral adoption spike), the protocol may automatically adjust the "difficulty" of generating a point in subsequent epochs. This mechanism protects the token emission rate from inflationary shocks, similar to how Bitcoin's difficulty adjustment preserves its supply schedule regardless of hashrate fluctuations.