The block rewards in Qortal are distributed to every online minter, regardless of the minter who actually 'finds' (signs) the block. The rewards are based on the level tier of the minter and how many 'online' (synchronized and submitting minting signatures) minters are in each tier at any given block. In other words, all minters earn a portion of each block's reward by simply running a node (with their 'minting key' assigned to it) and supporting the network (starting at account level 1 which requires obtaining a temporary 'sponsorship key' from another minter of level 5 or higher, and utilizing that temporary key for 7200 blocks).

• Every 2 levels is called a 'tier'.
• Every tier shares a given overall percentage of each block's reward.
• Block rewards include the reward itself and the fees for each block created by transactions submitted to the chain.
• Minters share both the block reward, and split of the transaction fees for each block.
• Only minters actively submitting minting signatures (has a 'minting key' assigned to a synchronized node) are rewarded.
• Signing (or 'finding') blocks, does NOT MATTER in terms of rewards.
• Every minter is rewarded only based on their level tier and their 'online' signature.
• Only level 5 or higher minters sign blocks
• The higher level minters are more likely to be the block signer (for chain security).
• Becoming a minter requires a temporary 'sponsorship' key to be obtained from another minter of level 5 or higher.
• During the temporary 'sponsorship' period, no rewards are given to the pre-level-1 minter.
• Rewards are split evenly throughout the online minters of any given tier.
• The higher the tier, the higher the reward.
• The more time a minter has been minting, the higher level they are.

In order to ensure the security of the chain, minting is also structured based on level in regard to block signing. Block signing simply means the actual minter that creates and adds the block that ultimately gets utilized by the overall chain.

Minting uses a concept called 'key distance' that you can read about here How Qortal’s Consensus Works in order to determine which block by which minter is included into the chain.

The higher level the minter is, the more likely they are to be the block signer. However, being the block signer (contrary to essentially every other blockchain) does not 'mean anything' in Qortal in regard to rewards. Being the block signer does NOT earn the minter anything 'extra' in Qortal. This is a critical difference that is one of the main unique factors of Qortal's minting system.

Since there is no benefit to being the block signer in terms of rewards there is also no 'competition' between minters, they all work cooperatively to secure the chain, and are rewarded based on their overall time contributed to doing so.

Minting is sometimes referred to as proof of contribution over time (and Memory Proof-of-Work) and this is a very accurate description.

The Memory Proof-of-Work (MemPoW) portion of the above statement, comes from the MemPoW algorithm that is also part of Qortal Minting. The MemPoW algorithm is utilized in a different fashion to that of most Proof-of-Work algorithms in other blockchains. Whereas most PoW chains utilize the algorithm with a 'modifiable difficulty' that changes based on how many 'miners' are actively contributing 'hashrate' to the network, Qortal utilizes a set difficulty on the MemPoW, and merely uses the algo to limit the number of minting keys that can be assigned to any given physical computer.

The MemPoW algorithm is a Memory-based Proof-of-Work (PoW) algorithm that is utilized in multiple places within Qortal. In regard to minting, the MemPoW must be computed, and submitted with each minter signature. The algorithm is different than other PoW algorithms in multiple ways:

* MemPoW uses a set difficulty for every minter * MemPoW is computed and submitted with each minter signature * MemPoW uses a SET amount of RAM (1MB) (instead of providing more hashrate for more hardware like most PoW algorithms.) * MemPoW merely limits the number of minting keys that can be assigned to any physical computer, so that those looking to 'cheat' the system by assigning more than 2 minting keys, will have a hard time actually accomplishing this.

More about QORT on the The QORT Coin page.

Minting is extremely important to the system, as it is the way that blocks are found, and the chain progresses forward. Without the minters, the chain doesn't move. Due to the extreme importance of the minters, they are rewarded a portion of each block reward.

Please note: the rewards have been modified from their original percentages. The rewards of every block, are distributed via the following:

- Levels 1 and 2 minting accounts share 6% of the block reward
- Levels 3 and 4 share 13% of the block reward
- Levels 5 and 6 share 19% of the block reward
- Levels 7 and 8 share 26% of the block reward
- Levels 9 and 10 share 32% of the block reward
- QORA holders transitioning into QORT coin share 1% of the block reward
- Founders share a minimum of 3% of the block reward, and/or the 'leftover' percentage, which initially will be higher when there aren't users in all of the various level groups, and will decrease over time.

Also note tiers 7-8 and 9-10 require at least 30 minters before they become active. If a tier has between 1 and 29 minters, the rewards are combined and shared with the previous tier.

QORA Burn Rewards go to wallets every block without having to mint. This is the only reward that does not require minting. If you are also a minter, this reward is still issued on top of your minting reward.

Please note: below are the original percentages for historical reference:

- Levels 1 and 2 minting accounts share 5% of the block reward
- Levels 3 and 4 share 10% of the block reward
- Levels 5 and 6 share 15% of the block reward
- Levels 7 and 8 share 20% of the block reward
- Levels 9 and 10 share 25% of the block reward
- QORA holders transitioning into QORT coin share 20% of the block reward
- Founders share a minimum of 5% of the block reward, and/or the 'leftover' percentage, which initially will be higher when there aren't users in all of the various level groups, and will decrease over time.

There are a few variables in calculating the exact block reward (which is virtually impossible to be 100% accurate each block). Let's break this down:

For example, if there were 50 minters who are level 1, and 50 minters who are level 2, there would be a TOTAL of 100 minters in the first block reward tier (5% between levels 1 & 2).

In this same example, let's assume that all 100 are ACTIVE minters (each minter must be fully synced and actively minting each block to earn their portion of the block reward). 5% block reward divided by 100 minters equals 0.0005 per minter. Now, for easy math, let's assume the current block reward is 4.5 QORT (the block reward schedule changes as seen below on this page under the 'Block Rewards' subsection. 0.0005 of 4.5 QORT equals 0.00225 QORT per block for a level 1 or 2 minter (each minter would earn 0.00225 QORT per block in this example).

Obviously we currently have more than 100 minters in this tier group, and as we experience further adoption, the total number of active minters in each tier will continue to grow. This is what we want! More minters, more network support, more decentralization! The collective attitude should be to support the network by running a node and with time, the value of QORT will surely RISE with such a limited release schedule along with further applicability of QORT within Qortal.

The block rewards on Qortal are meant to be never-ending. Since QORT is a coin on chain, there should always be new QORT available to power the various services on the network.

No Total Cap on QORT coin, approximately every ‘6 months’ (based on a calculation of 60 seconds per block which is slightly higher) there is a decrease in block reward from its start at 5 QORT, by .25, until 2 QORT is the reward. Thereafter, a vote can be made for an increase or decrease of 0.25 to 1 QORT difference per block via vote, however, this type of vote can only take place one time per ‘year’ (in blocks). For example, if the current block reward was 3 QORT, the vote could only be: 2, 2.25, 2.5, 2.75, 3, 3.25, 3.5, 3.75 & 4 QORT. (Only up to a 1 QORT difference up or down or any 0.25 increment between.) Block reward can only be voted to as low as 1 QORT per block, or as high as 5 QORT per block. These are the minimum and maximum block reward range Qortal will ever potentially see. We are currently at 3.75 QORT per block as of November 18th 2023. You can see the current block height at https://exqlorer.com

Block 1+ Reward: 5.00

Block 259,201+ Reward: 4.75

Block 518,401+ Reward: 4.50

Block 777,601+ Reward: 4.25

Block 1,036,801+ Reward: 4.00

Block 1,296,001+ Reward: 3.75

Block 1,555,201+ Reward: 3.50

Block 1,814,401+ Reward: 3.25

Block 2,073,601+ Reward: 3.00

Block 2,332,801+ Reward: 2.75

Block 2,592,001+ Reward: 2.50

Block 2,851,201+ Reward: 2.25

Block 3,110,401+ Reward: 2.00