How do OX-Nodes work?

The Attention challenges v2 protocol involves a dynamic interplay of key actors, each contributing to the protocol's robustness and integrity. Among these participants are the OXOA chain, a parent chain (zkSync), a trusted Challenger, the OXOA OX-Node with its unique license key, and a Referee contract.

At the heart of this protocol is the Challenger, responsible for creating a BLS key-pair and registering its public key with the Referee. Additionally, the Challenger plays a crucial role in signing assertions made by validators in the OXOA rollup protocol on zkSync. These signatures, serving as verifiable proofs, are then scrutinized by the Referee and recorded as challenges associated with the corresponding assertions.

The OXOA OX-Node is a pivotal participant, able to register with the Referee by obtaining an OX-Node License Key. This license key serves as the OX-Node's ticket to post claims concerning specific assertions. To initiate this process, the OX-Node obtains the state root of the correct assertion, which will act as the successor to the posted assertion. If certain predefined conditions are met, the OX-Node can then post a claim on the assertion by invoking the Referee. The subsequent creation and confirmation of a successor assertion, coupled with the OX-Node's accurate claim, prompt OXOA to engage the Referee for a redeem transaction. However, before the Referee disburses a reward to the OX-Node, several conditions must be rigorously verified.

Crucially, the protocol is designed to ensure that each assertion precisely consumes the inbox messages available when its predecessor assertion was formulated. This stipulation means that, upon the creation of an assertion, the state root of its accurate successor assertion becomes fully determined and can be calculated by any participating node. This ingenious design incentivizes every OX-Node to actively contribute to determining the correct next state root. The reward for an OX-Node hinges on its state license ID, the successor state root, and a challenge value that only becomes known after the successor state root is fully determined, creating a dynamic and incentive-driven ecosystem within the Attention challenges v2 protocol.