External Rewards are a specific feature of the Symbiotic platform. They are incentives (usually in the form of a network's own native token) that are offered by the networks that use Symbiotic's security.
Think of it this way:
Symbiotic's Own Rewards: When you restake your assets with Symbiotic, you earn the platform's native incentives (e.g., "Symbiotic Points").
External Rewards: Networks that buy security from Symbiotic can also offer their own rewards to the stakers and node operators who are securing their specific service.
These external rewards are layered on top of Symbiotic's own points, creating a multi-layered incentive system for participants.
The Purpose of External Rewards
The primary goal of the External Rewards feature is to help new and existing networks bootstrap their security.
For Networks (Protocols): It gives them a direct and easy way to distribute their own native tokens (or points) to attract stakers and node operators. Instead of building their own complex reward distribution system, they can plug directly into Symbiotic's infrastructure.
For Stakers (Users): It gives them the opportunity to earn multiple forms of rewards simultaneously from a single staked position:
Their base staking yield (e.g., from ETH).
Symbiotic's native incentives (Points).
External Rewards from the specific networks they choose to help secure.
All of these different rewards are typically displayed in a single, unified interface on the Symbiotic platform, making it easy for users to track their total earnings.
A clear example of this system in action is the interoperability protocol Hyperlane.
Hyperlane uses Symbiotic to secure its cross-chain "Warp Routes." To incentivize stakers and operators to provide this security, Hyperlane uses the External Rewards feature to distribute its own native token, $HYPER, to those participants.
In this case, a user restaking with Symbiotic to secure Hyperlane could earn both Symbiotic Points and $HYPER tokens at the same time.
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