---
title: "What is XE and how does it Power Edge?"
description: "XE is Edge Network's Layer 1 blockchain: the economic and coordination layer for the network. Learn how XE enables staking, governance, rewards, and service payments on Edge."
url: https://edge.network/academy/what-is-xe/
---

# What is XE and how does it Power Edge?

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# What is XE and how does it Power Edge?

XE is the blockchain that underpins Edge Network — the economic and coordination layer for node operators, governance, and payments.

## What is XE?

XE is Edge Network's own Layer 1 blockchain. It is not Ethereum-based — it is a separate chain designed
specifically to serve the Edge Network. It functions as the economic and coordination layer: the
mechanism by which node operators participate, stake, earn, and govern.

Node operators stake XE tokens to join the network. Staking signals commitment and enables reputation
tracking. Nodes that perform well earn rewards; those that misbehave or go offline risk penalties.
The blockchain records this activity transparently.

## What XE is used for

XE serves several distinct purposes within the Edge ecosystem:

- **Node staking and reputation** — Operators lock XE to [run nodes](https://edge.network/network). Stake size and performance history affect reputation and workload assignment.
- **Governance** — Token holders can participate in decisions about protocol parameters, feature prioritisation, and network upgrades.
- **Rewards for providing capacity** — Node operators earn XE (or EDGE) for serving compute, storage, CDN, or DNS traffic.
- **Paying for services** — On the Edge platform, users pay for cloud services using EDGE tokens. EDGE is the platform token; XE underpins the chain that records and settles activity.

The relationship: **XE** is the chain and its native token; **EDGE** is the
token used for platform payments (CDN, compute, storage, DNS). The two work together — XE secures and
coordinates the network; EDGE facilitates usage and payments.

## The community node network

Today, Edge runs on 2,200+ nodes globally. These are community-operated — individuals and small
operators who run hardware, stake XE, and earn rewards for serving traffic. The blockchain enables
trustless coordination: no central authority assigns work; the protocol does it based on stake,
reputation, and availability.

This is not a typical crypto project. Edge is infrastructure-backed utility. The token has real
demand from actual cloud services: developers pay in EDGE for CDN, compute, storage, and DNS. That
creates genuine economic activity flowing through the network, not speculation alone.

## Summary

XE is the Layer 1 blockchain that powers Edge Network. It coordinates node participation, staking,
governance, and rewards. EDGE is the token used to pay for platform services. Together they enable
a decentralised cloud that runs on community nodes, with real demand from developers and
organisations using the infrastructure.

## Next steps

[What is a Decentralised Cloud?](https://edge.network/academy/what-is-a-decentralised-cloud) [Community Nodes concept](https://edge.network/network)

Coming soon

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[Learn more about accreditation](https://edge.network/accreditation)