# Payment Token

**$VOLA is the currency of the Vola Network.**

Every service the network provides: storing a file, executing a compute job, settling a cross-chain transaction, or a simple transaction - is paid for in $VOLA.

This creates a direct link between network usage and token demand. As more applications are built on Vola and more users store data, the demand for $VOLA grows organically, driven by real consumption rather than speculation.

#### What You Pay For

<table><thead><tr><th width="220.111083984375">Service</th><th width="299.4444580078125">How Fees Work</th><th>Who Receives</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><strong>File Storage</strong></td><td>Calculated from file size × storage duration. Locked at upload, released per epoch.</td><td>Storage Node operator</td></tr><tr><td><strong>Transaction Fees</strong></td><td>Small fee per on-chain transaction</td><td>Validator who authors the block</td></tr><tr><td><strong>Node Registration</strong></td><td>One-time fee based on storage capacity committed</td><td>Network treasury</td></tr><tr><td><strong>Compute</strong></td><td>Based on workload size and duration <em>(Coming Soon)</em></td><td>Compute Node operator</td></tr><tr><td><strong>Cross-Chain Operations</strong></td><td>Details TBD</td><td>TBD</td></tr></tbody></table>

#### Transaction Fees

Every on-chain transaction on Vola requires a small $VOLA fee. These fees go directly to the validator who authors the block containing the transaction, making transaction volume one of the primary revenue streams for Validation Node operators.

Transaction fees apply to actions including:

* File uploads, renewals, and removals
* Node registration and staking
* Delegation and undelegation
* Governance votes *(Coming Soon)*

{% hint style="warning" icon="cloud" %}
**Fee-less Transactions.**\
Certain protocol-critical transactions are fee-less when valid, meaning the transaction fee is refunded if the transaction is accepted by the chain. If the transaction is invalid, the fee is charged as normal.

Transactions that qualify for fee refunds include: Proof of Downloadability (DOP), Owner Commitment & Provider Commitment.

This mechanism ensures that honest participants, users uploading files and nodes submitting valid proofs, are not penalised for the cost of fulfilling their protocol obligations.

**Only invalid or malicious submissions are charged.**
{% endhint %}

### Further Reading

<table data-card-size="large" data-view="cards"><thead><tr><th></th><th></th><th data-hidden data-card-target data-type="content-ref"></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><strong>Staking Asset</strong> </td><td><em>How $VOLA is used to stake nodes and earn rewards.</em></td><td><a href="/pages/2hjJYQPszww5FRgz86zm">/pages/2hjJYQPszww5FRgz86zm</a></td></tr><tr><td><strong>Node Rewards</strong></td><td><em>How fee revenue flows to node operators and delegators</em></td><td><a href="/pages/3Xr3L81JEkDpfquNCjaW">/pages/3Xr3L81JEkDpfquNCjaW</a></td></tr></tbody></table>


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