Interested in staking POKT to run a node, using it to access our developer Portal, or to simply invest in the future of decentralized infrastructure? POKT is available to purchase on multiple global exchanges - see the Pocket Docs for [more information about purchasing POKT](https://docs.pokt.network/home/pokt/buy).

POKT is the native utility token that is used on both sides of the Pocket Network ecosystem - with [node runners](https://docs.pokt.network/home/node) and with [Web3 developers](https://docs.pokt.network/home/use). The token is used for: * Staking nodes on the network, in order to service blockchain data requests and earn POKT rewards * Accessing the Pocket Portal, in order for developers to get network throughput via staking POKT tokens Developers can use the [Pocket Portal](https://www.portal.pokt.network) to connect to Pocket Network and start using decentralized infrastructure for their applications. The Portal provides decentralized endpoints in a matter of a few clicks, and offers a generous free tier of 1M data relays per day.

The RPC layer of the Web3 stack has long been vulnerable to a major concern: centralization. The founders of Pocket Network realized this problem after experimenting with Ethereum in 2016. How can DECENTRALIZED applications be built on a layer of CENTRALIZED RPC providers? Pocket Network addresses this [paradox of accessing decentralized networks through a handful of centralized service providers](https://docs.pokt.network/home/learn/vision) - a paradox that is an existential risk to Web3. Seeing this risk, Pocket Network was designed and built in order to do Web3 infrastructure the right way: decentralized. From its launch onwards, Pocket Network has stressed Web3 principles in their truest forms. Pocket Network is the first decentralized infrastructure project that can reliably serve applications and projects of all sizes. Our global network of thousands of full nodes now [services the data demands of more than 50 different blockchains](https://docs.pokt.network/home/supported-blockchains), and provides developers with constant uptime, optimized quality of service, ease of use, and maximum privacy and censorship-resistance. Pocket Network has also scaled with efficiency, reaching and surpassing the milestone of more than 1 billion data relays serviced in a 24 hour period. The [future v1 of the protocol](https://docs.pokt.network/home/learn/future) will allow for even greater scaling potential, with a focus on quality of service across all nodes in the network.

​​Pocket Network is a decentralized blockchain data platform - a protocol that is built to connect to any blockchain and service the data demands of Web3 dApps. Pocket Network uses [cost-efficient economics](https://docs.pokt.network/home/learn/economics) to coordinate and distribute data at scale, using the POKT token to facilitate the protocol's service. Pocket Network nodes act as the [middle layer](https://docs.pokt.network/home/learn/protocol) that connects the protocol's 50+ supported blockchains with their ecosystems of dApps that require data from the chain. The network runs on a Proof-of-Stake (PoS) consensus mechanism that offers scalability and data consistency for dApps.