Compute package rewards are not a fixed rate, and they change over time. This is how proof-of-work mining works on every network, Pearl included. This article explains what drives your returns so you can see why the number moves.
Where rewards come from
Your compute package contributes GPU work to the Pearl network. When that work produces a valid block, the network pays a block reward — newly issued PRL plus the transaction fees in that block.
You are not being paid for time or for hashrate. You are being paid a share of blocks found, and that share depends on how much of the total network your compute represents.
The three things that move your returns
1. Total network compute
The biggest factor. Your share of rewards is your compute divided by the whole network's compute. As more GPUs join Pearl, every existing participant's share of each block gets smaller — even though your own hardware hasn't changed.
This is the single most common reason rewards fall over the life of a package.
2. The PRL price
Rewards are paid in PRL. If you're measuring your returns in dollars, the PRL price moves your result independently of how much PRL you actually earned. It's worth checking both numbers — you may be earning the same PRL and seeing a different dollar figure.
3. Pearl's issuance schedule
The PRL issued per block declines gradually and continuously over time by design. Unlike Bitcoin, Pearl has no sudden halvings — the decline is smooth rather than a cliff. See Does Pearl have halvings? for how this works.
What we don't promise
We want to be direct about this, because it matters when you're deciding whether to buy:
- We do not guarantee a rate of return on any compute package.
- Returns quoted at the time of purchase reflect conditions then, not a commitment.
- Network compute, and therefore your share, is outside our control.
- Rewards can be materially lower later in a package's life than at the start.
If your rewards look wrong rather than low
Falling rewards are expected. A reward stream that has stopped, or that doesn't match what your dashboard reports, is worth investigating.
Open a ticket with:
- Your Pearl Compute account email
- Which package you hold, and when you bought it
- What your dashboard shows, and what you expected
- The dates concerned
- The
prl1p…address your rewards are paid to
We'll check the actual figures against the network for the period in question and explain what we find.