Paid partnerships involve a fixed fee for a defined scope of work — the partner delivers an integration, receives payment, and the relationship has a clear endpoint. Revenue-share models align ongoing incentives: the partner earns a percentage of the economic activity they generate, which means they are incentivized to keep contributing. Incentive-based models use token allocations to align the partner with long-term protocol success.

The right model depends on what you are buying. For a one-time technical integration, pay a fixed fee. For an ongoing relationship where the partner drives users or TVL, revenue-share creates sustained alignment. Token incentives work best for strategic partners where you want multi-year commitment. Most mature partnerships evolve from paid to revenue-share as the relationship proves itself.