Look, an important role of $NIGHT token in@MidnightNetwork is that it provides incentives to block producers.
Block producers are simply nodes that create new blocks on the network and verify transactions.
This process is very important for the security of the blockchain.
But when a new network is launched, the system is a little vulnerable in the beginning, because the incentives and ecosystem are not yet fully established.
To reduce this risk, midnight has planned of the launch, blocks will be produced only by trusted permitted nodes.
This is, initially to keep the network secure, this responsibility will be given to some selected and trusted nodes.
Then over time the system will gradually be decentralized, where more participants will be able to get involved in block production and eventually the network will become completely permissionless.
And the interesting thing is that the initial block producers will not get block production rewards. Their sole purpose will be to keep the network stable and secure in the early stage.