I am going to explain why the $XTZ rewards for last cycle were so low. TLDR: since the Carthage upgrade, the rewards fluctuate a lot before cycles, but on average, over time, they even out (thread) As a #tezos baker, we provide two essential services to the blockchain: baking and endorsing. We are encouraged to perform these operations by a reward, which is added to our balance. We then transfer these rewards to our delegators in proportion of their stake, minus the fee.