Please note this information is taken directly from the official Mina Protocol website
GETTING STARTED RUNNING A NODE
With the world’s lightest blockchain, running a node is easier than ever. Here you’ll find everything you need to get up and running.
Node Overview
Mina is secured by proof-of-stake consensus. Unlike other legacy protocols, any participant can validate transactions like a full node — making decentralization possible. And here, blockchain node operators can play two roles: they can produce blocks, and/or they can produce SNARKs
BLOCK PRODUCERS
Similar to miners or stakers in other protocols, block producers can be selected to produce a block and earn block rewards, coinbase, transaction fees and network fees. Block producers can also be SNARK producers and generate their own proofs.
SNARK PRODUCERS
SNARK producers help compress data in the network by generating SNARK proofs of transactions. They then sell those SNARK proofs to block producers on the Snarketplace in return for a portion of the block rewards