The AI revolution is no longer a futuristic vision—it’s happening now. As artificial intelligence reshapes industries, one foundational truth stands out: computing power is the new oil. In traditional markets, companies like NVIDIA have surged in value, driven by soaring demand for GPUs. But in the decentralized world, a quiet contender has been building the infrastructure to power the next generation of AI innovation—Akash Network.
While much of the crypto space chases speculative narratives, Akash has focused on solving a real-world problem: providing affordable, decentralized GPU computing resources. With major listings on Coinbase and Upbit, explosive growth in network usage, and a robust technical foundation, Akash is emerging as a leader in the decentralized AI infrastructure space.
The Rise of AI in Crypto: Why Compute Matters
Following NVIDIA’s record-breaking Q1 2025 earnings—$26 billion in revenue and $14.8 billion in net income—investor attention has shifted toward AI-related crypto projects. The narrative is clear: whoever controls the compute, controls the future.
According to DWF Ventures’ AI ecosystem map, crypto-based AI projects fall into two main categories:
- AI Infrastructure & Resources
- AI Applications
While AI applications like chatbots and agents capture headlines, the infrastructure layer—especially decentralized computing—holds deeper, more sustainable potential. Among these, GPU rental platforms are uniquely positioned. Unlike speculative applications, they solve an immediate need: access to high-performance computing at scale.
This is where Akash Network shines.
What Is Akash Network?
Akash Network is a decentralized cloud computing platform that enables users to rent GPU and CPU resources from a global network of providers. Built on the Cosmos SDK, Akash leverages blockchain technology to create a trustless marketplace for compute power—offering faster deployment, lower costs, and greater accessibility than traditional cloud providers.
Think of it as "Airbnb for GPUs", but fully decentralized and optimized for AI developers, startups, and Web3 applications.
👉 Discover how decentralized computing is reshaping AI development
A Timeline of Innovation: Akash’s Evolution
Founded in 2018 by Greg Osuri and Adam Bozanich under Overclock Labs, Akash began as a multi-cloud deployment tool before pivoting to decentralized computing. The team recognized a massive inefficiency: over 85% of global data center capacity sits idle due to poor distribution and high entry barriers.
Key Milestones:
- 2020: Mainnet 1 launched as an MVP with staking rewards.
- 2021: Mainnet 2 introduced an on-chain auction system for resource bidding.
- 2022: Upgrades added persistent storage and IP leasing—features critical for enterprise use.
- August 2023: Mainnet 6 launched GPU support, marking Akash’s official entry into the AI compute market.
This upgrade was a game-changer. By enabling access to high-end GPUs like the NVIDIA H100 and A100—alongside consumer models like the RTX 3070—Akash opened the door for AI researchers and developers worldwide.
Further upgrades (Mainnet 7–9) enhanced GPU orchestration and developer experience, leading to a 150% surge in daily network revenue within a month of GPU launch.
How Akash Works: A Three-Layer Architecture
Akash’s strength lies in its modular, scalable design. The network operates across three core layers:
1. Deployment Layer: Kubernetes-Powered Containers
Akash uses Docker and Kubernetes—industry standards for containerization—to ensure seamless deployment across diverse hardware environments.
- Applications are packaged into portable containers.
- Kubernetes manages orchestration, scaling, and fault recovery.
- Developers define their needs via a deployment manifest; Akash handles the rest.
This means users can deploy AI models, dApps, or data pipelines without worrying about underlying infrastructure.
2. Consensus Layer: Cosmos-Based Security
Built on the Cosmos SDK, Akash benefits from:
- Fast finality (~10 seconds per transaction)
- Interoperability via IBC (Inter-Blockchain Communication)
- Smart contract flexibility using CosmWasm
Validators secure the network through PoS (Proof-of-Stake), with AKT holders staking tokens to earn rewards and participate in governance.
3. Market Layer: Reverse Auction Pricing
Unlike AWS or Google Cloud, Akash uses a reverse auction model:
- Users submit their desired specs and price range.
- Providers bid based on availability and cost.
- The lowest valid bid wins.
- Payment is automated via smart contracts.
This mechanism drives prices down—often 50–85% cheaper than centralized clouds—making high-performance computing accessible to startups and indie developers.
Why Akash Stands Out: Supply and Demand Dynamics
🔹 Supply: Tapping Into Idle GPU Power
After Ethereum’s transition to PoS in 2022, thousands of GPUs were left idle. Miners needed new revenue streams—and Akash offered one.
Top mining pools like Foundry and GPU hosting services began listing their hardware on Akash, turning unused capacity into income. This influx created a stable, growing supply of compute power.
As of May 2025, Akash’s network includes:
- 17,400 CPUs
- 390 GPUs
And the growth continues—with plans to onboard more high-performance providers through upcoming incentive programs.
🔹 Demand: Fueled by the AI Boom
Since launching GPU support, Akash has processed over 180,000 deployments, with daily income hitting all-time highs.
Greg Osuri, CEO of Akash, revealed that high-end GPU utilization is near 100%, while mid-tier cards remain above 50% usage—proof of strong market demand.
Strategic partnerships are accelerating adoption:
- Brev.dev: Scaling AI development with permissionless GPU access
- Passage: Building the first virtual world on Akash
- Solve.Care: Securing patient data with decentralized compute
- Polygon & Kava Labs: Providing dApp developers with resilient infrastructure
- Helium: Powering the world’s largest IoT network
These integrations validate Akash as more than just a rental platform—it’s becoming critical infrastructure for Web3 and AI innovation.
AKT Tokenomics: Powering the Ecosystem
AKT is the native utility token of Akash Network, serving five core functions:
- Staking & Security: Validators stake AKT to secure the network and earn rewards.
- Governance: Stakers vote on proposals affecting protocol upgrades and fee structures.
- Transaction Fees: Paid in AKT or USDC (with discounts for AKT payments).
- Lease Payments: Tenants can pay providers in AKT or stablecoins.
- Value Capture: Fees from transactions fund buybacks and burns.
Economic Upgrades: AKT 2.0
Introduced in early 2023, AKT 2.0 brought key improvements:
- Multi-currency payments (USDC support)
- Take Rate mechanism (4% on AKT, 20% on USDC fees)
- Incentive distribution pool for providers and public goods
- Provider subsidies to boost initial supply
- Governance-controlled parameters
With ~54.65% of circulating supply staked (130M AKT), and inflation at 19.73%, the model balances growth incentives with long-term sustainability.
Despite being listed on Kraken, Gate.io, and KuCoin—and achieving a $1.2B+ market cap—AKT has yet to launch on Binance or OKX, leaving room for broader exposure and potential upside.
👉 See how decentralized compute networks are changing cloud economics
FAQ: Your Questions Answered
Q: How is Akash different from traditional cloud providers?
A: Akash offers significantly lower costs (up to 85% cheaper), faster deployment via containers, and a decentralized model that removes vendor lock-in. Its reverse auction system ensures competitive pricing driven by supply and demand.
Q: Can I use Akash for AI model training?
A: Yes. Akash supports high-end GPUs like the H100 and A100, making it ideal for training LLMs and running inference workloads. Developers from projects like Brev.dev already use Akash for scalable AI development.
Q: Is Akash secure?
A: Built on Cosmos with Tendermint BFT consensus, Akash offers strong security guarantees. All deployments run in isolated containers, and provider reputation is tracked via SLA compliance scores.
Q: How do providers get paid?
A: Providers receive payment in AKT or USDC directly through smart contracts. Earnings depend on uptime, performance, and bidding strategy.
Q: What’s driving recent growth in AKT price?
A: Key catalysts include GPU market launch, listing on Coinbase and Upbit, rising network revenue, strong partnerships, and increasing demand from AI developers seeking affordable compute.
Q: Does Akash support persistent storage?
A: Yes. Since 2022, Akash has offered persistent volume storage, allowing data retention across deployments—essential for databases and stateful applications.
The Product Mindset Behind Akash’s Success
What truly sets Akash apart isn’t just technology—it’s culture.
Founders Greg Osuri and Adam Bozanich are seasoned engineers with backgrounds at IBM, WeWork, and Apple—not crypto veterans. They entered blockchain not to launch a token, but to solve a real engineering challenge: inefficient cloud infrastructure.
Their approach? Build relentlessly.
Since 2017, Akash has published over 200 technical blog posts, updating the community every ~12 days—even during bear markets when others went silent. This transparency built trust and demonstrated consistent progress.
While many projects hype short-term gains, Akash focused on product-market fit (PMF)—and achieved it. Today, it faces not a lack of demand, but a shortage of supply—a rare problem in crypto.
Final Thoughts: A Foundation for the Future
Akash Network isn’t chasing trends—it’s building the backbone of decentralized AI. With proven demand, strategic partnerships, continuous upgrades, and a battle-tested team, it stands as one of the most underrated yet fundamentally strong projects in Web3.
As AI adoption accelerates and compute becomes increasingly scarce, platforms like Akash will play a crucial role in democratizing access to technology.
Whether you're an AI researcher needing GPU power or an investor seeking infrastructure plays with real usage metrics, Akash Network deserves your attention.