In this article we will discover the decentralized supercomputing platform Akash Network and its native crypto AKT.
The project, implemented within the Cosmos ecosystem, aims to be an alternative marketplace for buying and selling cloud computing, offering server owners an easy and cost-effective way to access computing power.
The Akash cryptographic network, built using Cosmos SDK and based on Tendermint, has been operating in the blockchain landscape since 2018 and is managed by Overclock Labs.
AKT is the governance crypto of the network, as well as the utility token used by users to access the platform’s services.
Let’s see all the details below.
Summary
Akash Network: the crypto cloud computing platform built on Cosmos SDK
Akash Network is an innovative cryptographic cloud computing platform that aims to facilitate the access to computing power for all entities that need to launch a remote service.
The project operates as a marketplace that connects customers with suppliers through a distributed and transparent online leasing service.
By leveraging the benefits of decentralized computing through the Akash blockchain, built using the software development kit of Cosmos (SDK), the platform is able to offer a significantly less expensive and more efficient solution than traditional cloud services.
The process through which Akash offers resources in its marketplace is as follows: network providers’ resources are virtualized and divided into “containers”, which are then rented out to “tenants” who acquire cloud services built through a cryptographic lease agreement by paying the fee established by the provider.
In this exchange, both parties are incentivized to act correctly and according to the protocol rules.
Akash was not designed solely for end users looking for low-cost computing power, but also for providers who profit from the distribution of unused cloud capacity.
Suppliers benefit from monetizing their idle resources and tenants benefit from lower costs.
Akash’s blockchain (where the actual exchange takes place) is based on a Delegated Proof-of-Stake (DPoS) consensus mechanism, greatly improving the performance of native cloud applications.
Among the various features, the protocol also implements a Tender Mint algorithm capable of offering greater speed and scalability to the vital functions of the chain.
The AKT crypto, native to the Akash blockchain, acts as a resource capable of protecting the network through staking. Additionally, it represents a governance token and a resource that helps with data storage and encourages user participation in cloud service exchange.
The platform was launched to the public in 2018 with the release of the first testnet guided by the team of the software development company Overclock Labs, and then officially launched the mainnet in 2020.
The platform boasts an expanding list of data centers, technology, and capital partners. Among the most important capital partners are TRG Capital, Alpha Block Investments, Forbole, PeopleFund, Outpost Capital, AGE, ChainLayer, and Wakem Capital Management.
Akash has become so popular in recent months that it has increased the requests for “lease” for cloud computing power tenfold from December to now: currently there are more than 5,200 active requests.
Market analysis of the promising crypto AKT
As mentioned, AKT is the native crypto of the Akash blockchain, which serves as a utility token and governance token within the protocol.
It represents a central resource for the project as it serves several functions, among which the most important concerns ensuring the security of the network.
At the time of writing the article AKT has a price of 4.08 dollars per unit, and a circulating supply of 231,178,955 tokens for a market capitalization of 943 million dollars.
The maximum supply set is 388,539,008 tokens: many of these are used in an inflationary model that helps the project development team to self-finance and reduce some of the costs involved in providing their computing power rental service.
Despite the currency being native to its own infrastructure, it is traded on decentralized markets like Osmosis and on CEX such as Kucoin, Kraken, Crypto.Com, HTX, and Coinbase Exchange.
Speculatively, AKT has benefited in recent months from the hype surrounding AI narrative and the general rise in computational energy and microchips sectors, reaching a fivefold increase in its price since the beginning of October.
Now the crypto could be going through a price distribution phase after a strong uptrend, with bears that could push prices to the $3 area, before possibly seeing a rebound and a bullish restart.
The project’s market capitalization is already relatively high despite the token’s youth, so we cannot expect an exorbitant price during this bull run.
Anyway, probably if the artificial intelligence sector continues to lead the global tech markets with its innovations, pushing more and more private companies to search for supercomputing, AKT could record excellent performances.
A feasible price target could be $10 per token within 12 months.
