As one of the hot spots of crypto capital this year, the DePIN track has not only attracted a large amount of capital inflow, but also gradually penetrated into multiple fields and projects with its flexible resource allocation, efficient operation mode and reliable security performance. For example, Helium's wireless network protocol, IoTeX's decentralized Internet of Things, IO NET's decentralized GPU computing platform, Filecoin's distributed storage network, Grass's decentralized bandwidth service, and Spheron, which provides developers with diversified network resources, are all representatives of this trend.
Spheron is a decentralized network that provides the ultimate solution for AI and cloud computing, and is also the world's first supercomputing network. Users share their hardware resources to provide rental services to network application developers and obtain token income. These resources include GPU, CPU, storage, network bandwidth and other resources. In addition to reducing developer costs, they can also be applied to a variety of scenarios, including AI computing, rendering, scientific simulation or the deployment of decentralized applications, to meet the stability and security requirements of enterprise-level applications.
How Spheron works
Spheron's framework has certain similarities with DePIN networks such as IO NET and Filecoin, and there are also many innovations. In the Spheron network, resource providers (such as participants with RTX 4090 or multi-core CPU computers Apple Mac) can provide GPU or CPU computing resources to the Spheron network and customize prices by registering as providers. The network matches demanders and resource providers with multiple parameters through the Matchmaker matching mechanism, and combines the edge EDGE network to optimize the matching mechanism. The matching engine is carried out through smart contracts to ensure the normal execution of orders, and users can also verify the corresponding deployment process on the chain.
Matching parameters include region (global distribution of computing resources), price, running time, provider reputation, pledge amount, resource availability, etc. Algorithms are used to provide users with providers that meet the requirements and execute transactions on the chain to complete the transaction process of these network resources.
Provider nodes participate in the network by staking $SPON tokens to ensure that they can provide stable DePIN resource services (a penalty mechanism is used to prevent malicious behavior). At the same time, the network will provide additional tokens $SPON rewards based on the utilization rate of their computing resources to ensure that resource providers can obtain corresponding positive returns without incurring losses (excluding operating, electricity, venue and other cost costs). In this way, resource providers will also participate in the network more actively and will not exit due to negative returns.
To adapt to the operation of ordinary users' personal computer devices, Spheron provides Fizz Node. This is a lightweight version, mainly suitable for small or personal low-computing devices. Fizz is based on the cross-platform Docker, and the user's resource requests are run through the new Docker container to ensure the security and isolation of the service. At the same time, compared with K8S, it can maximize the use of device resources and reduce additional expenses. Ordinary players can participate in computing resource sharing by downloading the Fizz Node lightweight node.
In addition, Fizz will stratify resources based on the quality of the provider's CPU and GPU resources to ensure that they match user needs and provide better computing resource services. Currently, it basically supports NVIDIA's full range of GPUs and Apple's Mac CPUs and other resources, and can provide computing resources for AI training and rendering.
Spheron's core advantages
A collection of various DePIN resources
Compared with decentralized networks such as IO NET and Grass, Spheron not only provides GPU and CPU resources, but also includes network bandwidth resources CDN, RAM, IPFS and storage resources (such as cooperation with Akash), which is suitable for the development and adoption of more scenarios. IO NET mainly provides GPU and CPU resources, and Grass mainly provides network data bandwidth resources CDN. In comparison, Spheron can provide more comprehensive network computing resources, which are more in line with the market demand for cloud computing and other services.
Flexible services
For developers (resource users), Spheron provides two modes, namely enterprise-level infrastructure and consumer-level resources. Enterprise-level facilities are mainly used in production environments (final delivery mode) and have the characteristics of high reliability and stability. Developers can use resources for a long time, such as monthly subscriptions, to reduce costs. The other is the consumer-level, or Fizz mode, which is mainly for consumer-level network resources in the testing and development process. It has the advantages of high cost performance. Developers can use it flexibly according to their project progress, such as paying by the hour, which is also a major feature of Spheron.
Other projects that provide decentralized network resources, such as Render (video rendering), IO NET (GPU computing power), Grass (bandwidth network data), etc., do not have a clear division of user needs, and there may be a poor match between supply and demand or a low cost-performance ratio.
Fair reward distribution mechanism
In addition to quantity, resource rewards also include quality, layered base point multipliers, etc. (intermediate, advanced). The higher the level, the higher the corresponding resource rewards will be, rather than just Grass and other rewards distributed based on quantity and idle time. Overall, resource providers who provide more stable and long-term high-quality network services and more valuable hardware resources will receive more rewards.
Multi-chain integration
Spheron is integrated into multiple chains, including ZKSync, Arbitrum, Optimism, BNB Chain, Solana Chain, Avalanche X, Filecoin FVM and other public chains. Users can use the native tokens of these public chains to pay fees. In addition, it also supports legal currency payment methods, which is more friendly for Web2 developers who need to migrate, which is unmatched by other similar projects.
Guaranteed income
Spheron ensures the income of resource providers such as GPUs, which means that they have a guaranteed income and are less likely to lose money. However, most DePINs in the market have not announced this, which means that when the market demand is high, providers may receive higher income, but once the demand decreases, providers may choose to exit the network due to losses, which will have a certain impact on the stability of the network.
From the developer's perspective, Spheron is mainly designed for developers and supports EVM. The official also launched CLI and SDK tools to facilitate developer integration. Compared with Akash and IO NET, developer-friendliness is also one of its main features.
Spheron's innovation for the DePIN track
The integration of multiple resources is a clear advantage for Spheron, which is highly applicable to scenarios such as AI computing. The support of multiple chains can also attract a large number of Web3 developers to deploy their own applications on Spheron in a low-cost manner. Similarly, these resources not only provide rental income for providers, but also include points or tokens ($SPON) rewards for maintaining online, which ensures the income of providers, especially considering that the idle resources of providers are almost free of cost, which will bring more enthusiasm to resource providers.
In addition, Spheron is built based on containers, which makes it more convenient and secure to deploy applications on the chain, and ensures the security and reliability of data through blockchain. At the same time, it can also drive more scenarios, including more economic models such as AI training data sets. The team has also optimized tools for large model training and artificial neural networks, so that such applications can have a better experience. At the same time, this can expand the development of the DePIN market and ecology generated by Spheron, bringing more value to Spheron.
According to the official introduction, Spheron's GPU resource utilization has reached 80%, and has attracted a large number of developers to create application instances on it. Currently, more than 13,000 nodes have been connected, making it the largest DePIN computing network.
Spheron makes it easier to use resources on the decentralized network. It is also a distinct feature that it is user-friendly and highly compatible with developers. It can also facilitate product migration for developers and small and medium-sized enterprises, start-ups, etc., thereby realizing the application process of Web3.
Lay out Spheron and reap early dividends
The team has also received a lot of attention in the capital market, and received US$7 million in financing in 2022. Investors include Alphawave Ventures, NexusVP, Zee Prime Capital, Protocol Labs, ConsenSys Mesh, Paradigm Shift Capital, Matrix Partners India, Tykhe Ventures, Sandeep Nailwal, Aniket Jindal Julian Traversa, etc. In addition, it has established cooperative relationships with Akash, Filecoin Foundation, Arbitrum and other teams.
The official also recently announced that it will soon launch Supernoderz, the first DePIN node as a service layer, and launch a model store to achieve seamless deployment of models. In addition, the official is about to launch the main network and token $SPON, which is a good opportunity for players who hold GPU graphics cards, especially for retail investors.
Of course, for investors, Spheron is still in its early stages of development. We share our own hardware computing power and resources to obtain early points and token rewards (compared to IO NET), which is also a way to lay out early dividends. Compared with GPU mining in the current market, most GPU computing power contribution project revenues are close to the electricity cost line, and many GPU miners have shut down. For this reason, Spheron's dividend expectations will attract more GPU players to participate, which can greatly increase the popularity of the project and improve the overall valuation of the project.
Similarly, we compare IO NET and other early incentives before the token is launched, which provide users with a good rate of return. By analogy, we can guess that joining the Spheron network is still likely to get high returns. IO NET currently has a total market value of 3 billion US dollars and a circulating market value of 470 million US dollars. Compared with the current popularity of Spheron, its token market value will also have a good performance.
Last words
The development of AI computing and big data has made GPU computing a rigid demand for large-scale applications, and it will also permeate all aspects of our lives. The decentralized resource network has the characteristics of flexibility, low price, high security, etc., and will become a popular solution. With the coming of Trump, the blockchain industry will usher in a relaxed and rapid development period, and the demand for the combination of traditional industries and blockchain will further increase. The DePIN market is undoubtedly very promising.
Spheron builds a supply and demand market by combining users and computing power providers, and provides rich and complete solutions and tools to facilitate developers to deploy and migrate cloud applications. At the same time, Spheron also provides enterprise-level production environment services, which is extremely useful for Web3 and AI startup teams. In addition, as a participant, Spheron's token has not yet been launched. Compared with the early performance of IO NET, a project also known as DePIN, it is also a good opportunity to participate in the layout of Spheron to contribute computing power.