The DePIN track, as one of the hot topics attracting attention from crypto capital this year, has not only drawn a large influx of funds but has also gradually penetrated multiple fields and projects with its flexible resource allocation, efficient operation methods, 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 diverse network resources specifically for developers, are all representatives of this trend.
Spheron is a decentralized network that provides ultimate solutions for AI and cloud computing, and it is the world's first supercomputing network. Users share their hardware resources to provide leasing services for network application developers and earn token rewards. These resources include GPU, CPU, storage, network bandwidth, etc. In addition to reducing costs for developers, they can be applied to various scenarios, including AI computing, rendering, scientific simulation, or deployment of decentralized applications, to meet the enterprise-level demand for stability and security.
Spheron's Operating Mechanism
Spheron's framework has certain similarities with DePIN networks like IO NET and Filecoin, while also featuring many innovations. In the Spheron network, resource providers (such as participants with RTX 4090 or multi-core CPU Apple Mac computers) can register as providers to offer GPU or CPU computing resources to the Spheron network and customize their prices. The network uses a Matchmaker mechanism to match demanders and resource providers with multiple parameters, optimizing the matching mechanism with an edge EDGE network. This matching engine operates through smart contracts to ensure the normal execution of orders, and users can also verify the corresponding deployment process on-chain.
Matching parameters include region (global distribution of computing resources), price, runtime, provider reputation, staking amount, resource availability, etc. An algorithm provides users with compliant providers and executes transactions on-chain to complete the trading process of these network resources.
Provider nodes participate in the network by staking $SPON tokens to ensure stable DePIN resource services (a penalty mechanism prevents malicious behavior). At the same time, the network also provides additional $SPON token rewards based on the utilization rate of their computing resources to ensure that resource providers can obtain corresponding positive returns without incurring losses (after deducting operational, electricity, venue, and other costs). This encourages resource providers to actively participate in the network without withdrawing due to negative returns.
To accommodate ordinary users' personal computing devices, Spheron offers Fizz Node. This is a lightweight version mainly suitable for small or personal low-computing devices. Fizz is based on cross-platform Docker, and users' resource requests are run through new Docker containers to ensure service security and isolation. Compared to K8S, it maximizes device resource utilization and reduces overhead, allowing ordinary players to participate in computing resource sharing by downloading the lightweight Fizz Node.
In addition, Fizz will layer based on the quality of the CPU and GPU resources provided to ensure matching with user needs, thereby providing better computing resource services. Currently, it basically supports the entire range of NVIDIA GPUs and Apple Mac CPUs, providing computing resources for AI training and rendering.
Core Advantages of Spheron
A Variety of DePIN Resource Collections
Compared to decentralized networks like IO NET and Grass, Spheron not only provides GPU and CPU resources but also includes network bandwidth resources (CDN), RAM, and storage resources like IPFS (for example, in collaboration with Akash), making it suitable for more development and adoption scenarios. IO NET mainly provides GPU and CPU resources, while Grass mainly provides network data bandwidth resources (CDN). In contrast, Spheron can offer a more comprehensive range of network computing resources that better meet market demands for cloud computing and other services.
Flexible Services
For developers (resource users), Spheron offers two modes: enterprise-level infrastructure and consumer-grade resources. The enterprise-level facilities are primarily used in production environments (final delivery mode) and feature high reliability and stability, allowing developers to use resources long-term, such as monthly subscriptions, to reduce costs. The other is the consumer-grade Fizz mode, mainly aimed at testing and development processes, offering high cost-effectiveness. Developers can flexibly use it according to their project progress, such as paying by the hour, which is a significant feature of Spheron.
Other projects providing decentralized network resources, such as Render (video rendering), IO NET (GPU computing), and Grass (bandwidth network data), do not have clear demand segmentation for users, leading to low matching efficiency or cost-effectiveness.
Fair Reward Distribution Mechanism
Additionally, resource rewards are not only related to quantity but also include quality, layered base multipliers (intermediate, advanced), etc. The higher the level, the higher the corresponding resource rewards, rather than just distributing rewards based on quantity and uptime like Grass. Overall, resource providers who offer more stable and long-term high-quality network services and more valuable hardware resources will receive more rewards.
Multi-Chain Integration
Spheron integrates with multiple chains, including ZKSync, Arbitrum, Optimism, BNB Chain, Solana Chain, Avalanche X, and Filecoin FVM, allowing users to pay fees using the native tokens of these public chains. It also supports fiat payment methods, making it friendly for Web2 developers needing to migrate, which is unmatched by other similar projects.
Guaranteed Income
Spheron ensures the income of GPU and other resource providers, meaning there is a guaranteed income that makes it difficult to incur losses. Currently, most DePIN projects in the market have not announced this point, meaning that when market demand is high, providers may earn higher income, but if demand decreases, they may choose to exit the network due to losses, which can impact network stability.
From a developer's perspective, Spheron is primarily designed for developers and supports EVM. The official team has also launched CLI and SDK tools to facilitate integration for developers, making it one of the main features that are friendly to developers compared to Akash and IO NET.
Innovations Brought by Spheron to the DePIN Track
The integration of multiple resources is a clear advantage for Spheron, making it highly applicable for scenarios like AI computing. The support for multiple chains can attract a large number of Web3 developers to deploy their applications on Spheron at a low cost. Similarly, these resources provide providers not only with leasing income but also with points or token ($SPON) rewards earned while remaining online, ensuring providers' income, especially considering that their idle resources have almost no cost, which will encourage more active participation from resource providers.
Additionally, Spheron is built on containers, making it easier and safer to deploy applications on-chain, ensuring data security and reliability through blockchain technology. It can also drive more scenarios, including AI training datasets and other economic models. The team has optimized tools for large model training and artificial neural networks, allowing such applications to have a better experience, which can expand the development of the DePIN market and ecosystem generated by Spheron, bringing more value to Spheron.
According to official information, Spheron's GPU resource utilization has reached 80%, attracting a large number of developers to create application instances on it. It has already connected over 13,000 nodes, becoming the largest DePIN computing network.
Spheron makes resource usage on decentralized networks more convenient, and its user-friendly and highly compatible features are also a significant characteristic, facilitating the migration of products for developers, small and medium enterprises, and startups, thus achieving the Web3 application process.
Positioning Spheron for Early Benefits
The team has also gained considerable attention in the capital market, securing $7 million in funding in 2022, with investors including Alphawave Ventures, NexusVP, Zee Prime Capital, Protocol Labs, ConsenSys Mesh, Paradigm Shift Capital, Matrix Partners India, Tykhe Ventures, Sandeep Nailwal, Aniket Jindal, and Julian Traversa, among others. Additionally, they have established partnerships with teams like Akash, Filecoin Foundation, and Arbitrum.
The official team recently announced the upcoming launch of Supernoderz, the first DePIN node as a service layer, introducing a model store for seamless deployment of models. Furthermore, the official team is about to launch the mainnet and the $SPON token, presenting a good participation opportunity for players holding GPU graphics cards, especially friendly for retail investors.
Of course, for investors, Spheron is still in its early development stage. Sharing one's hardware device computing power and resources to earn early points and token rewards (compared to IO NET) is also a way to position for early benefits. Compared to the current market of GPU mining, where most GPU computing contribution projects' earnings are close to the cost of electricity, many GPU miners have already shut down. Therefore, the expected benefits of Spheron will attract more GPU players to participate, significantly increasing the project's popularity and enhancing its overall valuation.
Similarly, we can compare the early incentives provided to users by projects like IO NET before their token launch, which offered good returns. We can speculate that joining the Spheron network is likely to yield high returns. IO NET currently has a total market cap of $3 billion and a circulating market cap of $470 million. Compared to Spheron's current popularity, its token market cap is also expected to perform well.
In Conclusion
The development of AI computing and big data has made GPU computing a necessity for large-scale applications, and it will permeate all aspects of our lives. Decentralized resource networks, characterized by flexibility, low cost, and high security, will become a popular solution. With Trump's rise to power, the blockchain industry is expected to enter a period of relaxed and rapid development, and the demand for the integration of traditional industries with blockchain will further increase. The DePIN market is undoubtedly very promising.
Spheron builds a supply-demand market by connecting users and computing power providers, offering rich and comprehensive solutions and tools that facilitate developers' deployment and migration of cloud applications. At the same time, Spheron provides enterprise-level production environment services, which are extremely useful for Web3 and AI startup teams. Additionally, as a participant, Spheron's token has not yet launched, and comparing it to the early performance of other DePIN projects like IO NET, positioning in Spheron to contribute computing power is also a good participation opportunity.