Acurast is a decentralized verifiable computing network.
Written by: 1912212.eth, Foresight News
CoinList recently announced that it will launch the Acurast (ACU) token sale at 1:00 AM Beijing time on May 16, ending at 1:00 AM on May 23. 100% of the tokens will be unlocked at TGE. The public offering FDV is $90 million. The price per token is $0.09, with a total of 60 million tokens available for purchase (6% of total supply), and a purchase limit of a minimum of $100 and a maximum of $2 million.
Although CoinList's wealth effect this cycle is not as significant as before, it still holds some influence, with its open public projects Ondo Finance, Nillion, and WalletConnect currently showing decent returns.
What exactly is Acurast? What are its characteristics?
1. Decentralized Computing Network Empowered by Smartphones
Acurast is a decentralized verifiable computing network designed to build a secure, scalable, and data center-free computing infrastructure by utilizing the idle computing power of smartphones. Unlike traditional cloud computing giants (such as AWS, Google Cloud) that rely on centralized servers, Acurast provides decentralized computing resources through the Trusted Execution Environments (TEEs) of smartphones, balancing privacy and efficiency.
Acurast liberates computing power from a few tech giants through smartphones, giving ordinary users and developers more control. Its core features include:
Decentralization and Verifiability: Acurast utilizes smartphone TEE technology to ensure the security and verifiability of the computing process. TEE can verify the authenticity of hardware and protect data privacy without trusting the device owner, thus achieving a highly secure computing environment.
High Scalability: The testnet has processed over 240 million transactions, connecting over 65,000 computing units (smartphones) across more than 120 countries worldwide.
Cross-Ecosystem Compatibility: Acurast supports various development environments such as JavaScript, TypeScript, Node.js, and WASM, and integrates with mainstream blockchain ecosystems like Bitcoin, Ethereum, Polkadot, and TON.
Support for AI and Web3 Applications: Acurast is particularly suitable for scenarios with high security and privacy requirements, such as decentralized AI model training, Web3 infrastructure, and high-security workloads.
By transforming smartphones into computing nodes, Acurast not only reduces computing costs but also provides users with the opportunity to earn rewards by contributing idle computing power. This "everyone can participate" model makes it stand out in the DePIN track.
2. Decentralized Computing Based on NPoS
The operational logic of Acurast revolves around its core protocol architecture, combining the Nominated Proof of Stake (NPoS) consensus mechanism and a reputation engine to ensure the efficient operation and security of the network. Its ecosystem mainly consists of the following roles and mechanisms:
Developers: Deploy applications through Acurast's command line interface (CLI) and utilize the network's computing resources to run JavaScript, TypeScript, or WASM workloads. Developers pay fees (in $ACU or other tokens) to access computing services.
Computing Providers (Processors): Smartphone users who contribute idle computing power by installing the Acurast Processor application and earn ACU token rewards. Each phone can earn a fixed 250 cACU (testnet points, which will be exchanged for ACU in the future) per month.
Validators and Nominators: Based on the NPoS consensus mechanism, validators are responsible for maintaining network security, while nominators support trusted validators by staking ACU, jointly ensuring the decentralization and economic security of the network.
End Users: Use decentralized applications built on Acurast to enjoy low-cost, high-privacy computing services.
Acurast employs the NPoS algorithm, with an Orchestrator matching developers' computing needs with computing providers' resources. The reputation engine dynamically updates reputation scores based on the performance of processors (smartphones), incentivizing honest behavior and punishing malicious nodes. Developers submit computing tasks to the Acurast network, and the orchestrator allocates tasks to suitable smartphones based on task requirements and processor reputation. Processors complete computing tasks, return results, and TEE ensures the privacy and verifiability of the results.
Developers pay fees, processors receive ACU rewards, and validators and nominators share network fees. This operational logic achieves the alignment of interests among developers, computing providers, and network maintainers through economic incentives and reputation mechanisms, building a sustainable decentralized computing ecosystem.
3. Token Economics
The total supply of Acurast tokens ACU is 1 billion, with TGE expected to be completed in Q3 2025.
Community (69.5%): Includes the Community Treasury, TGE community activation (such as airdrops, Launchpad participation), operational funds, and liquidity supply. These tokens will be unlocked at TGE, prioritizing incentives for early users and contributors. Early Investors (6.5%): To support the project's funding needs from testnet to mainnet, the allocation ratio is relatively low, with a lock-up period of at least 24 months, gradually released to ensure fairness. Team and Advisors (24%): Tokens for core contributors, advisors, and future team members have the longest lock-up period (at least 24 months).
The ACU token has multiple uses within the Acurast ecosystem:
Network Fees: Used to pay transaction fees, which will be burned to reduce circulation and enhance token scarcity.
Staking: By staking ACU, participants provide economic security for the network and earn fee rewards.
Settlement: Serves as a unified settlement token, measuring processor reputation and service quality, supporting the abstraction of multi-token payments.
Governance: Holders can participate in on-chain governance, voting to determine the direction of protocol development.
Although the ACU token economic model is well-designed, it still faces potential risks. For instance, the incentive balance mechanism may affect user participation or lead to token price fluctuations if rewards are too high or too low. Market competition will need to contend with traditional cloud computing giants like AWS and Google Cloud, as well as other DePIN projects. The hardware performance of smartphones, network bandwidth, and battery life may also lead to fluctuations in computing resources.
4. Secured Millions in Seed Round Strategic Financing
Acurast has not publicly disclosed the specific names of its members, but its background and achievements can be inferred from project progress and partnerships: the team has a strong foundation in decentralized computing, TEE technology, and NPoS consensus mechanisms, successfully driving the testnet to process 240 million transactions and connect 65,000 devices. In terms of ecosystem collaboration, Acurast has established deep integrations with blockchain ecosystems such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, Polkadot, and TON.
In terms of financing, Acurast received a $1.5 million Grant in 2023, followed by $2 million in seed round and strategic round financing, and has received support from several foundations (such as those related to the Polkadot ecosystem), with participation from figures like Dr. Gavin Wood (co-founder of Ethereum, founder of Polkadot), Leonard Dorlöchter (founder of PEQ), Michael van de Poppe (founder of MN Capital), Ogle (founder of GlueNet, influential figure at CoinDesk), and Vineel Budki (CEO of Sigma Capital).
The official roadmap indicates that its mainnet will officially launch in the second half of this year.
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