Today, Akash Network, a project out of Overclock Labs, confirmed the successful launch of Akash MAINNET 2, the first open-source cloud and the only viable decentralized cloud alternative to centralized cloud providers like Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud, and Microsoft Azure.
Akash MAINNET 2 empowers developers to break free from the limitations of traditional cloud infrastructure, and accelerates growth and scale in the blockchain ecosystem by enabling developers and companies to decentralize their cloud infrastructure, deploying applications faster, more efficiently, and at lower cost.
Through Akash’s platform, individuals, companies, and data centers with underutilized computing capacity will also be able to monetize and lease their cloud compute to those who need it, recouping the high costs of server maintenance and capital expenditure. Recently, Akash announced an integration with Equinix Metal, the world’s largest data center and colocation infrastructure provider with 220 data centers in 25 countries, to expand access to global, low-latency, and powerful cloud infrastructure.
For the first time, developers will be able to launch applications such as DeFi apps, blogs, games, data visualizations, block explorers, blockchain nodes, and other blockchain network components on a decentralized cloud. Akash has announced integrations and partnerships with Tendermint, Cosmos, Cosmos’s Interchain Foundation, Inter-Blockchain Communication (IBC), Solana, Kava, and Chainlink.
“With the ongoing pandemic, we’re seeing more of people’s lives and work moving to the cloud. In the $370+ billion cloud computing market, MAINNET 2 provides a decentralized, faster, more efficient, and lower cost option in the market,” said Greg Osuri, CEO of Akash Network. “Akash MAINNET 2 propels our vision to enable high-growth blockchain companies and developers a viable alternative to centralized cloud services.”
2-3 times lower in cost than the market, Akash’s serverless computing platform is compatible with all cloud providers and applications that run on the cloud, easily integrating with a company’s existing technology stack. Leveraging containerization technology and a unique proof-of-stake model to accelerate adoption, Akash MAINNET 2 provides a faster, more efficient, and lower cost cloud built for the blockchain ecosystem at large, including decentralized finance (DeFi), applications (dApps), validators, and organizations (DAO’s) with unprecedented scale, flexibility, and price performance.
Main features of Akash MAINNET 2 include:
- Decentralized Cloud Compute Marketplace: As the core function of Akash MAINNET 2, developers and Akash providers will participate in an on-chain auction system where supply and demand for cloud compute is exchanged.
- Flexible Bid Pricing: Providers can configure their pricing based on parameters such as CPU count, storage capacity, and endpoints.
- Inter-Blockchain Communication Compatibility: MAINNET 2 will be fully compatible with Cosmos SDK v0.41.0, also known as Stargate. Stargate enables functionality for Cosmos SDK-based blockchains, like Akash, to connect with each other using the first-ever standardized protocol for IBC.
- Deployment Tool: The deployment tool streamlines the developer experience and helps seamlessly launch their applications on Akash.
- Audited Attributes: Audited attributes allow users deploying applications to be more selective about which providers can run their apps. Anyone on the Akash blockchain can assign these attributes to Providers via an on-chain transaction.
- Tendermint’s State Sync: State sync allows developers to quickly bring up nodes, which is ideal for use cases such as querying the blockchain or using a web wallet.
“Having previously worked with product engineering–both open-source and proprietary, I’ve experienced first-hand the constraints of centralized cloud services. I’m excited to bring MAINNET 2 to market with a Uniswap-style experience to cloud deployments in a cost-efficient, permissionless, censorship-resistant, and non-custodial way,” said Adam Bozanich, CTO of Akash Network.
Akash Network is a proof-of-stake chain, built on Cosmos Hub, that leverages Akash Token (AKT), a native utility token, to govern, secure the blockchain, and provide a store and exchange of value.
