Crypto Gloss

Akash Network

Akash Network is a decentralized cloud-computing marketplace that connects people who need computing resources with independent providers offering CPU, memory, storage, and GPU capacity. A tenant describes a workload, providers submit bids, and the tenant selects a provider; the blockchain coordinates the marketplace and lease, while the workload runs on the provider’s infrastructure.

AKT Market Data

Stat Value
Ticker AKT
Price $0.70
Market Cap $209.47M
24h Change +0.7%
Circulating Supply 298.90M AKT
Max Supply 388.54M AKT
All-Time High $8.07
via ChangeNow · T&CsCoinGecko snapshot checked 2026-10-17. Price, market cap and 24-hour change may refresh; supply and historical figures are from this snapshot.

How the marketplace works

Akash is not a blockchain that executes application workloads itself. A deployment is described with the Stack Definition Language (SDL), a YAML-based format. Creating a deployment opens an order on the marketplace. Providers that can meet the requested resources and placement conditions can bid; the tenant compares those offers and accepts one to create a lease. The selected provider then runs the workload off-chain.

The open marketplace gives tenants a choice of providers, but it also makes provider selection part of operating the service. Offers can differ in location, hardware, price, reliability, and optional features. A low bid alone does not establish that a provider meets an application’s performance, availability, data-location, or security requirements. Akash does not guarantee a fixed discount against a traditional cloud service.

Tokenomics: AKT and ACT

AKT is Akash’s native network token. Current documentation identifies staking, governance, and network gas among its roles. ACT (Akash Compute Token) is a non-transferable, USD-pegged compute credit used to fund deployment escrow and pay for resources. Console users can obtain ACT by burning AKT or through the Console’s card-funded flow. In the Burn-Mint Equilibrium (BME) design, the system links ACT and AKT through conversion and settlement; during a circuit-breaker condition, deployment escrow can use AKT as a fallback.

This distinction matters: AKT is not simply the dollar-priced unit shown on a deployment bill, and ACT is not a freely transferable investment token. BME connects network usage with AKT through protocol mechanics, but it does not guarantee that usage will rise, that AKT’s market price will increase, or that token holders will earn a particular return.

Use Cases

Tenants can deploy containerized websites, APIs, databases and GPU workloads such as model inference or training when suitable providers are available. AKT supports staking, governance and network gas; provider selection and compute-credit funding are separate operational decisions. A deployment’s availability and economics depend on its actual resources and provider.

Criticisms and Security Limits

The chain records marketplace activity such as orders, bids, leases, and payment accounting. Application data and containers are handled by the chosen provider. That arrangement can offer more provider choice, but it does not automatically make a deployment private, censorship-proof in every circumstance, or as reliable as a particular managed cloud service. Tenants still need to assess backups, monitoring, provider controls, network access, and recovery plans.

Akash announced confidential-computing support in July 2026. The opt-in feature uses hardware-backed trusted execution environments (TEEs), requested through SDL, with CPU-only or CPU-plus-GPU modes. A TEE is not a blanket privacy guarantee: the project’s launch explanation distinguishes isolation from remote attestation, which is needed to verify the environment. Hardware availability and the maturity of attestation tooling also matter. Sensitive workloads should be evaluated against the current specification and deployment evidence rather than the feature name alone.

History

  • 2020: Akash Mainnet 1 launched, establishing its initial staking and governance phase.
  • 2023: Akash’s Mainnet 6 upgrade added GPU marketplace capability, broadening the resource types available to tenants.
  • March 2026: Akash published its BME upgrade plan, with a mainnet upgrade scheduled for March 23. Current implementation documentation describes the ACT/AKT compute-payment model.
  • July 2026: Akash announced opt-in confidential-computing workloads using TEEs; the feature has hardware, attestation, and provider-availability requirements.

Common misconceptions

“Akash runs the application on the blockchain.”

The blockchain coordinates the market and lease. Containers and application data run on the selected provider’s machines.

“AKT and ACT are interchangeable names for the same payment token.”

They are distinct assets with different functions. AKT is the native network token; ACT is the non-transferable, USD-pegged compute credit used for deployment funding and settlement.

“Decentralized means automatically cheaper or private.”

Neither follows automatically. Provider bids and workload requirements determine actual cost, while privacy depends on the deployment, provider, and any explicitly requested and verified security features.

Social Media Sentiment

Last updated: 2026-10

How to Buy and Hold AKT

Availability depends on the exchange, swap service and jurisdiction. Confirm the asset is AKT on the intended network, compare fees, and check withdrawal support and any requested memo before transferring. ACT compute credits serve a different purpose and should not be treated as an exchange-listed substitute for AKT. Custody choices and staking introduce their own operational and market risks.

Related Terms

See Also

Sources