Acurast Deploys 225,000-Smartphone AI Network on Base
The decentralized AI network Acurast has launched on the Base blockchain, leveraging a mesh of 225,000 smartphones as compute nodes. The platform aims to provide low-cost, distributed AI inference as on-chain "microservices." This development positions Base as a potential hub for AI-native applications and agentic DeFi protocols.
- Acurast is part of the Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Network (DePIN) trend, which uses token incentives to build and maintain real-world infrastructure. Unlike competitors focused on GPU or data center hardware, Acurast leverages the untapped processing power of everyday smartphones. - The network utilizes Trusted Execution Environments (TEEs), a secure area inside a device's main processor, to ensure that all AI inference and other computations are confidential and verifiable. This means that even the owner of the smartphone cannot access the data being processed, a key feature for privacy-focused financial and enterprise applications. - Developers can now pay for these compute services directly on Base using USDC, without the need for complex bridging or off-chain settlements. This is enabled by the x402 payment standard, which allows AI agents to autonomously pay for resources on a per-request basis. - The native token, ACU, is used for network fees, staking to guarantee service reliability, and governance. The tokenomics are designed to be community-focused, with nearly 70% of the initial 1 billion supply allocated to community initiatives and only 6.5% to early backers to encourage a fair launch. - Smartphone providers, called "Processors," can be either "Lite" (running the app on their primary phone) or "Core" (using a dedicated, factory-reset Android device for maximum performance). Participants earn rewards in the form of tokens for contributing their device's idle capacity. - Beyond AI inference, use cases for Acurast include decentralized web scraping, managing on-chain trading strategies, and providing infrastructure for decentralized VPNs and oracles. The platform already has over 45 partners building real-world applications. - The project was founded in 2022 by Alessandro De Carli and has processed over 250 million transactions on its testnet (called Canary) before the mainnet launch on Base. - Early participants in the Acurast ecosystem could earn "MIST" points through the "Cloud Rebellion" campaign, which are expected to be converted into ACU tokens through an airdrop.
