What Is Akash Network?

Akash Network is a decentralized cloud computing marketplace where providers rent out spare CPU and GPU capacity to developers and businesses. Tenants describe the workload they want to run in a manifest, providers bid to host it, and the lowest acceptable bid wins via a reverse auction. The result is a permissionless cloud that aims to be substantially cheaper than centralized hyperscalers for many container workloads, with particular strength in GPU compute for AI training and inference.

Overview - Table of Contents
What Is Akash Network?
Getting Started With Akash Network
How To Get An Akash Wallet?
Akash Network Resources
How To Buy Akash?
Latest Akash Network News

Akash was founded by Greg Osuri and Adam Bozanich, who lead Overclock Labs, the team behind the protocol. The Akash mainnet launched in September 2020 as a Cosmos SDK chain with its own validator set and the AKT token as the network's staking, gas, and governance asset. Akash has since shipped multiple major upgrades that introduced persistent storage, faster deployments, and, most importantly, support for GPU instances in 2023, which positioned Akash as one of the leading on-chain venues for AI compute.

Workloads on Akash run inside containers orchestrated by a fork of Kubernetes called the Akash Provider Daemon. A tenant publishes a Stack Definition Language (SDL) file describing the resources they need (CPU, RAM, GPU model, storage, networking), providers across the network respond with bids, and the tenant accepts one. Payment is escrowed on-chain in AKT or supported stablecoins, and providers earn the funds as the workload runs. If a provider goes offline or violates the agreement, the tenant can withdraw their unused funds and redeploy elsewhere.

AKT has a target maximum supply of approximately 388 million tokens and an inflationary emission schedule that pays validators and delegators staking rewards, with a fraction of network fees flowing to a community pool. AKT is used to pay deployment fees, stake to secure the chain, and vote on governance proposals. Akash also supports payment in USDC, which has lowered friction for AI customers who prefer to budget in dollars rather than a volatile staking asset.

The GPU upgrade unlocked a strong product-market fit with AI developers. Akash supports NVIDIA H100, A100, A6000, A40, RTX 4090, and many other accelerators across a global pool of providers, and has been used to train and serve open-source models as well as to power Akash Chat, a community-hosted ChatGPT-style frontend that runs on Akash GPUs. The Akash Supercloud and Akash Console make it easy for non-Kubernetes users to deploy AI models and applications with a few clicks.

Operationally, Akash is run by a global set of providers including independent data centers, university labs, and well-known infrastructure companies. The Cosmos foundation, Akash Network Foundation, and Overclock Labs continue to fund development, validator operations, and ecosystem grants.

Getting Started With Akash Network

You can use Akash as a tenant deploying workloads or as a provider selling compute:

Step 1: Install a Cosmos-compatible wallet (Keplr or Leap) and acquire AKT or USDC on Cosmos. Withdraw to your Akash address.
Step 2: To deploy a workload, use Akash Console (cloudmos / console.akash.network) to upload an SDL describing your container, CPU, GPU, memory, and storage requirements, and accept a bid from a provider.
Step 3: Monitor your deployment, scale up or down as needed, and top up the escrow if you want it to keep running.
Step 4: To become a provider, deploy the Akash Provider stack on your hardware, register on-chain, and start receiving bid requests from tenants.

How to Get an Akash Wallet?

AKT is a native Cosmos SDK asset. The recommended wallets for the Cosmos ecosystem all support it:

Keplr

Keplr is the most widely used Cosmos wallet, with a browser extension and mobile app. It supports AKT staking, delegation, and governance natively, and integrates with Akash Console for managing deployments.

Leap

Leap is a newer Cosmos wallet with strong UX and IBC routing. It supports AKT alongside the broader Cosmos ecosystem and is a good alternative to Keplr.

Cosmostation

Cosmostation is a long-running Cosmos wallet that supports AKT and is commonly used by validators and delegators across the Cosmos zone.

Hardware Wallets

Ledger devices support AKT via the Cosmos Ledger app and can be paired with Keplr or Leap for cold storage of large balances and for signing staking and governance transactions.

Akash Network Resources

How to Buy Akash?

AKT is listed on a mix of centralized and decentralized exchanges:

Centralized Exchanges

AKT is available on Kraken, Coinbase (regional availability varies), Bybit, KuCoin, Bitget, Gate, MEXC, and others. Common pairs include AKT/USDT, AKT/USDC, and AKT/BTC.

Decentralized Exchanges

AKT trades on Osmosis, the leading Cosmos DEX, with pairs against ATOM, OSMO, and stablecoins. Cross-chain bridges and aggregators such as Squid let you swap into AKT from Ethereum and other chains.

After buying, AKT can be staked through Keplr or Leap to earn rewards, held to vote in governance, or used directly as payment for Akash deployments.

Latest Akash Network News

The most consequential recent development for Akash was the rollout of GPU support, which transformed the network from a CPU-focused container marketplace into a leading decentralized venue for AI compute. Akash now supports a wide range of NVIDIA accelerators, USDC payments, and a polished console for non-Kubernetes users, and counts open-source model training and inference among its primary workloads.

Recent roadmap items have focused on adding more provider tools, expanding the supercloud product surface, integrating better with AI developer workflows, and onboarding additional payment options. Following the Akash blog and Discord is the best way to track new GPU SKUs, fee changes, and governance proposals.