Monthly Update: January

Even though we started off 2022 with a bear market, this has been one of the strongest months not just for Akash Network, but for the Cosmos ecosystem as a whole.

Deployments on Akash’s distributed peer-to-peer network have more than doubled through the month of January and daily Akash Token (AKT) spend is at an all-time high. We’re seeing more and more dApps becoming truly decentralized by deploying on Akash, bringing the picture of what Web 3.0 will look like into focus.

Akash-powered dApps include decentralized exchanges such as Osmosis and Rango Exchange, various NFT and gaming platforms like Strange Clan and Craft Economy, and even media companies such as Passage and OmniFlix Network.

Here is our month of January in review.

Product Progress

Introduction of streamlined Akash Provider build process - This allows users to install an Akash Provider in just a few steps (via Helm Charts).
Deployment remote shell access - Enables remote access to the command line (CLI) of a running deployment and allows copying of files to a remote deployment instance. Click here to learn more.
Deployment hostname migration - Allows migration of a hostname between a legacy deployment and a new deployment. This upgrade also limits deployment to minimal downtime during application updates and migrations. Click here to learn more.

Partnerships

ColdStack, a decentralized cloud aggregator offers a portal to access any decentralized storage network such as Filecoin, Crust, Sia, Arweave, Storj, among others. With a shared vision for a decentralized web, this month ColdStack has announced plans to deploy on Akash in order to expand its node network capabilities and scale.

We were able to sit down with Justin Silver, Head of Communications at Coldstack and our Director of DevRels, Eric Zietlow to discuss plans to deploy on Akash. We also hosted regional AMA’s with our Korean, Chinese, and Russian communities.

This month, we announced that Akash Network now supports Chia Network, an open-source blockchain, and smart transaction platform, enabling Chia users to create NFT plots on-demand with just a few clicks.

As the world’s first dWeb platform to support plot creation on its network, Akash Network is equipped with the advanced hardware requirements that plotting requires. This unlocks opportunities for intermediate and beginner farmers alike, allowing them to monetize on idle hardware used for mining.

Our Head of Mining, Andrew Mello sat down with the VP Storage at Chia, Jonmichael Hands to discuss farming and plotting on Akash and provided a demo.

Listings

Kraken - Kraken announced they have listed $AKT and trading starts TODAY, February 1st! This is the first instance of a native Cosmos SDK (non-ERC20) token being listed on a major centralized exchange (CEX) in over two years and we’re honored to represent the ecosystem. For updates, keep an eye on the status page.

JunoSwap - The Juno x $AKT pool is now open on DEX, JunoSwap.

Community & Events

We continue to be astonished by the growth and passion of our global community. From India to Spain, the sun never sets on the Akash community.™️

We saw significant engagement across all social channels in the past month with an 80% increase and our community grew 5% across all channels, we also added one more Akash Insider to the bunch!

Akashonomics Part 1: AKT Inflation Reduction - We spoke with Akash Network CFO, Cheng Wang and heard his thoughts on the recent Akash governance proposal from Chandra Station. ICYMI: check out the recording below.

Akashonomics Part 2: Escrow and the Inflation Curve - For part two of the Akashonomics series, our CFO, Cheng Wang covered some features that will be unlocked as a part of our upcoming Testnet 3, Akash Network Escrow and the Inflation curve. Check out the full recording below.

China

AMA with NEAR - This month, our Chinese Regional Manager, Alex Wang hosted an AMA with NEAR to discuss Akash Network’s and its application in NEAR. Click here for the recap.
AMA with ColdStack: One-Stop Storage for WEB3 - With our recent ColdStack partnership we continued to introduce Web2 and Web3 developers to ColdStack.
Chinese New Year Treasure Hunt with Cosmos - To honor the Chinese New Year, we hosted a treasure hunt with Cosmos. Click here to check out our Telegram channel for Mandarin speakers.

Russia

Akash Group Quiz Game - Users register their teams and try to solve the riddles about the Akash Network and its utility token, AKT. We had 50+ participants and a total of 11 teams.
Akash Technical Competition - Geared towards educating our Russian community, we hosted a competition for users to create their own (similar to https://linktr.ee/) page, using docker and Akashlytics. The goal was to show the simplicity of deploying on Akash and help users understand the overall missions of Akash. We’ve already had a total of 15 people deploy their pages, and the competition is still ongoing! If you’d like to join in on the fun, click here.

Notable Coverage:

Updates from the Lab, hosted by Osmosis - January 5, 2022
Staking Mondays, hosted by Staking Rewards - January 10, 2022
Yahoo! Finance - Integration of the Blockchain is a Game Changer in the Cloud Computing Sector
Decrypt - Cosmos-based Tokens Post Healthy Gains as Crypto Markets Trade Sideways
Cointelegraph - Cosmos ecosystem tokens rally after Evmos promises Ethereum interoperability

What’s Next

ETH Denver

We’re headed to ETH Denver February 15th - 20th and are excited to work with the organizers on a Meetup on the Full Stack Decentralized Cloud in partnership with Skynet Labs.

If you’re headed to ETH Denver, click here to save your spot!

We’ll also be going live with daily recaps on the Akash Twitter via Twitter Spaces (be sure to follow us here to tune in), and our Director of DevRels will be giving a presentation on Akash Network at the conference itself.

Testnet

The cat is out of the bag! Testnet 3 is coming.

Starting mid-February, we’ll be hosting a two-week-long testnet where developers, crypto enthusiasts and anyone looking to participate in the decentralized web can stress-test recently released features, particularly focused on network performance, stability and validator behavior.

And, yes, there will be AKT rewards for those who participate. Click here to stay in the loop on all things Testnet 3.