As the hype of AI narratives and blockchain infrastructure gradually subsides, the sudden explosion of $NEXUS has become another focus in the Web3 market. According to on-chain data and information compiled from the X platform, the NEXUS token has surged by as much as 451.33% in the past 24 hours, with trading volume reaching $1.07 million and the number of holding addresses quickly climbing to 664.
This project is not only attracting attention due to its technical narrative and testnet incentive mechanisms but also draws a number of cutting-edge investors and early users with its performance indicators and grand vision for distributed scientific research.
Behind the surge: testnet launch combined with low base effect
The NEXUS project officially launched the third phase of the testnet at midnight on June 24, allowing users to participate in network construction and earn test incentives by contributing CPU/GPU computing power (including mobile phones, laptops, etc.). According to users @Damaomaobg and @yixing_web3, this testnet not only offers points and NFT tasks but also hints that future token airdrops will be distributed based on computing power contributions.
According to early testnet participants @0xCristal's estimates, the average earnings of users in the first two phases were about $3,980, and it is expected that this phase will attract a large number of 'computing power nomads' to enter. The project has not yet announced the specific TGE (Token Generation Event) time, but it revealed that it will be completed within the third quarter of 2025, and the first token distribution and launch will be based on user testing data.
As the project is still in the phase of trading on non-mainstream exchanges, the price of $NEXUS is subject to extreme supply and demand fluctuations. In the past 24 hours, the price has risen over 450%, with trading concentrated on the Solana ecosystem DEX, initially showing high market speculative nature and event-driven logic.
Narrative differentiation: knowledge as assets, tokenization of scientific research
Unlike most AI + Crypto projects focusing on large model training, data labeling, or AI computing power trading, NEXUS proposes the 'Decentralized Science Protocol (DeSci Protocol)' with a more fundamental and structural vision.
Its core concepts include:
Tokenizing scientific research data and model results to be on-chain as citable assets;
Building an economic model of 'intellectual property as mining machines' through citation tracking and computing power staking mechanisms;
Using blockchain's immutability and open-source mechanisms to reshape research validation, credibility, and collaboration processes.
NEXUS refers to these outcomes as 'knowledge assets (Intellectual Protocols)' and has established a dedicated **Nexus Virtual Machine (NVM)** to handle these non-Turing complete auditable tasks, aiming to avoid the 'gas trap' and high-frequency failure issues under the EVM system.
The project is also clearly positioned to build a 'global supercomputer' network, aiming to combine redundant computing power (mobile phones/idle PCs) with high-value scientific data to promote a new ecosystem of 'science as a service.'
Technical strength: executing 3 billion instructions per second, far exceeding EVM
An important part supporting the NEXUS narrative is its self-developed Nexus Virtual Machine (NVM). This architecture claims to be designed specifically for modern CPUs and has the following characteristics:
Single instruction latency is only 33 nanoseconds, compared to Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) 1.7 million nanoseconds, a performance improvement of about 50,000 times;
Non-Turing complete design, only supports limited state logic to ensure execution predictability and stable gas costs;
Native support for multi-threaded parallel computation, with microprocessor-optimized task scheduling logic, making it more suitable for AI inference and data validation scenarios.
This architecture aims to address the performance bottleneck of current blockchain infrastructure in complex computing tasks, particularly suitable for high-frequency, large-throughput tasks such as scientific model validation and AI data citation. This design has gained support from some members of the technical community and is considered 'one of the most radical virtual machine designs since the Move language.'
Project background and risk analysis: limited relationship with Nexus Mutual, hacker history should still be vigilant
It is worth noting that some investors in the market mistakenly confuse the NEXUS token with the DeFi insurance platform Nexus Mutual (NXM). Although the two have similar names and early team technical intersections, NEXUS is currently following an independent route directed towards DeSci.
However, history still serves as a warning: in December 2020, NXM founder Hugh Karp suffered a hacking attack, losing $8 million in NXM tokens. The attack method involved tampering with the MetaMask browser extension to execute transfer operations, revealing security vulnerabilities at the wallet plugin level.
Although this incident occurred in another project, it still has reference significance for NEXUS, especially since the current testnet tasks highly rely on local execution and wallet authorization, making security precautions essential.
The project team also clearly advises users to avoid using unknown plugins and browser wallets, prioritizing hardware wallets or verified lightweight clients for testing.
Current market assessment: opportunities coexist with risks
Advantage signals:
The project has completed $27 million in financing, demonstrating strong financial strength;
The narrative is novel and has a differentiated positioning of AI + tokenization of scientific research;
The virtual machine's performance and design philosophy have technological breakthroughs;
The threshold for participating in the testnet is low, with equitable expectations for obtaining airdrops;
Market enthusiasm is high, and social media influence has significantly increased;
Risk factors:
The token has not yet fully undergone TGE, and the current price heavily relies on irrational speculation;
The project is still in its early stages, and the technical implementation and ecosystem expansion need further observation;
The wallet authorization security issues are highly correlated with historical hacking incidents related to Nexus;
Whether the narrative can continue to build a moat needs further observation of its community governance and IP confirmation mechanisms implementation.
In conclusion
In the current crowded market atmosphere of AI and infrastructure narratives, NEXUS uses decentralized scientific collaboration as a breakthrough, combined with high-performance virtual machines and testnet incentive mechanisms, becoming one of the few emerging projects with structural innovation potential.
However, in the face of unimplemented technical narratives and a market state with dramatic price fluctuations, investors still need to rationally assess risks and ensure security precautions and exit mechanisms. The next focus areas are: TGE time nodes, airdrop distribution logic, deepening testnet tasks, and early ecosystem development speed.