introduction
The decentralized computing market has shown significant growth in recent years, with multiple platforms committed to building an efficient, fair, and accessible computing resource market. Key players such as Akash, Aethir, io.net and others have been pioneering different paths towards decentralized computing resources. However, Swan Chain, which is about to undergo a token generation event (TGE) in the near future, has attracted widespread attention with its unique Universal Basic Income (UBI) model and flexible node deployment mechanism.
This article will explore the similarities and differences between Swan Chain and existing mainstream decentralized computing projects through a detailed competitive analysis, focusing on its innovations in revenue model, technical architecture, and market potential, and evaluating whether it has the potential to become a leader in the next generation of decentralized computing networks.
Track Overview
The decentralized computing market aims to mobilize idle resources through distributed networks, reduce the cost of traditional cloud computing, and improve availability and fault tolerance. The main competitors are as follows:
Akash Network: Positioned as a decentralized cloud computing market, it focuses on the flexibility of task bidding, but there is a problem of revenue fluctuation.
Aethir: It emphasizes the distributed sharing of GPU resources, but the project's strong control over network nodes has caused controversy.
Io.net: Provides high-performance GPU resource sharing, but the high entry barrier limits potential participants.
Swan Chain: With the UBI model and open node mechanism as its core highlights, it lowers the threshold for participation and promotes fair allocation of resources.
Competition landscape and comparative analysis
1. Akash Network
As a decentralized computing market, Akash Network’s miner income completely depends on the results of task bidding. This task-based revenue model introduces significant revenue instability. If the miner fails to successfully bid for the task, the income will immediately return to zero. At the same time, due to the volatility of market demand, miners' income will fluctuate significantly with changes in task volume and competitive environment.
For example, in the third quarter of 2024, the total number of leases decreased compared to the previous quarter, despite a significant increase in fees per lease. This suggests fewer tasks are being assigned, potentially leaving some providers with nothing to do.
Source link:https://messari.io/report/state-of-akash-network-q2-2024
2. Goes
Aethir focuses on distributed cloud computing, and its network includes Checker nodes, container nodes, and indexer nodes. Checker nodes are mainly responsible for verifying service quality and distributing rewards based on contributions. Although Aethir claims that its network is decentralized, the license distribution and rule setting of its Checker nodes are dominated by the project party, and miners are actually subject to the reward mechanism and framework restrictions of the project party in node operation.
Source link: https://coinmarketcap.com/academy/article/aethir-deep-dive-pioneering-decentralised-gpu-as-a-service
In addition, in Aethir's profit distribution model, users who run nodes are essentially providing services to the project party and receiving rewards similar to "commissions". Although users can operate nodes independently, the investment is large and the income is controlled by the project party.
The design of Swan Chain is more open and flexible. Its permissionless access mechanism allows miners to freely choose to deploy edge computing (ECP) or fog computing (FCP) nodes according to their own conditions. Single-machine users can choose to deploy ECP nodes, while users with abundant equipment resources can deploy FCP nodes, or even deploy both nodes at the same time to obtain double benefits. At the same time, Swan Chain's task allocation is completely based on algorithmic operation, avoiding the unfairness caused by human intervention and ensuring the autonomy and transparency of miners.
Reference link: https://docs.swanchain.io/bulders/computing-provider
3. Io.net
Io.net focuses on GPU resource sharing, but its entry barriers are high, such as requiring miners to have high-performance hardware (such as RTX 3090/4090) and pay registration and certification fees. This model may limit the participation of some potential users and bring uncertain future costs.
Source link: https://docs.io.net/docs/io-worker
Swan Chain further lowers the threshold for participation through a flexible node deployment mechanism. Regardless of the performance of the device, users can access the network to participate in mining, and task allocation is determined by the actual performance of the node and the resource contribution rate. This mechanism allows more users to seamlessly join the Swan network, expands the scope of participation in the ecosystem, and improves the decentralization of the overall network.
Swan Chain's core advantages
Diversified revenue models
Swan Chain's revenue design not only supports different types of participants, but also provides strong support for resource optimization and revenue distribution through a flexible computing unit (CU) mechanism.
First, token holders can rent Swan tokens to miners for staking and earn income through staking platforms such as Parasail.
Secondly, miners provide computing resources and receive corresponding rewards after completing tasks. This revenue model is designed based on Swan Chain's CU (Computing Units) mechanism, and the contribution capacity of each hardware device is quantified as CU. For example, an RTX 3080 graphics card is equal to 1 CU, while a higher-performance H100 GPU is equivalent to 28 CUs. This standardized calculation method not only improves the transparency of reward distribution, but also ensures that the contribution of high-performance devices can obtain higher returns.
In addition, technicians with operation and maintenance experience can earn additional income by optimizing node performance or providing operation and maintenance support. They can not only help other miners improve resource utilization, but also further expand their own sources of income by assisting in network operation and maintenance.
For large node operators, Swan Chain provides a more competitive multi-level revenue model. First, large nodes can access the network and provide resources to directly obtain rewards. In addition, large nodes can also serve as "secondary operators" in the network, access other small and medium-sized CPs, and distribute computing tasks to them.
For example, large nodes can manage the resource contributions of multiple CPs, convert these contributions into CP computing power pools, and distribute corresponding benefits according to the CU value of each CP after obtaining rewards from Swan Chain. At the same time, large nodes can also charge a certain percentage of service fees as management costs. This not only improves the profitability of large nodes, but also reduces the technical threshold and operating costs for small and medium-sized nodes to directly participate in the network, thus forming a win-win cooperation model.
Stability and growth potential of the revenue model
In addition, Swan Chain's unique dual-track revenue model has demonstrated significant advantages in different stages of network development.
Source link:https://docs.swanchain.io/core-concepts/token/swan-universal-basic-income-ubi
In the early days of the network, the main source of income for miners was UBI, which provided them with a stable economic foundation. As market orders grew, task income gradually became the main source of income for miners. This gradual transition design not only smoothed the income curve for miners, but also incentivized resource providers to participate in network construction in the long term. For example, according to existing model data, the daily income of a single RTX 4090 card is about 66 SWAN, and the hardware payback period only takes about 103 days, and as the value of the token increases, the payback period will be further shortened.
The sustainability of this revenue model is reflected in its flexible adaptation to market demand. Whether it is UBI compensation during the idle period of resources or market order income during the peak period of resource utilization, Swan Chain always provides miners with attractive economic returns while injecting momentum into the long-term development of the network.
Market potential analysis
Swan Chain's current token circulation market value is about $400 million (estimated at 0.4 USDT before the market price), which is still in its early stages of development compared to Akash's $1.65 billion, Io.net's $2.7 billion, and Aethir's $3 billion. Based on its advantages in technical design, revenue model, and market positioning, Swan Chain has room for 5 to 10 times of growth.
In addition, Swan Chain has received financing support from several well-known projects, including approximately $3 million in public funding from OP, Filecoin, and Chainlink. These funds not only strengthen its technology development capabilities, but also provide sufficient resource guarantees for further market expansion in the future.
in conclusion
In summary, Swan Chain has demonstrated a distinctive competitive advantage in the decentralized computing market. By introducing the UBI model, it effectively solves the income fluctuation problem in the traditional task bidding model and provides miners with a stable basic income guarantee. At the same time, its flexible node deployment mechanism and open access model have greatly reduced the participation threshold, allowing more users to easily join the network, contribute resources and get rewards. In addition, through the CU mechanism and revenue distribution management, Swan Chain has reached a new height in fairness and transparency, providing diversified revenue channels for participants of different sizes.
Compared with other projects, Swan Chain is particularly outstanding in terms of openness, fairness, and flexibility, creating a more optimized participation environment for users and resource providers. After the upcoming TGE, with the further development of the network and the expansion of the market, Swan Chain may become an important player in the field of decentralized computing, pushing the entire industry towards a more fair and transparent direction.