What is Acurast? A comprehensive overview of the DePIN star and its ACU token price outlook

Today, on January 20, 2026, the highly anticipated project Acurast in the decentralized physical infrastructure network (DePIN) track reached a milestone—mainnet launch and token generation event (TGE).

This marks the official market entry of its native functional token ACU. As one of the official partner exchanges, Gate has also listed ACU for trading.

01 Acurast Project Overview: Redefining Cloud Computing

Acurast is a Layer 1 blockchain project aimed at revolutionizing traditional cloud computing. It belongs to the popular DePIN (Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Network) track but has a very unique entry point: utilizing idle computing resources from smartphones worldwide to build a decentralized cloud computing platform.

Its core vision is to challenge centralized cloud service giants like Amazon AWS and Google Cloud.

You no longer need expensive data center servers; in theory, any smartphone (Android or iPhone) can become a “processor” node in the Acurast network, contributing idle computing power and earning rewards.

02 Technical Architecture and Core Advantages

Acurast’s technical architecture adopts a modular design, mainly divided into the consensus layer, execution layer, and application layer, aiming to achieve secure, verifiable, and efficient decentralized computing.

The consensus layer is the foundation of the entire network, using a variant of the Nominated Proof of Stake (NPoS) algorithm, with a built-in “Reputation Engine.” This engine dynamically adjusts the reputation scores of processors (i.e., mobile nodes) based on their successful task completion, incentivizing honest behavior and ensuring overall network reliability.

The execution layer embodies the modular design, allowing developers to choose runtime environments based on different application needs.

Two key components are: Acurast Secure Hardware Runtime (ASHR) and Acurast Zero-Knowledge Runtime (AZKR). ASHR uses hardware security modules (like TEE) embedded in smartphones to ensure the confidentiality and integrity of computations.

AZKR leverages zero-knowledge proof technology to verify the correctness of computations without exposing raw data, enabling applications requiring high privacy.

Before the mainnet launch, the Acurast testnet has achieved impressive results: attracting over 165,000 computing units (phones), with a network spanning more than 140 countries worldwide, processing over 250 million transactions in total.

This has accumulated valuable practical data for its stable mainnet operation.

03 ACU Token Economics and Market Dynamics

ACU is the native functional token of the Acurast network, with a total supply of 1 billion tokens. Its economic model revolves around network security, incentives, and governance.

According to the official token distribution plan, the main uses of ACU include: staking to earn network rewards, paying for decentralized computing services, and participating in on-chain governance voting.

Table: Initial ACU Token Distribution Overview

Before TGE, users contributed computing power through participation in the testnet and received points rewards, divided into cACU and MIST.

cACU can be exchanged for ACU mainnet tokens at a specific ratio in the future, while MIST points measure user participation and ranking in the “Cloud Rebellion” community activities.

Token Listing and Price Data (as of January 20, 2026)

ACU officially began trading today (January 20, 2026) on multiple exchanges. According to public information, Binance Alpha was the first platform to list ACU.

It is important to note that, as a newly listed asset, ACU’s price may experience significant volatility initially, and prices across different platforms may vary.

Therefore, for users interested in real-time market data, the most accurate approach is to visit the official trading page of Gate exchange to obtain the latest prices, trading volume, and depth data.

04 Ecosystem Applications, Partners, and Funding Background

Acurast is not only an independent blockchain but also an interoperable decentralized computing layer. It can support existing Web2 applications and all Web3 applications within the ecosystem.

Its potential application scenarios are broad, including but not limited to: privacy-preserving AI model training and inference, decentralized data scraping and analysis, blockchain indexing, social monitoring, and serving as an Oracle service provider.

The project has received funding from multiple foundations and completed two major funding rounds in 2025: a $5.4 million public offering round and a $11 million investment, demonstrating capital market recognition of its vision.

05 Future Outlook and Risk Considerations

Acurast’s future development roadmap is clear. After the mainnet launch, the project will focus on advancing new reward and pricing systems, staking, and economic security mechanisms.

Its long-term goal is to delve into AI computing and explore new scenarios for decentralized AI computation.

However, investing in innovative projects also involves risks that need to be clearly understood:

First, technical stability risk: relying on individual smartphones for computing power may be affected by device performance, network conditions, and online uptime, leading to fluctuations in available resources.

Second, market competition risk: DePIN and decentralized computing are highly competitive fields. Acurast needs to continuously attract and retain enough computing providers and developers to build a strong network effect.

Finally, token economic risk: as a newly listed asset, ACU’s price may experience significant fluctuations due to market sentiment, circulation volume, and the effectiveness of incentive models.

Investors should thoroughly study the project’s whitepaper, technical documentation, and risk disclosures (including its MiCA-compliant whitepaper) before participating.

Future Outlook

As ACU begins trading on Gate and other exchanges, Acurast’s ecosystem enters a new phase. A community of over 75,000 “Cloud Rebels” worldwide is driving the expansion of this smartphone-based cloud computing network.

In the future, when you check ACU prices on Gate, behind the price fluctuations is a decentralized symphony played by hundreds of thousands of smartphones worldwide.