Aleph.im is a DePIN (Decentralised Physical Infrastructure) project founded in 2019 by Johnathan Schemoul and Claudio Pascariello with the goal of disrupting the current cloud storage model by leveraging the value proposition of blockchain technology. To achieve this, they have built a cross-chain layer-2 network that provides a fully decentralised and trustless infrastructure solution for data storage, indexing, and computing.
Source: Aleph.im
The full tech stack of Aleph.im comprises various products:
One significant aspect of Aleph.im is its focus on interoperability and cross-chain functionalities. As such, the network already integrates with various blockchains, including Ethereum, Solana, Avalanche, Cosmos, BNB chain, or Polkadot. This enables any project building on these platforms to integrate with the different components of Aleph.im in a seamless and efficient manner.
In the beginning of 2024, Aleph.im launched its all in one decentralised cloud marketplace, Twentysix Cloud. This is the platform where all the tech stack of the Aleph.im network is available. From storage, to computing, or Indexing it aims to become the one stop shop of excellence for everything related to cloud services. Built on the Avalanche C-chain, Twentysix Cloud operates on a Pay-As-You-Go (PAYG) model, offering users the flexibility to pay only for the resources they use. This approach leads to lower costs due to the distributed nature of resources. Payments can be made in ALEPH, the native token of the network, or in stablecoins.
Source: Twentysix Cloud
The biggest problem of a new blockchain project is to overcome the "cold start" problem. In other words, how to attract enough contributors and users to make the network intrinsically useful and self-sufficient. In this regard, Aleph.im is still relatively small and nascent, but it is slowly gaining traction.
Core nodes play a key role in network security, functionality, and governance. To run a node, a commitment of at least 200,000 ALEPH is required. As of writing, there are 107 nodes in total, with 95 active ones.
Source: Aleph.im
Compute nodes are decentralised computing infrastructure components that form a vital part of the Aleph.im network. These nodes work collectively to provide distributed and secure computing power, storage, and other resources to users and applications on the platform. In return for their contributions, node operators are rewarded with ALEPH tokens, creating an incentive system for maintaining a healthy and robust ecosystem.
Currently, the total network resources are composed of 659 nodes, equivalent to 8,964 CPUs (Central Processing Units), 35.36 TB of RAM, and 450.73 TB of HDD (hard disk drive).
Source: Aleph.im
The team behind Aleph.im comprises 14 core members and a group of advisors with strong backgrounds in tech, business development, and entrepreneurship. Here is a breakdown of the main leadership roles:
Moreover, Aleph.im managed to raise $10 million in January 2022 in a funding round led by Stratos technologies and other investors such as NOIA capital, Rarestone capital or TRGC. It is also worth noting that Aleph.im even secured partnerships with industry giants like Ubisoft.
Source: Cryptorank
Aleph.im's token, ALEPH, is central in the network's economy. The total supply of ALEPH tokens is fixed at 500 million, and this was the initial theoretical distribution of ALEPH:
Source: Aleph.im
The demand for ALEPH tokens is driven by the usage of the network’s services.
As more developers and users engage with aleph.im for decentralised storage, computing, and other functionalities, the demand for ALEPH tokens increases, potentially driving up their value. Conversely, the staking and incentive mechanisms ensure a steady distribution of tokens within the ecosystem, promoting network stability and growth.
As of writing, ALEPH fully diluted valuation (FDV) is around $105 million and with a current float of 37% of its total supply. In the beginning of the bull run, Aleph has had a strong performance, up over 600% from its October 2023 lows to reach a cycle high of $0.4575 in March 2024. Since then, ALEPH has been correcting in line with the general altcoins market, and it is near an important support level around the $0.136-0.142 zone.
Source: Tradingview (as of 02/08/2024)
Aleph.im is a work in progress and the project roadmap is full. Here are some of the plans for the future:
The future of the cloud should be open, transparent, and community-driven. Decentralisation is the only way that makes that possible. This is what Alpeh.im aims to embody, and this is the “why” behind their roadmap.
Aleph.im is part of the DePIN (Decentralised Physical Infrastructure) narrative and on a longer timeframe, its performance is expected to be partly related to the hype generated by this sector. On that note, we see that DePIN has quietly had a huge growth in mindshare since the end of 2023, and this trend is expected to continue.
Source: Kaito
At its core, DePIN promises to replace monopolised cloud institutions with a better model based on decentralised blockchain technology. For cloud storage, this brings numerous benefits to the table:
Source: Binance Research
When comparing Aleph.im performance relative to different DePIN projects specialized in cloud storage or computing, this is what we get:
Source: Coingecko (as of 02/08/2024)