iExec has released its blockchain-based decentralized cloud marketplace. For the first time ever, it is now possible to trade computing power on a dedicated market just like any other commodity. Four cloud providers, TFCloud, Stimergy, Cloud&Heat, and Nerdalize have already announced their participation in this network.
The marketplace allows application developers to access affordable, secure and scalable computing power on-demand. Each transaction between buyers and sellers is securely audited and certified by the Proof-of-Contribution algorithm, which verifies every off-chain computation executed.
A decentralized marketplace for computing power
Emerging applications in the fields of artificial intelligence, big data, fintech, and IoT are radically transforming every walk of life. The world is in the midst of a technological transition that will enhance our existence in unprecedented ways. However, these 21st-century trends all have one thing in common: their ever-growing needs in computing power. Meeting this colossal demand while maintaining an affordable supply is the great challenge faced by the entire IT industry.
iExec creates a new paradigm for cloud computing: a global and open market where computing power is traded like a commodity. Comparably to the oil market, the iExec marketplace offers a uniform and standardized access to computing resources, regardless of their provider. At any given moment, the market is able to give customers access to a large capacity of computing power at the best rate.
Because the marketplace is decentralized, the barriers to entry are extremely low and anyone can join in. Participants can set their own prices in a peer-to-peer market where iExec does not take any fees. The marketplace relies on state-of-the-art blockchain technologies, which offer a high level of trust and traceability. Today, the iExec team has released this marketplace on the Ethereum blockchain, on which RLC tokens can be used as a means of payment.
Monetizing cloud resources and earning RLC tokens
On this marketplace, applications and users place “work orders” for their computations to be executed based on certain pre-selected categories. Similarly, cloud providers place a sell order defining the price at which they are willing to execute computations. iExec has secured several key partnerships with “Green IT” cloud providers like Stimergy, Cloud&Heat, and Nerdalize, as well as with the major Chinese provider TFCloud. While these providers will be the first “workers” when the curtain comes down on the platform, more will be unveiled and soon any individual will be able to join the marketplace and earn RLC tokens.
During Blockshow Europe in Berlin, the team revealed details on the technologies powering this marketplace: public and private worker pools, a scheduler per pool to manage and organize machine contributions, a new pricing model labeled “pay-per-task” that allows providers to unify resources despite their heterogeneous offers, and finally Proof-of-Contribution (PoCo), a new consensus algorithm for the verification of off-chain computations, ensuring trust on a decentralized marketplace.
Meanwhile, iExec is continuing its ambitious cybersecurity research program, whose first results with Intel were presented during Consensus 2018 in NYC. The startup is also currently being accelerated by Ubisoft at Station F in Paris, the world’s largest startup campus. To celebrate its recent deployment, iExec will organize a “Worker Contest”, where RLC tokens will be distributed to the first individuals sharing their machines on the iExec network. Stay tuned to our social channels for more details on this upcoming event.