State of Aethir H1 2025

Key Insights

• Aethir grew across various metrics in H1 including: revenue (+96% Q1, +16% Q2), cloud host earnings (+58% Q1, +21% Q2), buyer-driven service fees (+192% Q1, +37% Q2), cumulative staking emissions (+15% Q1, +13% Q2), and compute hours delivered (282.2M, Q2).
• In contrast, market value and staking had mixed results: ATH circulating market cap (-32.6% Q1, +20% Q2), ATH token price (-50% Q1, -7% Q2), and ATH staked in public pools (+1.9% Q1, -0.1% Q2).
• As of H1, Aethir has 150+ partners and clients, 140+ million ARR, and 430k+ GPU containers across 93 countries.
• Broader brand developments included launching ATH on Solana, integrating with EigenLayer for restaking, and launching the EigenLayer ATH Vault with eATH liquid staking. Other upgrades included Cloud Drop Season 2.0, Tokenomics 2.0 for Aethir Edge, and the Checker Node Buyback Program.
• Regarding AI, Aethir supported AI agents and RWA through its $100 million Ecosystem Fund (batches 4–6) and a new Polyhedra grant for verifiable compute. Other ecosystem initiatives included AI Unbundled, Aethir Forge, and Aethir Tribe.
• Regarding gaming, Aethir enabled browser-based GPU streaming for Doctor Who: Worlds Apart, supported Tiny Towers with AI-powered user acquisition and real-time ad targeting to enhance in-game monetization, and partnered with SACHI and Ponchiqs.

Primer

Aethir (ATH), founded in 2021, is a decentralized enterprise-grade cloud computing network that provides scalable and globally distributed GPU resources for AI, gaming, and Web3 infrastructure. It supports businesses by providing AI chips (e.g., NVIDIA H100s and NVIDIA H200s) through a decentralized architecture, making performance computing flexible and cost-efficient.

The Aethir network is built around three core components: Containers, Checkers, and Indexers. Containers are GPU endpoints where applications are executed and rewarded for maintaining readiness and providing compute services. Checkers ensure container quality by verifying liveness, rendering performance, and capacity. In return, they earn base and bonus rewards for successful validations. Indexers act as matchmakers, connecting users to suitable containers based on factors like latency and cost.

Additionally, Compute Providers supply the physical GPU hardware, earning rewards through Proof of Capacity (PoC) and Proof of Delivery (PoD), while Compute Buyers pay service fees in ATH. The network also features Aethir Edge devices - decentralized compute nodes that contribute to the overall GPU cloud. These components interact seamlessly within Aethir’s decentralized architecture to provide scalable, efficient, and low-latency computing for AI, gaming, and Web3 applications.

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Key MetricsFinancial Analysis

In the context of Aethir, revenue is earned when Compute Buyers, such as AI and gaming projects, pay for GPU sessions across its decentralized cloud network. These buyers pay service fees (settled in ATH), with costs determined by factors like container specifications, session duration, and regional pricing. Buyers may reserve containers in advance at fixed rates or use them on demand via dynamic pricing. Each compute session spans 15 minutes, with service fees routed through Aethir's onchain settlement layer. A 20% platform fee is deducted, while the remaining 80% is distributed to Compute Providers and node operators based on Proof of Capacity (PoC) and Proof of Delivery (PoD). For more detailed information, refer to this Messari report.

In Q1, Aethir generated $28.5 million in revenue, up 96.6% QoQ from $14.5 million, driven by a stronger demand from enterprise AI workloads. This continued in Q2, with revenue climbing 15.6% QoQ to $32.9 million.

In Aethir’s network, cloud host earnings consist of two primary components: (i) Proof of Delivery (PoD) and Proof of Capacity (PoC) rewards, which compensate GPU providers for compute availability and task execution, and (ii) service fees, which are directly paid by Compute Buyers for active usage. These two elements collectively form the total cloud host rewards.

In Q1, total earnings distributed to cloud hosts were 833.0 million ATH, up 58.4% QoQ from 525.8 million in Q4 2024. This growth was driven by a 192.4% increase in service fees, which rose from 163.7 million to 478.8 million ATH, reflecting heightened organic demand for on-demand GPU compute services. Meanwhile, PoD/PoC-based emission rewards dipped slightly by 2.2% QoQ, down to 354.2 million ATH. In Q2, total earnings climbed further to 1.01 billion ATH, a 21.3% QoQ increase as service fees expanded again by 37.1% QoQ, reaching 656.4 million. Notably, PoD/PoC rewards remained stable at 354.2 million ATH for the second consecutive quarter. This growing share of buyer-driven service fees indicates stronger organic demand for Aethir’s decentralized compute network and an ongoing shift toward sustainable revenue generation.

Aethir’s token generation event (TGE) occurred on Ethereum Mainnet on June 12, 2024. It has a fixed maximum token supply of 42 billion and follows a structured emissions schedule.

In line with the broader market downturn, Aethir’s circulating market cap declined 32.6% QoQ in Q1, dropping from $348.4 million at the end of Q4 to $234.9 million at the end of Q1. This trend reversed in Q2, with Aethir’s market cap rising 20.0% QoQ, increasing to $281.8 million, even as the ATH token’s price edged down another 6.6% to $0.03.

On a year-to-date basis, ATH’s market cap is still down 21.6% compared to Jan. 1, 2025 ($359.3 million), and the token’s price has fallen 55.0% YTD, reflecting persistent volatility. Notably, ATH’s market cap rank improved to 148 by the end of Q2, up from 298 in Q1.

Network Analysis

Compute hours represent the total time that GPU resources are actively running tasks for buyers, including AI training, inferencing, rendering, and other high-performance workloads. Each GPU container session is tracked in 15-minute increments, and the cumulative usage across all active sessions is aggregated to calculate the total compute hours delivered each quarter. This metric shows how much real-world work is being performed and monetized by cloud hosts and node operators who supply the underlying hardware. In Q2 alone, 282.2 million hours of compute were delivered to customers.

Aethir distributes staking emissions through dedicated Gaming and AI Pools. Staking rewards are allocated proportionally based on each participant's stake weight within the pool, meaning the more ATH staked, the higher the share of the weekly emissions. Each pool typically emits 1 million ATH per week, though emissions can increase during designated boost periods.

In Q1, total cumulative emissions reached 434.4 million ATH, up 14.9% from 378.0 million ATH in Q4 2024. In Q2, cumulative emissions rose another 13.4% QoQ to 492.4 million ATH, driven in part by the 10-week triple rewards program launched in May for both AI and Gaming pools. While emissions have continued to rise, the slower pace compared to Q4’s 144% increase indicates a more measured and programmatic emission phase moving forward.

Staking is used within Aethir’s ecosystem to incentivize good behavior and ensure service reliability across both public participants and infrastructure operators. Public staking is conducted via two main pools: the AI Pool and the Gaming Pool, where users deposit ATH tokens to earn weekly emissions based on their proportional stake weight. Unstaking initiates a lockup period of 14 days, during which tokens are non-withdrawable and ineligible for emissions. After the cooldown period, users can withdraw or restake their tokens.

Beyond public pools, cloud hosts, and Aethir Edge device operators must stake ATH to contribute GPU resources to the network. These infrastructure participants are subject to stricter conditions. Staked ATH acts as collateral tied to the quality and availability of compute services delivered by their Containers. Poor performance, extended downtime, or malicious activity can result in partial or full slashing of the stake, enforced through automated penalty mechanisms. If a Container’s configuration is modified, the network treats it as a new deployment. This requires the operator to unstake (which initiates a 180-day unlocking period) and then restake tokens under the updated parameters. While staking amounts for infrastructure providers are not included in public pool data, they represent a significant share of total ATH staked across the network.

At the end of Q1 2025, total ATH staked in the AI and Gaming Pools rose 1.9% QoQ to 666.2 million from 653.6 million at the end of Q4 2024. Specifically, the AI Pool ended Q1 at 430.7 million ATH, up 1.5% QoQ, while the Gaming Pool increased 1.9% QoQ to 235.4 million ATH.

By the end of Q2 2025, total ATH staked in these pools edged down slightly by 0.1% QoQ to 665.5 million. This was driven by a 3.0% QoQ decrease in the AI Pool to 417.8 million ATH, partly offset by a 5.2% QoQ increase in the Gaming Pool to 247.7 million ATH.

When including staking from Aethir Edge operators and Cloud Hosts, the overall ATH staked across the network is significantly higher than the public pool totals alone, underscoring the ongoing commitment from infrastructure participants.

Qualitative AnalysisCloud Drop - Airdrop 2.0

To reward early participants and incentivize ecosystem loyalty, Aethir launched Cloud Drop Season 2.0 in Q1; a targeted airdrop campaign distributing eATH tokens to Checker Node operators, ATH stakers, and Cloud Hosts.

ATH Token on Solana

Also in Q1, Aethir expanded its multichain presence by deploying the ATH token on Solana, supporting faster transactions and broadening access to Solana-native DeFi and staking integrations.

EigenLayer Partnership

In a move to enhance staking utility, Aethir announced its partnership with EigenLayer, allowing ATH holders to restake their tokens, unlocking new ways for stakers to earn yield while reinforcing the security and scalability of Aethir’s decentralized GPU cloud.

In June, the partnership advanced with the launch of the EigenLayer ATH Vault, allowing users to pre-deposit ATH and mint eATH, a liquid staking token representing their staked position. This vault creates a direct connection between community stakers and Aethir’s infrastructure, as Cloud Hosts can borrow ATH from the vault to power GPU workloads, while stakers earn rewards derived from Cloud Host service fees. The vault includes a one-year lock-up (until June 13, 2026), followed by a 30-day unstaking period, offering auto-compounded rewards to eATH holders. eATH also integrates with EigenLayer’s AVS model and is expected to gain DeFi utility post-lock.

Pendle Collaboration

To expand these staking opportunities into DeFi, Aethir also collaborated with Pendle, integrating its EigenLayer-based liquid staking token, eATH, into Pendle’s modular yield ecosystem. This move allows stakers to split eATH into Principal and Yield Tokens, unlocking DeFi strategies like looping, hedging APY fluctuations, or securing fixed yields.

Checker Node Buyback Program and Aethir Edge 2.0 Tokenomics

In Q2, Aethir launched its Checker Node Buyback Program, allowing early checker node holders to exit while helping maintain long-term network sustainability. Aethir Edge revealed its upcoming Tokenomics 2.0 upgrade, transitioning Edge owners from fixed emissions to a stake-driven, tiered rewards structure for better scalability. To close out the quarter, Aethir issued its 4th Checker Node Bonus Rewards as a surprise payout, providing node operators with additional incentives on top of daily base rewards.

Ecosystem Fund

Earlier in the year, Aethir launched a $100 million Ecosystem Fund, structured in multiple phases to support innovation in AI and gaming. Phase 1 introduced the Aethir Catalyst Program and a $10 million grant with XAI. The team also rolled out several key initiatives under the Ecosystem Fund, including a $10 million grant in partnership with XPLA Games to support AI-powered game studios and the $10 million RWAI initiative with Plume Network to connect tokenized GPUs with RWA finance.

Within these, Aethir revealed batch 4 of the $100 million Ecosystem Fund, backing AI agent projects like HeyAnonai, dFusionAI, Assisterr, Sentio, and Sperg AI, and announced batch 5, featuring ai16z-backed projects including Agent Sploots, Meme Father, Elite Agents, Kiyama, and Benjamin. In Q2, they launched batch 6, expanding into RWA and AI agent startups such as AGIXBT, Upside OS, Zoo Finance, PinLink, and UnifAI Network.

In addition to its flagship fund, Aethir partnered with Everlyn AI to launch a dedicated $5 million fund for advancing open-source video AI infrastructure, collaborated with Xsolla on a $1 million grant program for emerging game developers, and in Q2, joined forces with Polyhedra to create a separate grant program offering up to $100,000 per project for high-impact AI builders focused on verifiable compute and zero-knowledge proofs.

AI Developments

Overall, in H1 2025, Aethir deepened its position as the decentralized GPU backbone for AI, onboarding a diverse range of agent frameworks, AI-native platforms, and decentralized data systems across multiple chains.

January and February kicked off with new partnerships, including Aimonica Brands and Mode Network, alongside integrations with Supernet AI, SOON, Moemate, Raiinmaker, BADAI, DIN, AndyCoin, and CreatorBid. During this early push, Aethir also joined Avalanche’s InfraBUIDL(AI) committee and formed ties with Base, Borgpad, Perceptron Network, and the Cronos Builder Program to boost AI agent adoption. Its open-source and privacy-preserving AI focus gained momentum through partnerships with Filecoin, Secret Network, Agentlauncher, and InferiumAI.

Momentum carried into March and April as Futureverse, Ocean Protocol, Matchain, and Phron AI joined the Aethir ecosystem, alongside dFusion AI and MorphLayer, powering decentralized agent and consumer AI workloads. Mantis added a DeFAI angle by combining DeFi automation with AI on Aethir’s GPU cloud.

By May and June, platforms like Morphis, TRUNK, The NYKO Protocol, Attentions.ai, kluster.ai, Mondrian AI, and GG3 leveraged Aethir’s enterprise-grade GPUs for LLM inference, no-code frameworks, and gamified AI engagement.

Lastly, June closed with the announcement of AI Unbundled Batch 2, expanding the Web3 AI alliance to 19 teams with the addition of seven new partners. Originally launched in April, AI Unbundled aims to build a modular, verifiable backbone for AI compute and data alongside collaborators like Plume, 0G Labs, Oasis, Biconomy, Polyhedra, and Neo.

Gaming Developments

Beyond AI, Aethir continued to deepen its presence in decentralized gaming, onboarding new partners and supporting diverse projects with its enterprise-grade GPU cloud infrastructure. Specifically, in January, Aethir partnered with Arena Games to provide GPU cloud infrastructure for decentralized gaming. In February, SACHI, an iGaming metaverse project, joined the ecosystem to run its platform on Aethir’s GPU network. In March, Aethir integrated with Ponchiqs to deliver compute for multiplayer Web3 tournaments and enabled Doctor Who: Worlds Apart to run instantly in browsers without download via decentralized GPU streaming.

General Development and Growth

While AI and gaming partnerships drove much of Aethir’s ecosystem expansion in H1, the team also delivered broader initiatives spanning community programs, token infrastructure, and network incentives.

In parallel, Aethir spotlighted new strategic partners such as Plume, EigenCloud, and Return Entertainment; while several new case studies were also published to showcase real-world traction, including (i) Raiinmaker: Scaled its decentralized AI annotation network with Aethir’s GPUs, handling high-volume model training, validation, and onchain reputation scoring; (ii) Inferium: Ran verifiable AI inference at scale on Aethir’s bare-metal GPUs, ensuring transparent model performance with dynamic, cost-efficient compute; (iii) OpenLedger: Used Aethir’s GPU clusters to deploy thousands of LoRA AI models dynamically, cutting costs and boosting specialized inference efficiency; (iv) Doctor Who: Streamed AI-powered gameplay and user interactions for Doctor Who: Worlds Apart via Aethir’s low-latency GPU cloud, improving funnel efficiency, and; (v) Tiny Towers: Leveraged Aethir’s decentralized GPUs to run AI-driven user acquisition campaigns and real-time ad targeting for better in-game monetization. Other general developments and ecosystem growth are summarized in the monthly breakdown below:

January

• MetaStreet launched Yield Pass, a financial tool allowing users to tokenize emissions from Aethir Checker Nodes.
• Onboarded SuiDePIN to the Catalyst Grant Program, offering up to 60% compute cost savings and access to 430,000+ GPU containers.
• Formed a GPU tokenization pilot on BNB Chain with GAIB, targeting a $1 billion rollout.
• Launched the Aethir Edge Airdrop Program with TrinityPad, offering $200,000 in TNT rewards.
• HardwareDAO partnered with Aethir to power its decentralized GPU cluster.
• Rolled out AUSD, a stablecoin backed by locked ATH, for predictable GPU pricing.
• AiXBT launched the Jeni Terminal on Aethir’s decentralized GPU infrastructure.

February

• Partnered with AIWS and APhone to build a full-stack AI agent execution framework.
• Partnered with Core DAO to support Bitcoin-based AI use cases via the Commit Program.
• Launched Aethir Forge to engage community leaders and builders via grassroots initiatives.
• Became the exclusive GPU partner of B² Network, bringing over 430,000 GPUs to Bitcoin use cases.

March

• Launched Season 3: The Final Ascension, introducing new referral, social, and community-based engagement systems.
• Partnered with Sophon to combine decentralized GPU infrastructure and onchain job verification.
• Parasail spotlighted its Aethir integration and introduced pATH, a liquid staking token for GPU staking.

April

• Aethir was featured in Binance's second vote-to-list campaign.
• ATH was listed on Binance Alpha.
• Aethir was featured in Binance Research’s Crypto Insights Report under the ‘Infrastructure – Computing’ category.

May

• Aethir partnered with Token Terminal to provide real-time, standardized analytics on key network metrics and revenue trends.
• dFusion AI joined Aethir’s EcoDrop program, offering subnet sale perks and monthly token rewards to Aethir stakers supporting its decentralized AI knowledge base.

June

• Tashi Protocol partnered with Aethir Edge to run its Alpha Testnet Node Launch on Aethir’s decentralized GPU infrastructure, showcasing low-latency Edge Consensus workloads.
• Aethir launched Aethir Tribe, a grassroots micro-KOL ambassador program to onboard thousands of community members as content creators and ecosystem promoters.

Closing Summary

Q1 was marked by a broad downturn across crypto markets, with Ethereum and Bitcoin seeing circulating market cap declines of -45.2% and -11.4% QoQ, respectively. Against this backdrop, Aethir’s ATH token similarly faced market headwinds: its circulating market cap fell -32.6% QoQ to $234.8 million, accompanied by a 51.5% QoQ drop in ATH’s price. Despite this, Aethir delivered strong network and financial performance in Q1, with revenue up 96.4% QoQ to $28.5 million, driven by a 192.4% QoQ increase in buyer-driven service fees. Total cloud host earnings rose 58.40% QoQ to $833.0 million, and cumulative staking emissions increased 14.9% QoQ to 434.4 million ATH. The total ATH staked in public pools ticked up 1.9% QoQ, ending Q1 at 666.2 million ATH.

In Q2, the broader crypto market rebounded as Ethereum’s market cap climbed 36.5% QoQ and Bitcoin’s rose 30.20% QoQ, supported by renewed institutional flows and stronger sentiment. In line with this, Aethir’s circulating market cap recovered 20.00% QoQ to $281.8 million, although the ATH token price edged down -6.6% QoQ, extending its YTD decline to -55.0%. On the operational side, network growth remained steady: revenue grew 15.60% QoQ to $32.9 million, cloud host earnings rose 21.3% QoQ to $1.01 billion, and buyer-driven service fees expanded 37.1% QoQ, reinforcing strong enterprise demand for Aethir’s decentralized GPU cloud. Compute hours delivered reached 282.2 million in Q2, while cumulative staking emissions increased 13.4% QoQ, driven partly by the 10-week triple rewards program. Total ATH staked in public pools ended Q2 at 665.5 million ATH, edging down slightly by -0.10% QoQ, as a 3.0% QoQ decline in the AI Pool was partially offset by a 5.2% increase in the Gaming Pool.

Qualitatively, Aethir continued to advance its GPU cloud ecosystem through major partnerships, protocol upgrades, and ecosystem incentives. On the AI front, deployments included Ocean Protocol and Futureverse, as well as integrations with agent frameworks like Inferium, Moemate, and Perceptron. In gaming, Aethir onboarded Arena Games, SACHI, and Ponchiqs and enabled browser-based GPU streaming for Doctor Who: Worlds Apart. The $100 million Ecosystem Fund expanded with batches 4–6, plus new grants with Polyhedra, Everlyn AI, and Xsolla. Infrastructure improvements like the EigenLayer restaking integration and the EigenLayer ATH vault, Cloud Drop Season 2.0, Tokenomics 2.0 for Edge, and the Checker Node Buyback Program reinforced Aethir’s commitment to sustainable growth.

Despite broader market volatility, Aethir’s solid execution and network-driven fundamentals in H1 2025 highlight its progress toward becoming a global decentralized GPU backbone for AI, gaming, and Web3 workloads.