
$GRVT $PEARL’s 580% Gain Puts AI Computing Rewards in Focus
Blockchain projects are developing ways to earn revenue from AI infrastructure, with $PEARL among three examples highlighted by Grayscale on Oct. 23. Zach Pandl, head of research at the digital asset manager, examined $PEARL, $DATA Network, and USD.AI as examples of blockchain applications in AI infrastructure.
Pearl, a blockchain project focused on AI computing, aims to let graphics processing units (GPUs) perform AI tasks while simultaneously securing a proof-of-work blockchain. These chips perform many calculations in parallel. Operators could earn blockchain rewards alongside payments for AI services.
The analysis reported $PEARL’s 580% gain over three months, citing Coingecko data through Oct. 22. Pandl qualified the projects’ prospects:
Their long-term relevance will depend on adoption and competitive economics.”
Grayscale’s AI buildout snapshot: $DATA’s 280 million verified records, USD.AI’s $400 million-plus deployed, and Pearl’s 93.5% hash rate jump. Source: Grayscale.
$DATA Targets Paid Contributions to AI Training
Human-contributed photographs, videos, and voice recordings form the basis of $DATA Network’s approach to supplying material for AI development. The project is building collection, licensing, and tracking tools. Applications using its infrastructure could license datasets to AI laboratories while rewarding the individuals who supplied the information.
Training data is material that models process to learn patterns, making its quality and variety relevant to their capabilities. $DATA announced plans Oct. 12 to move its protocol, the software and rules governing its operations, to the Sui blockchain and use Walrus, a decentralized file-storage network, as its default storage layer.
USD.AI Connects Blockchain Funding With GPU Loans
Expensive computing equipment creates financing needs that USD.AI, a blockchain-based lending platform, addresses through loans secured by GPUs and their associated cash flows. Its GPU financing terms describe funding of up to 80% of deployment costs, subject to credit review and eligibility. Borrowers contribute at least 20% of the cost themselves and repay principal over three to five years.
Pooled capital can fund those loans and potentially generate returns for participants. More broadly, decentralized finance lending uses blockchain software to administer financial transactions. Participants remain exposed to borrower defaults, collateral losses, and software failures.
Institutional backing for this approach includes crypto exchange Bullish’s (NYSE: BLSH) $100 million credit facility for USD.AI, announced in August to finance GPU-backed loans. That arrangement connects stablecoin capital with physical equipment supporting AI services.
Hardware financing also underpins a $43 million hardware and financing agreement between Vertical Data and Alpha Compute Corp. (Nasdaq: ALP), then named Alphaton Capital. The April deal covered infrastructure using Nvidia’s B300, a chip model designed for AI workloads, and operational services for privacy-preserving computing.
Nvidia’s (Nasdaq: NVDA) proposed partnerships with six financial institutions target more than $500 billion for AI infrastructure over time. Announced Aug. 10 and subject to final agreements, those platforms would leave financing decisions to institutions assessing customer demand, cash flow, utilization, and residual equipment value.

$GRVT GENIUS Act implementation could shape the U.S. payment stablecoin sector and compliance expectations.
RAY, ENA, and CRV are exposed to different aspects of trading, synthetic dollars, and stablecoin liquidity.
VET and OP focus on business blockchain applications and Ethereum scaling, with adoption remaining important to monitor.
Regulatory and blockchain development continues to matter in the digital asset space. Stablecoins have been a topic of discussion again as progress on rules associated with the GENIUS Act has brought them back into focus, and BanxNetwork has revealed its intentions for its next milestone, which is also a priority to watch. Five altcoins—Raydium (RAY), Ethena (ENA), Curve DAO (CRV), VeChain (VET), and Optimism (OP)—provide examples of activity in decentralized finance, payments, supply chains, and blockchain infrastructure.
The GENIUS Act lays out a framework for U.S. federal regulation of payment stablecoins, including the requirements for issuers, reserves, and regulatory oversight. In fact, the rules are important because stablecoins power value transfers, are a medium of exchange for digital assets, and are the foundation for decentralized finance. Implementation may affect the way eligible issuers operate and the risk assessment of compliance by market participants.
Raydium (RAY) and Ethena (ENA) Reflect DeFi Activity
Raydium is a decentralized exchange operating on Solana. Raydium is a decentralized exchange (DEX) built on the Solana blockchain. It can facilitate token swaps and liquidity pools, enabling users to trade assets without the need for a centralized exchange.
Engaging trading volumes and participation from users are indicators of interest to watch for RAY. But if the demand for tokens is low or not very high, then this will affect the performance of the market even if decentralized trading is still a big part of the crypto market.
Ethena (ENA): Synthetic Dollar Demand and Derivatives Risks Shape Its Outlook
Ethena is a decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol designed around synthetic dollar products and a financial system that is based on cryptocurrencies. It is not only about traditional cash reserves, with its USDe product working on a strategy of crypto assets and derivatives.
The factors that could influence ENA's outlook include demand for ENA's products, protocol revenue, funding rate, and risk management. The performance of the system can be affected by changes in the derivatives markets, which should be considered an important factor in the system.
Curve DAO (CRV) Supports Stablecoin Liquidity
Curve is a decentralized exchange that aims to enable swaps between assets of comparable value, even stablecoins. Its liquidity pools are utilized in decentralized finance, where effective trading and reduced slippage can be essential.
The liquidity demand, protocol incentives, governance, and competition with other decentralized exchanges play a role in CRV's performance. While this could lead to greater opportunities for the sector, it does not necessarily result in an increase in demand for CRV.
VeChain (VET) Targets Business Blockchain Use
VeChain is expected to emphasize blockchain use cases for enterprises, such as supply-chain traceability and product information management. The technology is designed to enable organizations to capture and validate data throughout the commercial lifecycle.
The key areas for VET to monitor include adoption by industry, network participation, and demand for its ecosystem. Partnerships may not be responsible for building lasting value unless they result in tangible action.
Optimism (OP) Expands Ethereum Scaling
Optimism is an L2 solution to Ethereum that aims to be more cost-effective and scalable. Its technology also makes it a part of the broader Ethereum ecosystem of networks.
OP's market outlook could be influenced by transaction activity, developer adoption, competition dynamics between layer-2 networks, and token-related governance and supply-related developments. Not all tokens that are associated with the scaling solutions on Ethereum will appreciate.
Conclusion
A few themes to follow are the implementation of the GENIUS Act, BanxNetwork's reported milestone, as well as the progress made in the decentralized finance and blockchain infrastructure sectors. The different markets served by the five entities – RAY, ENA, CRV, VET, and OP – will see different performances based on project-specific progress and crypto conditions in general, and not just in relation to any single regulatory development.