What is Gonka AI? The “Bitcoin for AI” Revolutionizing Decentralized Compute

Imagine a world where AI isn’t locked behind the paywalls of tech giants like AWS or Google Cloud. Where anyone with a high-end GPU can contribute to the next big breakthrough — and get rewarded for it. That’s the promise of Gonka AI, a decentralized network that’s turning heads in the Web3 space. Often dubbed the “Bitcoin for AI”, Gonka democratizes compute power, slashing costs and breaking Big Tech’s monopoly.

In this deep dive, we’ll explore what Gonka really is, the problems it’s solving, the team driving it forward, and why it’s a must-watch in the booming DeAI ecosystem. Whether you’re a developer, investor, or crypto enthusiast, buckle up — this could be the infrastructure play of 2026.

The AI Compute Crisis: Why We Need Gonka Now

By 2026, AI has exploded into one of tech’s hungriest beasts. Training a single state-of-the-art model? Think millions of dollars in GPU rentals. Renting just one NVIDIA H100 for a month? Easily $20,000+. Add in global chip shortages, and suddenly, only the Googles and OpenAIs of the world can play.

Enter Gonka AI: a fully decentralized platform for AI inference (querying models in real-time) and LLM training. It pools thousands of idle GPUs worldwide into a single, efficient network — competing head-on with centralized clouds at 50–70% lower costs.

The Big Three Problems Gonka Tackles

• Skyrocketing Expenses: No more million-dollar bills for model training — Gonka’s peer-to-peer model spreads the load.
• GPU Drought: Why beg Nvidia for chips when everyday users can lend theirs and earn?
• Big Tech Gatekeeping: Centralized platforms hoard data and control access. Gonka flips the script with open, trustless compute.

For the full scoop on why decentralized compute is the 2025–2026 trend, check out this insightful Forbes piece. And head to the official Gonka site to see it in action.

Gonka’s magic lies in its simple ecosystem: three roles keep everything humming.

• Hosts: GPU owners who plug in hardware and run tasks, earning rewards.
• Developers: AI builders who deploy apps and pay (affordably) for compute.
• Users: Everyday folks using smarter chatbots, APIs, and tools powered by the network.

What sets it apart? Proof of Work 2.0 — or “Sprint.” Forget Bitcoin’s energy-wasting hashes. Here, every joule fuels real AI jobs, making ~100% of compute truly productive.

Meet the Visionaries: The Liberman Brothers

Behind Gonka are brothers David and Daniil Liberman, Silicon Valley serial entrepreneurs who’ve already cashed in big on tech exits.

Back in 2016, they bootstrapped Kernel AR — an augmented reality startup snapped up by Snap Inc. for $30–40 million in record time. Fast-forward, and they launched Product Science, an AI-driven mobile optimization firm backed by heavyweights like Coatue Management (early OpenAI backers) and Slow Ventures.

Their secret sauce? Hands-on expertise in distributed systems and AI scaling. As Daniil put it in a January 2026 U.Today interview:

Smartly, the team shuns top-down control, gradually empowering the community through on-chain governance. No rug pulls here — just pure, collaborative innovation.

Gonka’s Tech Stack: Blockchain Meets AI at Scale

At its core, Gonka is an L1 blockchain powered by Cosmos SDK — delivering lightning-fast throughput, dirt-cheap fees, and easy cross-chain bridges via IBC.

The fuel? GNK token, handling everything from compute payments to staking and votes. Dive into the whitepaper for the nitty-gritty on its modified Proof of Work consensus: nodes “sprint” to solve AI challenges, turning mining into meaningful progress.

It’s not just hype — Gonka’s mainnet is live, processing real workloads with zero downtime.

How Gonka Stacks Up: A Quick Competitor Rundown

DeAI is heating up, but Gonka carves its niche with laser-focused utility. Here’s how it compares:

• Bittensor (TAO): A marketplace for competing AI models — great for intelligence trading, but less emphasis on raw compute.
• Render (RNDR): GPU sharing for rendering and AI tasks — solid for visuals, but Gonka goes broader with full LLM support.
• Akash Network: Decentralized cloud rentals — affordable, but not AI-optimized like Gonka’s Sprint.
• io.net: Pure GPU marketplace — efficient matching, yet lacks Gonka’s built-in PoW incentives.

Big moves elsewhere? Telegram’s TON rolled out COCOON in late 2025 — a privacy-first AI compute layer on TON blockchain, letting GPU holders earn while keeping data locked down. Tether’s QVAC pushes edge AI on user devices, dodging clouds entirely with a massive 20,000+ GPU buildout.

Gonka? It shines with useful PoW (no wasted energy) and has onboarded 6,000+ H100-equivalent GPUs post-mainnet. Efficiency meets scale.

Mining GNK: Turn Your GPU into an AI Powerhouse

Forget speculative mining — GNK rewards real value. Hosts supply GPUs for inference, fine-tuning, or training, earning tokens based on output quality.

Step by step:

1. Connect your rig (H100, A100, Blackwell recommended).
2. Grab a network task.
3. Crunch the data.
4. Validators confirm via crypto proofs.
5. Claim your GNK.

Validators stake GNK to audit and earn cuts. Pro tip: Trade GNK seamlessly on HeX Exchange — a DEX with orderbooks for P2P deals.

Why HeX?

• Top prices (no middlemen).
• No KYC hassle.
• 50% referral commissions.
• Secure escrow + full decentralization.

It’s the go-to for secondary market plays without the CEX drama.

Tokenomics Breakdown: Fair, Sustainable, Scalable

Straight from the official docs:

• Total Supply: 1,000,000,000 GNK
• Breakdown:
• ~40% to miners/hosts (for actual work)
• ~20% ecosystem & dev grants
• ~15% team (long-term vesting)
• ~10% early backers
• ~15% liquidity/reserves

Vesting on miner rewards (3–6 months) curbs dumps, fostering long-term holders. It’s Bitcoin-inspired but AI-native.

The Money Trail: $80M and Counting

Gonka’s traction? Undeniable. Total raised: $80 million as of early 2026.

• 2023 Seed: $18M from Coatue, Slow Ventures, K5.
• Nov 2025: $12M Bitfury round (20M GNK at $0.60).
• Dec 2025: $50M from Bitfury Capital — first draw from their $1B ethical AI fund.

Bitfury, mining titans, see Gonka as compute’s future. With that firepower, expect rapid scaling.

Why Gonka Could Dominate DeAI in 2026

Gonka isn’t just another crypto moonshot — it’s infrastructure for the AI explosion. With a battle-tested team, efficient tech, and real-world utility, it’s primed to capture a slice of the $50B+ DeAI market by 2030.

Ready to join? Fire up your GPU as a host, build on it as a dev, or snag GNK on HeX. What’s your move — mine, build, or invest?

Official site: gonka.ai

Decentralized projects thrive on community. Diving into DeAI? Connect with like-minded folks in spaces like HOT Wallet (on NEAR) — where pros share tips on networks just like Gonka:

• Reddit discussions
• YouTube video guides
• X news & chats
• Instagram quick tips
• Telegram updates
• Medium deep dives
• Download HOT Wallet

What excites you most about Gonka? Drop a clap if you’re bullish on DeAI, and follow for more Web3 breakdowns. Let’s build the open AI future together.

Tags: #DeAI #GonkaAI #Blockchain #Web3 #CryptoInvesting #AI #Tokenomics#HeX#HotWallet

What is Gonka AI? The “Bitcoin for AI” Revolutionizing Decentralized Compute was originally published in Coinmonks on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.