Nodes for sale: This is the latest innovation in the blockchain industry. It’s not about the technology, it’s about how to raise cash from investors. “Node sales” involves selling blockchain nodes directly to investors. This process is ostensibly one that brings in quick cash while giving projects an easy path to decentralization. Although still a relatively new phenomenon in fast-moving cryptocurrencies, it is becoming more common. His distributed GPU cloud infrastructure provider Aethir revealed last week that it distributed licenses for more than 73,000 nodes of his worth over 41,000 ETH ($126 million). Other blockchain projects raising funds through node sales include CARV, XAI Games, and Powerloom. Recently introduced to the market is Sophon. Sophon is an entertainment-focused blockchain ecosystem based on zkSync technology and relies on his Celestia for data. Despite the semi-anonymity of the project’s founder, he has amassed more than $60 million in node sales in the past week. Certain mechanics of sales, such as a tiered system where the price increases as more nodes are sold, or the use of exclusive whitelists to reserve early spots for certain users, can reduce the fear of missing out, i.e. It seems designed to fuel his FOMO. “Buyers want to get quality projects,” said Calvin Chu, a former Binance researcher who helped launch Impossible Finance. As with many crypto-related investments, buyers also hope to earn a large yield in the form of token rewards and possibly qualify for an eventual token airdrop.
