DePIN: Introducing PKT and the PKT Network

PKT is a decentralized physical infrastructure (DePIN) ecosystem built to support the decentralized web.

TL;DR

• The PKT blockchain launched in August 2019 with its native coin of the same name.

• The PKT blockchain financially incentivizes people to build and support the PKT Network using their unused bandwidth.

• The PKT Network is a high speed, end-to-end encrypted wifi mesh network powered by the people.

• PKT Network enables censorship-resistant websites to be built, where the web URL is also a payment address. This creates an integrated payment system built into the network.

• Websites built in PKT Network are reachable from traditional web browsers or peer-to-peer.

• There are over 50,000 miners who have mined PKT around the world.

• PKT is a clone of the Bitcoin codebase. It uses the world’s first and only bandwidth-based proof-of-work called PacketCrypt for consensus.

• PKT has near-zero blockchain transaction gas fees.

• PKT has a limit of 6 billion PKT coins, with ~4.8 billion coins mined. As of writing, the remaining 1.2 billion coins will take an estimated 59 years to mine.

• PKT was fair mine, with no pre-mine, no coin offering, no founder shares, and no investor shares. 

• PKT was launched by PKT lead dev Caleb James DeLisle who is the inventor of cjdns and a renowned security analyst, cryptographer and mesh networking expert.

PKT refers to both the PKT Network and its native coin. It is a decentralized physical infrastructure (DePIN) blockchain and wifi mesh network that launched on August 19, 2019. The PKT cryptocurrency is a community coin with no central server infrastructure, company, or foundation. It is currently trading on the BitMart exchange with new listings planned for 2024. There is also a wrapped PKT (WPKT) trading on PancakeSwap through Binance Smart Chain (BSC).

PKT has gained significant attention in the cryptosphere from its focus on expanding internet access and powering the decentralized web. This article examines what makes PKT an important project in the world today.

What is the PKT Network?

PKT is a layer-1 blockchain that supports the PKT Network. As a layer-1, this means its validation system is not reliant on any other blockchain for consensus. 

The PKT Network is powered by PKT miners who run the PacketCrypt mining code from any computer. This mining effort establishes the PKT Network and decentralizes its physical infrastructure (in the same way that mining Bitcoin supports the Bitcoin network).

The PKT Network is designed to decentralize internet access, so anyone can own and operate a piece of the internet. With PKT technology, any individual or business can become an Internet Service Provider (ISP) using their own physical infrastructure to get people online with wifi mesh networking. 

How does the PKT Network work?

PKT miners are economically incentivized to connect their bandwidth and CPU power to the PKT Network. Higher rewards are earned from high CPU encryption and maximum bandwidth between miners. 

PKT miners are also incentivized to run mesh networking software called cjdns, which establishes the peer-to-peer PKT Network. The PKT Network is a censorship resistant ecosystem and tech stack where people can build censorship resistant websites and provide decentralized high speed online access using wifi access points.

What is PKT Cash?

PKT Cash (PKT) is the native coin of the PKT blockchain. PKT has real world use cases, such as paying for guest wifi, residential internet access, payments high speed VPN, and transacting in the PKT Network’s decentralized web. Additionally, PKT is used for on-chain governance, voting and gas fees.

The 2019 launch of the PKT blockchain was a fair-mine with no pre-mine, no coin offering, no founder shares, and no investor shares. PKT has a limit of 6 billion PKT coins, with ~4.8 billion coins mined as of writing. The remaining 1.2 billion coins are estimated to take 59 more years to mine. Mining is possible from any computer connected to the internet.

Why is PKT in the News?

PKT Network is globally accessible without centralized servers or gatekeepers. PKT’s focus is centered around scaling the decentralized web and enabling internet access through wifi mesh networking. 

This innovative approach changes the way people access and use the internet. For example, anyone with an internet connection from a traditional ISP, or a Starlink terminal, can use PKT technology to safely share internet access via wifi. 

PKT wifi access points create a local area mesh network that safely gets people online for free, without requiring password. As of publication date, PKT technology has assisted more than 10,000 people securely access the internet.

Another PKT advancement is enabling people to set up peer-to-peer websites in the PKT Network. These websites are both accessible from web browsers, as well as peer-to-peer within the PKT Network. They can use the PKT Network’s native IPv6 URLs or traditional DNS web naming.

PKT Network websites can also use their IPv6 web URL as a payment address. This innovation simplifies ecommerce by combining native payments into the network layer with near-zero fees. This payment solution also eliminates the requirement for web operators to use a 3rd party payment processor or bank account to process ecommerce payments.

A major upcoming update will enable PKT payments to be processed using PKT Lightning Network. This will support maximum scalability with near-instantaneous settlement and near-limitless transactions per second. 

Conclusion

At a time when traditional ISP’s face scrutiny for data throttling and censorship, PKT is a DePIN project that supports the scaling of the decentralized web and expanding internet access. PKT is leading the way in changing the way people get online and use the internet to access digital content and ecommerce.

The demand for online access and high speed bandwidth shows no signs of abating. PKT’s unique approach to decentralized infrastructure positions PKT with significant potential for mass adoption. Additionally, as digital freedom becomes increasingly important, PKT’s innovative approach stands ready to meet the needs for online access and censorship-resistance head-on.

To learn more about PKT and the PKT Network visit https://pkt.cash