Leasing has decreased but profits remain stable... Messari's research focuses on Akashi's "AI-driven transformation".

In the second quarter of 2025, the activity of the decentralized cloud computing protocol Akash (AKT) showed a polarized trend. A recent report published by Messari Research indicates that although the number of leases plummeted by 59% month-over-month, revenue priced in AKT actually increased due to a high-value-oriented usage model. This suggests that the proportion of long-term resource-intensive deployments based on AI and enterprise demand is continuously rising within the Akash platform.

Specifically, the total rental volume of Akash decreased from 46,000 transactions in the first quarter to 19,000 transactions in the second quarter, but the rental income during the same period only dropped from $1 million to $820,000, with a decrease controlled at 20%. Messari Research points out that the increase in the deployment of high-value AI workloads driven by GPUs is the main influencing factor. It is worth noting that while the network fee income priced in AKT rose by 13%, the dollar-denominated income actually decreased by 27% due to the drop in AKT price ($1.16 → $1.05).

The resource usage metrics of Akash have also shown changes. CPU usage rose by 14%, reflecting stable demand from small users and non-AI workloads. Although GPU usage plummeted by 33%, efficiency metrics improved, with utilization reaching a peak of 57% at the end of June. Storage usage surged by 41% due to the expansion of integration with decentralization storage projects, while RAM saw a slight decline due to the contraction of GPU workloads.

The network also encountered congestion incidents caused by malicious spam transactions. A large-scale attack at the end of March led the platform to urgently implement console registration restrictions and an increase in transaction fees, which affected normal users' participation in the short term. Messari Research analysis believes that these external factors partially contributed to the sharp decline in the number of leases.

The supply side continues to maintain a slight rise. With the launch of the supplier console that lowers the entry threshold, the number of active suppliers increased to 71 by the end of the second quarter. The GPU NFT experiment conducted by Silicon.net achieved approximately 58,000 USDC in revenue distribution, confirming the feasibility of the supplier economic model.

Governance activities are also thriving. The community has passed 8 proposals, covering community reward programs, global events, and core infrastructure upgrades, including $1.33 million in funding support approved for Overclock Labs. In terms of community building, the internal testing project has attracted 61 participants from 18 countries worldwide, continuously expanding its influence.

The AI ecosystem has upgraded its platform capabilities through the addition of multiple partnerships. The integration with projects such as Gensyn, Morpheus, Saga, and Envision Labs has strengthened Akash's positioning as an AI agent and reinforcement learning support infrastructure. As a result, Akash was selected for Grayscale's “AI Tools and Resources Index” in May 2025 and entered the Coinbase 50 Index in June, achieving a leap in institutional credibility.

Overall, Akash presents a subtle duality of quantity contraction and quality improvement in the second quarter of 2025. Although the number of leases has decreased, high-value AI core workloads ensure revenue stability, and the AKT pricing metrics perform robustly overall. Messari Research interprets this shift as a sign that the decentralized cloud computing market is strategically repositioning from mere user expansion to high-value AI infrastructure.