iExec is a blockchain platform providing secure confidential computing for AI and DePIN with privacy-focused tools and asset monetization.
Introduction
The launch of ChatGPT in November 2022 marked a significant moment in the AI space, propelling AI from a relative niche tech subsector into the global spotlight. OpenAI's conversational AI application quickly gained traction all around the world, amassing one million users within just five days of its public release. This placed ChatGPT as one of the fastest-growing applications of all time, only behind Meta’s Threads.
ChatGPT remains one of the fastest applications to reach a million users
ChatGPT's intuitive user interface democratized access to sophisticated AI capabilities, empowering anyone and everyone to generate content, solve problems, and automate their daily lives. What began as a viral sensation evolved into a technological revolution, with their user base expanding to approximately 400 million weekly active users today.
Alongside this adoption, tech giants accelerated their AI development and deployment, venture capital raced into AI startups, and organizations across sectors scrambled to push for the integration of AI into their operations and products.
The cryptocurrency sector was no exception, and sought to integrate AI and crypto. Some common use cases included the decentralization of a currently highly centralized AI industry, the provision for decentralized compute, which became a highly sought-after commodity, and projects focusing on data privacy in the AI age.
One such crypto project building on the intersection of AI and Crypto is iExec.
iExec is focused on two main products: the iExec Protocol and iExec tools. The iExec Protocol is a decentralized resource marketplace to facilitate the provision of valuable resources to their respective users at a fair price, while the iExec Tools are a suite of tools to enable the processing and monetization of data while protecting their data’s privacy. In short, iExec is a one-stop shop for blockchain-based cloud computing.
Let’s dive into how this works.
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What Is iExec?
The iExec protocol is an open-source, decentralized project built on the Ethereum blockchain. The protocol was founded in October 2016 by Giles Fedark and Haiwu He in Lyon, France. The project sought to provide decentralized cloud computing services, competing against the likes of Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft Azure.
The Trust Layer for DePIN and AI:
Today, iExec enables confidential computing and trusted off-chain execution with its decentralized TEE-based CPU and GPU infrastructure.
For Developers: iExec offers tools and resources for developers to create and monetize privacy-preserving applications across AI, DeFi, and big data.
Asset Monetization: Through the iExec RLC token, ecosystem participants control, protect, and monetize their digital assets, such as computing power, applications, AI models, datasets, or personal data,. This drives an asset-based token economy.
Confidential Computing and Trusted Execution Environments (TEEs)
Further supporting the iExec marketplace is iExec’s trusted execution environments (TEEs). TEEs are an isolated environment within a computer as a form of “safe space” for sensitive information or operations. This protects applications being executed and data being processed from even privileged access users, ensuring that only authorized code can run within this environment.
Source: iExec blog (Link)
This is enabled through Intel’s Software Guard Extension (SGX), which utilizes a special portion of the computer’s memory, known as the “enclave”. Within the enclave, data is completely unreadable and unalterable from the outside, hence preventing any form of data tampering and unauthorized data access.
Beyond protecting the execution and the dataset used, the result can also be encrypted, fully completing the end-to-end flow.
Source: iExec blog (Link)
In late 2024, iExec also integrated Intel’s (Trust Domain Extensions) TDX into its workflow. Much like the SGX, it seeks to enhance security and privacy. Instead of enclaves, TDX uses an isolated virtual machine to conceal its data and executions.
Within TDX, developers no longer have to rewrite their code for compatibility with the original SGX, greatly improving the ease of integration and compatibility with other leading AI frameworks such as TensorFlow and PyTorch.
iExec Tools
iExec also provides a suite of tools to support the developers of decentralized applications.
DataProtector is iExec’s toolkit to manage the secure storage, protection, and sharing of data. Users can use DataProtector to encrypt their data as well as record their ownership of said data on the smart contract. DataProtector also enables data owners to transfer ownership of their data and to enable collaboration on shared data. Additionally, this also opens up data stored with iExec to potential monetization opportunities.
Web3Mail and Web3Telegram are tools built on the DataProtector tool to manage and secure communications via email and the messaging application, Telegram, respectively. This allows users to manage which entities are able to send them communications while also allowing entities to message Ethereum account holders without having their contact information. In fact, iExec leverages Web3Mail to build Privacy Pass, a program to allow registered users to earn RLC tokens by receiving email campaigns, without revealing their email to them.
Source: iExec website (Link)
Oracle Factory is iExec’s tool for the seamless creation and integration of oracles for use on blockchain applications. This enables the simple integration of real-world data for use on the blockchain. At the moment, this service is available on the Ethereum and Polygon chains.
Today, the iExec ecosystem has expanded to include more than 50 different partners, industry leaders such as Nvidia and Microsoft, accelerators, institutions and projects building on iExec across AI, DeFi, DePIN, payments and more.
Source: iExec blog (Link)
The RLC Token
The RLC token was launched in April 2017, with an Initial Coin Offering (ICO) in which they raised 10,000 BTC, making it the 5th largest ICO at that time. The token’s ticker, RLC, stands for “Run on Lots of Computers”, highlighting their focus on decentralized cloud computing. The RLC token has a total token supply of 87M tokens, with 80M, or 92%, circulating on launch.
The majority of the tokens were sold in their ICO at 69% of the token supply, with the remaining distributed across founders and the team, research & development, and future development of the project.
Source: TokenInsight (Link)
The main use case of the token is to serve as a medium of exchange within the iExec ecosystem. The token is used to pay for services on the iExec marketplace while also serving as a reward token for users on the platform.
RLC and The iExec Ecosystem Fund
In 2025, iExec announced the launch of a 1,000,000 RLC Ecosystem Fund, focusing on the development of projects that further blockchain technology, confidential AI and data monetization.
The fund is centered around funding in both dilutive and non-dilutive investments in the areas of AI, DeFi, SoFi, RWAs and DePIN. Beyond direct funding, the ecosystem fund also seeks to support these projects in gaining traction and providing access to industry experts, strategic partnerships as well as core infrastructure required for development.
The iExec 2025 Roadmap
Beyond the launch of the RLC Ecosystem Fund, the iExec team will also be doubling down on their AI focus for 2025’s roadmap through upgrading their suite of products, boosting RLC tokenomics, improving marketing efforts for greater visibility and strategic partnerships within the industry. In April, iExec announced its position in the the AI Unbundled Alliance, an industry-wide Web3 AI network, where iExec will contribute GPU TEE infrastructure to help shape the next era of secure, decentralized AI.
The iExec team aims to scale protocol throughput by more than 10x to support more builders and AI application use cases. This is achieved through the refining of the project’s core mechanisms to improve scalability and efficiency, while advanced scaling strategies are employed to support the platform’s growth. Additionally, iExec will continue to expand the monetization of digital asset opportunities for end users, riding on the success of their Privacy Pass rollout for confidential emailing.
Source: iExec X (Link)
Additionally, the RLC token will see new use cases to strengthen its utility and value within the iExec ecosystem. This includes new reward mechanisms such as token staking, rewards and benefits for builders and users. Moreover, the iExec team has also recently announced a strategic buyback of the RLC token, with the proceeds planned for ecosystem development. 40% of the rebought tokens are to be used for development and support for teams building on iExec, 30% has been set aside for the team’s Treasury for partnership initiatives, with the final 30% to be used for liquidity provision on both DEXs and CEXs. (Sponsored)
Conclusion
As the focus on AI development and accessibility only continues to grow going into 2025, iExec stands uniquely positioned at the intersection of three critical technological domains: decentralized computing, blockchain, and confidential computing. This convergence creates a compelling value proposition for the growing AI ecosystem.
The company's marketplace model effectively addresses key bottlenecks in AI development, all while preserving privacy and data ownership. By enabling secure off-chain computation with robust privacy guarantees, iExec offers a compelling solution for organizations seeking to monetize and leverage AI assets without compromising security or control.
Coupled with industry tailwinds, iExec could potentially continue to see renewed interest and increasing adoption in 2025.
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