NODES FOR SALE: It is the blockchain trade’s newest innovation – not in expertise, however in the best way to spherical up money from buyers. “Node gross sales” contain promoting blockchain nodes on to buyers – a course of that brings in fast money whereas ostensibly giving initiatives a straightforward path to decentralization. Nonetheless a comparatively new phenomenon in fast-moving crypto, they’re turning into extra frequent: Aethir, a decentralized GPU cloud infrastructure supplier, disclosed final week that it had distributed greater than 73,000 node licenses valued at over 41,000 ETH ($126 million). Different blockchain initiatives elevating funds by way of node gross sales embrace CARV, XAI Games and Powerloom. The most recent to return to market is Sophon, an entertainment-focused blockchain ecosystem primarily based on zkSync expertise, counting on Celestia for information. The mission attracted greater than $60 million in a node sale over the previous week, regardless that its founders are semi-anonymous. Sure mechanics of the gross sales seem designed to drive the worry of lacking out, or FOMO – similar to a system of tiering, the place the worth goes greater as extra nodes are bought, and using unique whitelists that reserve early spots for sure customers. “Consumers hope to get top quality initiatives,” says Calvin Chu, a former Binance researcher who helped begin Unattainable Finance, which has facilitated a few of the gross sales. As with many crypto-related investments, patrons additionally hope for juicy yields within the types of token rewards, and presumably to qualify for eventual token airdrops.