Quai Network

What Quai Network does

Quai Network is a Layer-1 Proof-of-Work blockchain operated by Dominant Strategies and founded on research originating at the University of Texas at Austin in 2018. The network introduces a novel Proof-of-Entropy-Minima (PoEM) consensus mechanism and a hierarchical three-tier architecture (Prime, Region, Zone chains) that share security through merged mining, theoretically supporting 255,000+ transactions per second with fees under $0.01. The platform uses a dual-ledger design: QUAI is an EVM-compatible store-of-value token with logarithmic emission, while Qi is a UTXO-based token offering cash-like privacy via fixed denominations and enforced non-address reuse. Custom EVM opcodes (isaddrinternal, etx, convert) enable native cross-chain transactions called External Transactions (ETXs) across zones.

The company operates without traditional B2B revenue; value accrues via protocol-level mechanics including network transaction fees and the Subsidized Open-market Acquisition Protocol (SOAP), which redirects merge-mining rewards from parent chains (BCH, LTC, DOGE, RVN) into QUAI buybacks and burns (~180M QUAI/year). Target customers include cryptocurrency traders (via Kraken and Aerodrome), PoW miners, Web3 developers building on the EVM-compatible chain, Bitcoin holders seeking utility via the BIP302 peg path, and clean-energy asset investors via a Penomo partnership. The ecosystem encompasses sub-brands Blip (mobile wallet), BlipPay, Kipper Money (monetization), Entropic AI, StratumX (Bitcoin Ordinals), SOAP Dashboard, and Quaiscan (block explorer).

Quai Network has raised $15M total across three rounds ($8M from Polychain Capital in March 2022, $2M from Alumni Ventures in May 2022, and $5M strategic in August 2024 led by Cogitent Ventures). Mainnet launched February 4, 2025, followed by a Kraken exchange listing on April 15, 2026 and a rebuilt Blip iOS wallet on May 5, 2026. The Singularity Fork burned 81.1% of future genesis unlocks, reducing baseline supply to ~1.33B QUAI. The company is co-founded by Dr. K, Alan Orwick, and Karl Kreder (with Sriram Vishwanath also listed as co-founder), and operates with 11-50 employees primarily in Austin, Texas.

Name

Quai Network

Legal name

Dominant Strategies

Website

https://qu.ai

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Quai Network is a Layer-1 Proof-of-Work blockchain using Proof-of-Entropy-Minima consensus with hierarchical merged mining, targeting crypto traders, PoW miners, Web3 developers, and Bitcoin holders via its QUAI and Qi dual-token economy.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Layer 1 Blockchain Protocol

NAICS

Securities and Commodity Exchanges (52321), Securities and Commodity Exchanges (523210)

SIC

Services-Computer Integrated Systems Design (7373), Security & Commodity Brokers, Dealers, Exchanges & Services (6200)

akta.pro primary industry

Permissioned Blockchain Platforms & Frameworks (Hyperledger, Corda, Quorum) (FSAPAIAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Interoperability & Integration Middleware (ERP/core banking connectors, messaging, APIs, cross-chain to permissioned) (FSAPAIAL), Compliance, Risk & RegTech for Tokenized Assets (KYC/AML, sanctions, travel rule, reporting) (FSAPAIAH)

Keywords

• Layer 1 blockchain
• Proof of work consensus
• Merged mining network
• Crypto token platform
• Decentralized infrastructure

Headquarters

HQ city

Zug

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Revenue model

1. Network Transaction Fees: Users pay fees for transactions on the Quai Network. Fees are designed to remain under $0.01 per transaction even at peak 255,000+ TPS throughput. Fee revenue supports the security budget and is generated from all on-chain activity including transfers, smart contract executions, and cross-chain ETXs.
2. SOAP Merge-Mining Buyback Mechanism: External chain subsidies from merge-mined parent chains (BCH/LTC/DOGE/RVN) are captured at the protocol level via AuxPoW commitments and converted to QUAI on open markets, which are then burned or routed to staking rewards. Creates continuous market-driven buy pressure and reduces net supply growth by ~180M QUAI/year (~13.6% of baseline supply).

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

Quai Network is a Layer 1 Proof-of-Work blockchain built on Proof-of-Entropy-Minima (PoEM) consensus with a hierarchical multi-chain architecture (Prime, Region, Zone) that processes transactions in parallel via merged mining. The network offers a dual-token monetary system—QUAI for EVM-compatible store-of-value and Qi for UTXO-based private cash-like transactions—and supports EVM smart contracts, cross-chain External Transactions (ETXs), and ecosystem applications including the Blip mobile wallet, Entropic AI, StratumX, and Kipper Money.

Product overview

Quai Network is a Layer 1 blockchain platform built on a hierarchical Proof-of-Entropy-Minima (PoEM) consensus with merged mining. The network consists of a Prime chain (global coordinator), Region chains (geographic organization), and Zone chains (transaction processing), enabling parallel processing across 255,000+ TPS. The dual-token system includes QUAI (EVM-compatible store-of-value with logarithmic emission) and Qi (UTXO-based private cash-like transactions). Key protocols include Project SOAP for merge-mining buybacks and External Transactions (ETXs) for native cross-chain transfers. The ecosystem includes Blip (mobile wallet), Entropic AI, StratumX, Kipper Money, SOAP Dashboard, and Quaiscan block explorer.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Blip: Self-custody mobile wallet purpose-built for Quai Network supporting QUAI, Qi, and other assets.
• SOAP
• StratumX
• Entropic AI
• Kipper Money
• BlipPay

Products and services

• Quai Network Protocol A scalable Layer 1 Proof-of-Work blockchain using Proof-of-Entropy-Minima (PoEM) consensus with merged mining across a hierarchical chain structure (Prime, Region, Zone) that achieves 255,000+ TPS throughput with sub-penny fees. Designed for crypto users, Web3 developers, and PoW miners.
• QUAI Token The EVM-compatible native token of Quai Network functioning as a store of value with decreasing emission. Similar to Bitcoin for value storage with logarithmic block reward scaling that makes it increasingly scarce over time. Used by crypto holders for long-term value storage and DeFi participation.
• Qi Token The UTXO-based native token designed for cash-like privacy and everyday transactions. Provides private-by-default transactions with fixed denominations, payment codes, and enforced non-address reuse for untraceable digital payments, priced by real energy rather than a bank's promise.
• Blip Mobile Wallet Self-custody mobile wallet for Quai Network supporting QUAI, Qi, wrapped assets, and USDT. Features native multi-zone architecture support, Pay in Blip merchant payments, QR/deep link handling, and simplified recovery/backup flows. Available on iOS with Android in development.
• Quaiscan Block Explorer Block explorer for viewing Quai Network blocks, transactions, and addresses on the blockchain. Provides transparency and verification infrastructure for network participants.
• Entropic AI AI-oriented application within the Quai ecosystem for delivering AI services and applications on Quai Network, part of the broader application layer for the future economy built on energy, AI, and compute.
• StratumX Ecosystem application built on Quai Network providing Bitcoin Ordinals infrastructure and mining protocol capabilities.
• Kipper Money Ecosystem financial application and monetization platform built on Quai Network, enabling monetization features for users and developers within the Quai ecosystem.
• SOAP Dashboard Monitoring dashboard for tracking SOAP (Subsidized Open-market Acquisition Protocol) revenue, burn activity, and program updates. Available at soap.qu.ai for ecosystem participants to observe merge-mining subsidy capture.
• Quai JSON-RPC API and quais.js SDK Developer-facing API infrastructure providing JSON-RPC endpoints for interacting with the Quai blockchain, including operations for addresses, blocks, transactions, gas/fees, txpool, debug, net, miner, and conversion. JavaScript libraries (quais.js) enable developer integration with documentation and API Playground available at docs.qu.ai.

Quantifiable outcome

• 255,000+ TPS peak throughput vs Bitcoin's ~5 TPS
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature9 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• KrakencoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 15 April 2026Quai Network's $QUAI token listed for trading on Kraken exchange, providing a regulated, secure on-ramp with US access. Kraken is one of the industry's longest-standing exchanges with over 9 million traders and institutions globally, supporting 200+ digital assets and 8 fiat currencies.
• PenomocoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 10 December 2024Quai Network announced partnership with Penomo to tokenize renewable energy assets including solar panels, wind turbines, and batteries. This marks the first Layer 1 blockchain specifically designed for renewable energy tokenization. Collaboration aims to reduce reliance on traditional financing by enabling fractional ownership of assets, lowering costs for developers, and accelerating clean energy infrastructure development by opening renewable energy projects to a worldwide investor base.
• UTXO AlliancecoreTechnology or Integration · 29 August 2024Quai Network joined the UTXO Alliance alongside other blockchain projects to enhance blockchain scalability and interoperability. The alliance focuses on improving scalability solutions for UTXO-based blockchain systems and promoting cross-project collaboration on shared technical challenges.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• NEAR Protocol: NEAR is a sharded Layer-1 that achieves parallel transaction processing via Nightshade sharding, conceptually similar to Quai's hierarchical multi-chain model. Both target high throughput with low fees and emphasize developer-friendly EVM-style environments.
• Cosmos: Cosmos pioneered the multi-chain architecture vision Quai implements, with IBC for cross-chain interoperability and app-chain sovereignty. Both chains share the thesis that horizontal scaling via parallel chains is superior to monolithic L1s, and both serve developer ecosystems building custom blockchains.
• Avalanche: Avalanche offers subnets (custom L1s) coordinated by a primary chain with sub-second finality, structurally similar to Quai's Prime/Region/Zone hierarchy. Both chains compete on throughput, customizability, and EVM compatibility for the same developer audience.
• Kaspa: Kaspa is the most direct comparable: a Layer-1 Proof-of-Work blockchain using a novel consensus protocol (GhostDAG/kHeavyHash) that also targets high throughput with sub-second block times while preserving PoW security. Like Quai, Kaspa is positioned as a scalable PoW alternative to Bitcoin with active exchange listings and a similar contrarian PoW narrative.

Others

• Bitcoin Cash: Bitcoin Cash is a parent chain whose merge-mining rewards feed Quai's SOAP buyback mechanism. While not a direct competitor (Quai is programmable, BCH is primarily a payments-focused UTXO chain), BCH's hashrate economics are a structural dependency for Quai's deflationary token model.

Broad incumbents

• Polygon: Polygon offers EVM-compatible scaling via sidechains and aggregated L2s, targeting the same developer market as Quai but via a Layer-2-centric model. Quai's positioning as "no Layer-2s required" is a direct competitive alternative to Polygon's L2-centric value proposition.
• Solana: Solana is the established high-throughput Layer-1 incumbent with deep liquidity, institutional adoption, and a large developer ecosystem. Quai competes for the same high-throughput L1 mindshare, differentiated by PoW security and energy-backed monetary design versus Solana's PoS architecture.
• Ethereum: Ethereum is the dominant EVM-compatible smart contract platform and the benchmark Quai must beat on developer mindshare, liquidity, and tooling. As an EVM-compatible Layer-1 with a novel consensus, Quai directly competes for the same developer and DeFi audience while offering differentiated performance characteristics.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/QuaiNetwork
• GitHubgithub.com/dominant-strategies
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCA7wfK91O1CmwHm4LELnNHw
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/quai-network
• Instagraminstagram.com/quainetwork
• TikToktiktok.com/@quainetwork

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Subsidiaries6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds3 records

Investors12 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Quai Network