Sentinel

What Sentinel does

Sentinel is a decentralized VPN (dVPN) protocol built on the Cosmos blockchain that enables censorship-resistant peer-to-peer networking through a distributed network of independent node operators. The protocol uses WireGuard and V2Ray for end-to-end encrypted client-to-node tunnels, with on-chain session authorization and node discovery via a perpetual, consensus-protected DHT. Validators on the Sentinel blockchain provide compute for sessions, plans, and payouts, and the network is designed to continue operating without a controlling corporate entity. As of the most recent disclosures, the protocol comprises 1,500+ node operators across 70+ countries, has facilitated 6+ PB of cumulative data consumption, and supports 8+ dVPN applications including Sentinel Shield, Ryn VPN (10M+ users), Independent VPN, DVPN by NORSE, VALT, and MeileVPN.

Sentinel serves four primary customer segments: dVPN app developers (via SDKs in JavaScript, C#, Go, and Swift under a white-label model), privacy-conscious end consumers (through the branded dVPN app ecosystem), node operators (who earn P2P tokens for bandwidth provision), and AI agent developers (via the x402 product, which enables autonomous VPN provisioning through HTTP 402 payments in USDC on Base). The company monetizes through three streams: node bandwidth payments in P2P tokens with a median rate of ~40 P2P/GB, x402 Managed Plan subscriptions priced at $0.033 to $1.00 per period, and white-label SDK licensing. However, source materials explicitly note that "Sentinel is a decentralized VPN protocol with no traditional revenue model," and value flows primarily between end users and node operators rather than being captured by the protocol itself.

The company was founded in 2018, operates with 11–50 employees, and is headquartered within the Cosmos ecosystem. The only disclosed priced funding round was a $3.5M raise in March 2020 from 11 crypto-native investors; subsequent 2021 and 2022 rounds were reported at $0, suggesting strategic or grant-based contributions. The protocol's governance is validator-based rather than corporate, and the technology stack integrates with Keplr and Cosmostation wallets, multiple exchanges (MEXC, KuCoin, Osmosis) for P2P token liquidity, and payment rails (Stripe, Apple Pay, Google Pay, USDC on Base) for fiat and stablecoin on-ramps in third-party apps.

Name

Sentinel

Legal name

Sentinel

Website

https://sentinel.co

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Sentinel is a decentralized VPN protocol on Cosmos blockchain that enables censorship-resistant peer-to-peer networking through 1,500+ independent node operators, serving dVPN app developers, privacy-conscious consumers, node operators, and AI agent developers via its x402 product.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Decentralized VPN

akta.pro primary industry

Decentralized Bandwidth & Connectivity (bandwidth marketplaces, VPN, ISP/last-mile DePIN) (FSAPALAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Decentralized Node Infrastructure & RPC Networks (node providers, RPC relays, indexing-as-a-service) (FSAPALAG), RPC / Node API Infrastructure Providers (FSADAKAD)

Keywords

• Decentralized VPN
• Blockchain infrastructure
• VPN protocol
• Node network
• Privacy network

Headquarters

HQ city

Cosmos

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Node Bandwidth Payments: Node operators set per-gigabyte or per-hour prices for their bandwidth. Users pay nodes directly in P2P tokens. Median rate is ~40 P2P/GB with cheapest nodes around ~2 P2P/GB. Node rewards paid out every hour. Market-driven pricing creates balance between quality and cost.
2. x402 Managed Plan Subscriptions: AI agents purchase VPN access via HTTP 402. Operators provision agents on subscription plans at $0.033/day, $0.233/7days, or $1.00/30days in USDC on Base. Operator covers gas via fee grants. Agents connect with zero P2P tokens needed.
3. White-Label SDK Licensing: Third-party developers use Sentinel SDKs to build branded dVPN apps. Apps integrate WireGuard/V2Ray protocols and leverage the decentralized node network. SDKs available in JavaScript, C#, Go, and Swift.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Sentinel operates a decentralized VPN (dVPN) protocol built on the Cosmos blockchain that enables censorship-resistant peer-to-peer networking. Independent node operators in 70+ countries contribute bandwidth through WireGuard and V2Ray tunnels, while users and developers access the network via official SDKs, branded dVPN applications, or the x402 API for AI agents. The blockchain serves as the backend for node discovery, session authorization, and payments in the P2P native token.

Product overview

Sentinel is a decentralized VPN (dVPN) network built on the Cosmos blockchain, offering a platform architecture consisting of the Sentinel Hub blockchain as the core infrastructure, multiple branded dVPN applications (Sentinel Shield, Independent VPN, Ryn VPN, DVPN by NORSE, VALT, MeileVPN) built on top, and the x402 product for AI agent VPN provisioning. The network comprises 1500+ node operators providing bandwidth across 90+ countries. Users can use pre-built dVPN apps or build custom applications using official SDKs in JavaScript, C#, Go, and Swift. Node operators earn P2P tokens through an hourly revenue system based on uptime and subscriptions. The x402 product enables AI agents to autonomously purchase and manage VPN access via HTTP 402 payments on Base.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Sentinel Shield: Flagship open-source dVPN app by Sentinel P2P supporting WireGuard and V2Ray protocols for Android and iOS.
• Independent VPN
• Ryn VPN
• DVPN by NORSE
• VALT
• MeileVPN
• x402

Products and services

• Sentinel dVPN Network Decentralized VPN network built on Cosmos blockchain enabling censorship-resistant peer-to-peer networking. Users route traffic through 1500+ independent node operators across 70+ countries. The blockchain serves as the backend for discovery, session management, and payments.
• x402 Private internet service for AI agents that enables autonomous VPN access via HTTP 402 payment protocol. Agents pay USDC on Base and receive VPN connectivity through Sentinel's decentralized node network without KYC, accounts, or API keys. Live on Base mainnet with two paths: Managed Plan and fully Autonomous.
• Sentinel SDK Software development kits in JavaScript, C#, Go, and Swift for building decentralized VPN applications on Sentinel. All SDKs are open source with 41,000+ lines of code. Enables white-label dVPN app development with custom branding and protocols.
• Sentinel Hub Core blockchain infrastructure built on Cosmos SDK powering the Sentinel network. Handles node registration, subscription plans, session management, and governance.
• Sentinel Shield Flagship open-source dVPN client application by Sentinel P2P. Supports WireGuard and V2Ray protocols on Android and iOS. Full system traffic routing with end-to-end encryption.
• Sentinel dVPN CLI Command-line interface tool for interacting with Sentinel blockchain. Used for wallet management, node operation, session control, and plan management.
• Node Revenue System On-chain subscription plan system that pays node operators hourly based on uptime for bandwidth contribution. White-label applications integrate these subscription plans to compensate nodes in P2P tokens.

Quantifiable outcome

• 1.4M+ users across dVPN apps built on Sentinel network
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration9 records

AI capability2 records

Feature7 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• MEXCcoreTechnology or Integration · 1 January 2026MEXC provides P2P trading for P2P tokens via their spot market API. AI agents in the Autonomous path market-buy P2P with USDT on MEXC spot (P2P/USDT pair, maker fee 0%, taker 0.05%), then withdraw to their Sentinel wallets for bandwidth payments. Integration enables fully autonomous agent funding without human intervention.
• Base (Coinbase L2)coreTechnology or Integrationx402 Managed Plan runs on Base mainnet. USDC payments settled via EIP-3009 transferWithAuthorization. Facilitator verifies signatures and settles on Base with ~2 second finality. Agent gas covered by facilitator.
• WireGuardcoreTechnology or IntegrationWireGuard protocol (Curve25519) used for encrypted VPN tunnels between clients and nodes. Full system route capture with kernel-fast performance. Keys never leave user device.
• V2RaycoreTechnology or IntegrationV2Ray (VLESS/VMess protocols) used for VPN tunnels with anti-censorship capabilities. Supports camouflage traffic through TLS for firewall bypass. Zero admin installation on Windows via auto-fetch.
• Cosmos SDKcoreTechnology or IntegrationSentinel blockchain built on Cosmos SDK. Uses Tendermint consensus. IBC enables cross-chain coin transfers. Validators run full nodes for consensus participation.
• viemcoreTechnology or IntegrationEthereum development framework used in x402 integration for EVM key management and transaction signing. Partners with @x402/evm package for ExactEvmScheme implementation.
• Trinity StakecoreOthersTrinity Stake builds and maintains Sentinel documentation site (docs.sentinel.co). Core contributor to ecosystem infrastructure and documentation.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Others

• Helium: Helium is the flagship DePIN wireless network with token-incentivized hotspot operators providing coverage globally. While not a direct dVPN competitor, it is a comparable DePIN protocol archetype — token-driven, permissionless infrastructure operated by a community of independent providers.

Direct peers

• Mysterium Network: Mysterium is the closest direct peer to Sentinel: a decentralized VPN (dVPN) built on its own blockchain where independent node operators sell bandwidth to users for crypto payments. Both compete for the same DePIN bandwidth market, similar developer/operator communities, and overlapping privacy-focused end users.
• Orchid: Orchid is a privacy-focused, decentralized VPN network using a multi-hop architecture and its OXT token for bandwidth payments. Like Sentinel, it targets censorship-resistant internet access via a token-incentivized node network and competes for the same crypto-native privacy user base.

Broad incumbents

• Proton VPN: Proton VPN (Proton AG) is a leading privacy-first VPN brand with a broad consumer and enterprise footprint. It competes with Sentinel for the same end users who care about no-log policies and jurisdiction, but operates a centralized infrastructure model rather than a token-incentivized node network.
• NordVPN: NordVPN (Nord Security) is one of the largest global consumer VPN brands with massive marketing reach. It is a broad incumbent in the same VPN category Sentinel targets, though with a centralized server model and fiat subscription pricing rather than a DePIN node network.
• ExpressVPN: ExpressVPN is a major global VPN brand owned by Kape Technologies with extensive consumer awareness and paid distribution. It competes with Sentinel for mainstream VPN users seeking privacy, though it operates a fully centralized server fleet.
• Mullvad VPN: Mullvad is a privacy-focused, no-account VPN provider popular with technically sophisticated users. It overlaps with Sentinel on the privacy-conscious consumer segment but uses centralized infrastructure and a flat €5/month pricing model.
• Surfshark: Surfshark (Nord Security) is a fast-growing consumer VPN brand competing on privacy, price and streaming unblocking. It is a broad incumbent that overlaps with Sentinel's privacy-segment consumer use cases, but operates centralized servers and fiat-only subscriptions.

Emerging players

• Deeper Network: Deeper Network is a decentralized bandwidth-sharing and VPN project that rewards users for sharing idle internet via its DPR token. Like Sentinel, it sits in the DePIN bandwidth category but focuses on hardware-share model rather than a Cosmos-based dVPN protocol.
• HOPR: HOPR is a privacy-focused mixnet protocol that incentivizes node operators with the HOPR token for relaying metadata-stripped traffic. It is comparable to Sentinel as a Web3-native, privacy-preserving networking protocol with token-driven node economics, but addresses broader mixnet use cases beyond VPN.

Market position

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/Sentinel_co
• GitHubgithub.com/sentinel-official
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@sentinelP2P

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds3 records

Investors11 records

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

M&A

Investments2 records

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

Frequently asked questions about Sentinel