NuNet is built on four architectural pillars: an actor-based execution model, a zero-trust security model with sovereign identity built into each protocol layer, dynamic orchestration, and multi-chain peer-to-peer settlement. An open-ended computing protocol, open-source under Apache 2.0.
NuNet runs as a stack of independent but coordinated layers. Each layer does one thing. Together they turn scattered hardware into a network that routes workloads and settles payments on its own.
Workloads that need compute. AI agents, batch jobs, real-time services, continuous training. Described declaratively by their requirements — not by specific machines.
The NuActor framework and dynamic orchestration layer that matches workloads to available compute across the network. Constraint satisfaction across location, latency, hardware type, cost, and trust boundaries. No marketplace browsing.
Cryptographically signed contracts between providers and consumers. Zero-trust identity. Multi-chain settlement in NTX on Ethereum and Cardano. Interactions are designed to be verified at the protocol layer.
The NuNet Appliance installed on each participating machine. GPUs, CPUs, edge devices, data center racks. Registers the device on the network, advertises its capabilities, and runs verified workloads locally.
These are the technical decisions that separate NuNet from marketplaces and queues. Each one is documented at length in the whitepaper and yellow paper.
NuNet's execution model is actor-based. Every workload runs as a NuActor with its own state, messaging interface, and lifecycle. Actors can be reassigned between devices and compose across machine and organizational boundaries. The framework is designed for open-ended computing — the same actor abstraction works on a Raspberry Pi, a GPU rig, or a data center node. Live mid-execution migration is on the protocol roadmap.
Whitepaper →NuNet's design assumes no participant trusts any other. Interactions are cryptographically verified at the protocol level. Compute from untrusted sources is designed to run in isolated execution environments with provenance tracking. Contracts are explicitly signed by each party. Trust is anchored in the protocol rather than any single operator — participants operate under sovereign identity anchored in decentralized identifiers (DIDs).
Whitepaper →The orchestrator treats the network as a graph of resources and traverses it, applying constraint satisfaction across location, latency, hardware type, cost, and trust. Matching happens at the protocol level, not in a marketplace UI. Workloads find their own compute.
Whitepaper →Transactions settle peer-to-peer in NTX on Ethereum or Cardano. The protocol is blockchain-agnostic — compute does not require a specific chain to run. Orchestration fees settle in NTX, aligning coordination with the protocol's utility layer. Details in the yellow paper.
Yellow paper →Compute is a live system, not a batch job. Allocations move across the network as demand shifts, hosts fail, or a better match becomes available. Stateless workloads migrate seamlessly. Stateful workloads checkpoint and resume.
Roadmap Live mid-execution actor migration — moving stateful execution between devices without checkpoint pause — is on the protocol roadmap.NuNet provides a homogeneous software layer over heterogeneous hardware — from a Raspberry Pi to a 64-GPU data center rack. The same actor framework runs across the entire compute spectrum. Providers onboard whatever they have. Workloads find what they need.
NuNet is built for pools of compute where no single organization owns everything. The protocol handles identity, trust boundaries, and settlement across organizational edges. For a user, federated compute becomes a deployment target, not a coordination problem.
These are the canonical sources for NuNet's architecture, tokenomics, and implementation. Start here if you want to run a node, integrate a workload, or contribute to the codebase.
The original 2018 protocol specification. Architectural philosophy, execution model, orchestration design.
Tokenomics, settlement mechanics, economic design of the NTX layer across Ethereum and Cardano.
The full open-source codebase. Device management service, orchestrator, contracts, CLI tooling. Apache 2.0. Open to contributors.
Onboarding guides, API reference, Appliance installation, operational playbooks. Living documentation maintained alongside the code.