Pipe Network ($PIPE) is launched on Gate! Is PIPE worth investing in?

On October 8th, the decentralized content delivery network Pipe Network based on Solana officially launched its Mainnet, and its native Token PIPE was simultaneously listed on multiple mainstream trading platforms including Gate.

However, after being listed, the PIPE price experienced severe fluctuations, dropping as much as 36.56% within 24 hours, falling from an opening price of $0.30 to a low of $0.20.

This plunge is due to market concerns over the delay in reward distribution and profit-taking by early holders. However, beneath the surface of price fluctuations, Pipe Network is working to build a decentralized edge supercloud, challenging the giants of the traditional content distribution market.

01 Price Volatility: PIPE Token Faces Tests Upon Listing

The PIPE Token made its debut on multiple exchanges, including Gate, at a price of $0.30 on October 8, but the market did not respond favorably.

Shortly after going live, the PIPE price quickly dropped to a low of $0.20, and then partially recovered to the range of $0.23-$0.25.

As of October 9, the data shows that PIPE is reported at $0.23, down 36.56% in the last 24 hours, with a market cap of approximately $22.629 million, a decrease of about $13 million compared to the previous day.

This sharp decline is closely related to rumors about delays in reward distribution in the market.

Although these rumors may be isolated incidents, the complexity related to the conversion of reward points into PIPE tokens before the token generation event is enough to affect cautious market sentiment.

02 Project Background: The Grand Vision of Pipe Network

Putting aside short-term price fluctuations, the actual vision of Pipe Network is worth noting. The project aims to establish a decentralized content delivery network (CDN) on the Solana blockchain.

This network enhances data transmission through globally distributed Points of Presence (PoP) nodes, reducing latency, increasing delivery speed, and decreasing reliance on centralized data centers.

David Rhodus, the founder of Pipe Network, stated: "We view this mainnet launch as a signal that our decentralized CDN is ready and able to compete with Web2 giants like Cloudflare, Fastly, and Akamai."

During the testing phase, Pipe Network has delivered over 60 PB of data, transmitted more than 1 billion files, reduced latency by 70% compared to traditional CDNs, and improved cost-effectiveness by 100 times.

03 Technical Advantages: Innovative Architecture and Performance Breakthroughs

The technical architecture of Pipe Network is its most striking feature. As a "decentralized edge super cloud," it integrates CDN, storage, and AI reasoning into a permissionless infrastructure.

The network relies on community-operated ultra-local PoP nodes, capable of delivering content within approximately a 50-mile range with latency below 10 milliseconds, significantly reducing costs compared to traditional CDNs.

The core technological innovations of Pipe Network include:

• Pipe CDN: A flagship content delivery network solution, used for storing critical Solana data, including network snapshots, with download times improved by 30%.
• zkTCP and zkQUIC: Advanced iterations of the well-known TCP and QUIC network protocols, using zero-knowledge cryptographic proofs to verify the authenticity and correctness of data transmission without exposing the underlying data.
• SolanaWave: Intelligent Solana blockchain explorer API, provided as a public product for the Solana developer community.
• Pipe Firestarter Storage: A complementary storage product that makes Pipe Network a complete solution capable of competing with Cloudflare's R2 and CDN products.

04 Token Economy: The Value Support of PIPE

The design of the PIPE Token economic model aims to support the development of the entire ecosystem. The total supply is 1 billion tokens, and the distribution ratio clearly reflects the emphasis on long-term development and community participation.

In the Token allocation, the community accounts for 33%, venture capital accounts for 20%, core contributors account for 17%, and the ecosystem, node operators, and angel investors each account for 10%.

PIPE Token is used to purchase services provided by the network, driving bandwidth, storage, and computing quotas through a model that destroys tokens in exchange for usage credits, ensuring that token demand is directly linked to actual usage.

The project has raised approximately $17 million from institutional supporters including Solana Ventures, Multicoin Capital, Robot Ventures, and Meltem Demirors.

05 Gate platform: PIPE trading and mining opportunities

As one of the platforms that launched the PIPE token, Gate launched PIPE spot trading on October 8 at 23:00 (UTC+8), which provides important support for PIPE's liquidity and market acceptance.

At the same time, Gate has synchronously launched the 329th phase of the Launchpool project, distributing 500,000 PIPE tokens from October 7th 14:00 to October 12th 14:00.

Users can participate in the airdrop event by staking GUSD or ETH, which will bring more attention and potential investors to PIPE.

In addition to Gate, exchanges like KuCoin have also launched PIPE trading and are offering a reward of 600,000 PIPE in GemPool. Users can participate in mining by staking USD1, KCS or PIPE.

06 Future Outlook: Opportunities and Challenges Coexist

Extracting from short-term price fluctuations, the long-term prospects of Pipe Network are worth evaluating from multiple angles. The project has established a global network consisting of approximately 290,000 PoP nodes during its testing phase, proving the feasibility of its model.

Compared to traditional CDN, the technical advantages demonstrated by Pipe Network are remarkable—70% reduction in latency and 100 times improvement in cost efficiency, which have won it a differentiated advantage in competition.

However, the project also faces significant challenges. The competition in the decentralized CDN market is becoming increasingly intense, with each new Token being launched with unique concepts and more advanced features.

In addition, the price fluctuations during the initial listing of the Token and rumors about reward distribution also indicate that there is still room for improvement in the project's community management and communication.

From an investment perspective, some analysts expect that if demand is strong, the PIPE price may rise to the range of $0.30 to $0.40.

In the long term, as the platform expands, the PIPE Token may aim for $1, aligning with a valuation of $1 billion.

Future Outlook

The launch of the Pipe Network Mainnet and the listing of its Token mark the official transition of this Decentralization infrastructure project from the testing phase to the practical phase. Despite the initial price volatility, the technological strength and solutions behind it have been validated by the testnet data.

The financial market is often a blend of rationality and emotion. The short-term price fluctuations of the PIPE Token reflect the market's divergence regarding new projects, but the long-term value will ultimately depend on the actual utility and adoption of the network.

For investors interested in Decentralization Physical Infrastructure (DePIN) and the Solana ecosystem, Pipe Network is undoubtedly a project worth close attention.