Pipe Foundation Launches PipeQuest Incentive Program for Pipe Network Testnet

[PRESS RELEASE – Dubai, United Arab Emirates, May 1st, 2025]

Announced on stage at Token2049, PipeQuest gives node operators an opportunity to earn rewards in exchange for computing power used by the first decentralized content delivery network (CDN) built on Solana

Pipe Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to the decentralization, adoption, and expansion of Pipe Network, the first decentralized content delivery network (CDN) built on Solana, today announced the launch of the PipeQuest incentive program for the Pipe Network testnet on stage at Token2049 Dubai. The PipeQuest program is structured as a multi-season initiative designed to support ecosystem growth, node operator performance, community engagement, and demand-side traction ahead of mainnet, due to launch this summer.

Pipe Network’s architecture is designed to be easily scalable and foster a self-sustaining ecosystem where users will be rewarded for active network participation, incentivizing content and media companies, web3 developers, and digital service providers to support and scale the network. Core to Pipe Network’s innovation is its fleet of decentralized Point of Presence (“PoP”) nodes that anyone—from internet service providers (ISPs) to enterprise and web3 companies—can deploy as close as ~50 miles from end users. Pipe Network’s permissionless model and Linux-based software can turn virtually any device into a PoP node. This lets PoP operators deploy nodes and scale the Pipe Network without restrictive contracts or unfair pricing, eliminating typical entry barriers in the traditional ISP partnership and PoP deployment model. Since launching in private devnet at the end of January, the Pipe Network has seen:

• 200,000 PoP nodes onboarded
• More than 200,000 files uploaded
• More than 250 Terabytes of cumulative storage used

David Rhodus, Founder of Permissionless Labs, the research and development team behind Pipe Network, and Core Contributor to the Pipe Network, commented on the testnet launch, “We’re excited to make our testnet available to the wider Solana community to demonstrate how a decentralized CDN can increase bandwidth and reduce latency beyond what has been possible with off-chain solutions. Already seeing success in the form of 30% lower initialization times for Solana network validators that downloaded their Solana Snapshot via our CDN, we’re excited to reward the wider community for getting directly involved in building the next-generation solution for applications requiring real-time responsiveness like video streaming and high frequency trading—among others, particularly use cases in underserved and rural regions.”

PipeQuest Season 1 opens May 5th, 2025, with each season running ~7 days, and will be focused on incentivizing certain testnet activity in the following ways:

Season 1 – PoP Node Performance

• Core Objective: Benchmark raw PoP performance to identify and reward high-performing node operators based on uptime, RTT, and cache efficacy.
• Tracking: Node performance metrics will be audited via Guardian Node tooling.
• Incentives Awarded: Based on internal leaderboard position which will inform the node operators of future Mainnet roles and visibility. For example, the top 1% of PoP operators will earn a 2x points multiplier and a Mainnet “Edge Captain” badge.

Season 2 – Community Engagement

• Core Objective: Grow mindshare & literacy around decentralized CDNs.
• Tracking: Community engagement will be measured by activities like meme challenges, completing CDN literacy quizzes, developing CDN literacy campaigns, and pipe network referrals
• Incentives Awarded: Based on content quality, reach, and contribution consistency. For example, users can earn 100 points for creating a meme that hits ≥ 500 impressions on X or by getting an 80% or higher completion rate on a CDN literacy quiz.

Season 3 – Demand Generation & Onboarding

• Core Objective: Drive real traffic through the network; battle-test partner integrations.
• Tracking: Demand generation and the onboarding of end users and infrastructure partners will be measured by activities like running content through the Pipe CDN, providing feedback on network benefits, helping develop network case studies, and support with the integration of dApps, RPC services, and infra clients to the Pipe Network
• Incentives Awarded: Mystery boxes awarded based on qualified usage, onboarding volume, and depth of engagement. For example, a mystery box can be earned by uploading more than 1TB of data to the Pipe CDN with the potential for a capped 3x mystery box bonus for uploading up to the 10TB data cap.

Points will be tracked via an internal scoreboard which will be frozen for 48hrs at the end of each season for auditing, so awards are given based on relative performance and contribution during each season. The points earned across these seasons are non-transferable and are intended to measure meaningful participation within each phase of PipeQuest’s rollout and reward early adopters.

The Pipe Network’s core contributors at Permissionless Labs are composed of former AWS principal engineers who built Amazon Elemental Cloud, which has onboarded service providers including Netflix, Comcast, ABC, and NBC. The team’s combined decades of experience in software engineering, technical program management, and strategic product growth uniquely qualify them to disrupt the CDN market by building a new solution that leverages the power of blockchain technology.

Please visit the PipeQuest blog to learn more and participate in the testnet.

About the Pipe Foundation:

The Pipe Foundation is a non-profit foundation dedicated to the decentralization, adoption, and expansion of Pipe Network. Built as the first decentralized CDN for Solana, Pipe Network leverages high-throughput blockchain technology and hyperlocalized nodes to deliver content quickly and securely on a massive scale by increasing bandwidth and reducing latency.

To learn more, please visit: https://pipe.network/

Media Contact: [email protected]