# Grayscale Assigns Three Crypto Projects AI Infrastructure Roles By Simon Yoon Canonical URL: https://www.tokenpost.com/news/technology/40036 Published: 2026-10-24T14:21:45.000Z Updated: 2026-10-24T14:21:45.000Z Section: Technology > The research ties DATA Network to training data, USD.AI to GPU financing and Pearl to AI computation. It says adoption and competitive economics will shape their long-term relevance. Grayscale Head of Research Zach Pandl grouped three crypto projects into separate AI infrastructure roles in an Oct. 23 analysis, connecting data collection, GPU financing and computing to blockchain projects. DATA Network (DATA) targets human-contributed material for AI training, with tools designed to collect, license and track items such as photos, videos and voice recordings. A [planned Sui migration]() announced Oct. 12 by the Sui Foundation and DATA Foundation would move DATA’s protocol onto Sui, retire its independent chain after the upgrade and make Walrus the default storage layer for DATA Foundation applications. The foundations set no completion date. They also said Trace had registered more than 250 million contributions since its June launch and processed an average of more than 3 million receipts per day. USD.AI (CHIP) takes the financing role through loans backed by graphics processing units (GPUs), which provide computing capacity. The loans are designed to fund GPU deployments. CHIP serves utility and governance functions; it does not represent equity or ownership or a claim on protocol assets. That places USD.AI at the financing layer of the group, distinct from DATA’s focus on training inputs. Pearl (PEARL) proposes using GPUs for AI computation alongside proof-of-work mining, with miners earning network rewards. Its proposed model uses matrix multiplication for AI workloads. In a June 2026 preprint marked under review, Abhinaba Basu reported finding no inference code in the dominant mining software among the 8,012 workers he analyzed. Basu also reported 44 pool-accepted shares from a miner submitting random matrices. Those findings do not establish Pearl’s performance across the network today. Together, the proposals address different parts of a potential AI service chain: assembling training material, financing computing equipment and assigning GPUs to computation. Their roles are distinct, but the projects’ adoption, revenue and competitive positions remain unestablished. Pandl wrote, “Their long-term relevance will depend on adoption and competitive economics.” The research announced no Grayscale fund addition, token purchase or price target. ## Links in this article - [planned Sui migration](https://www.tokenpost.com/news/technology/30705)