Gradient Network announced through an open letter to the community on August 27 (local time) that the Sentry Node Open Beta will be 'graduating' as of August 28 at 12:00 UTC. This marks not a simple termination but a transition to a new chapter in the roadmap toward collective intelligence.

Open Beta Achievements and Significance

The Sentry Node Open Beta program has played a crucial role over the past few months as the first phase in building Gradient Network's vision of a 'fully distributed AI runtime.' During this period, over 700,000 users from more than 180 regions worldwide participated, generating approximately 80 million 'Taps' (P2P connections between nodes).

Sentry Nodes are lightweight Chrome extensions using less than 1MB of data per month, designed to operate efficiently while protecting privacy. Through more than 15 updates during the beta period, network stability, compatibility, and security were continuously improved.

Meaning of 'Graduation' and Future Outlook

Gradient Network expresses this beta conclusion as a 'graduation,' suggesting that the network is ready to evolve to the next stage. According to the official announcement, the graduation of the Sentry Node Open Beta is a turning point that "opens a new chapter on Gradient's roadmap toward collective intelligence."

The project team explained in the community letter that this is "a moment to reflect on what we've built together, and to look ahead at what we're about to shape as a community." This signifies not just the end of testing but a transition to full-scale distributed AI infrastructure construction.

Technical Architecture and Differentiation

Gradient Network is an open layer for edge computing built on the Solana blockchain, a project aiming to overcome the limitations of centralized cloud computing. Sentry Nodes, as the first implementation of this vision, performed two core functions:

• Building global P2P connectivity infrastructure: Enabling real-time connections between millions of nodes through permissionless distributed infrastructure

• Network topology mapping: Building a global connectivity map by collecting latency and liveness data

This data forms the foundation for 'Lattica,' the data communication protocol Gradient is developing, and will be utilized as core infrastructure for the distributed AI runtime in the future.

Market Analysis and Competitive Landscape

The current AI infrastructure market is dominated by a few centralized platforms, causing issues such as privacy infringement, accessibility limitations, and monopolistic control. Gradient Network declares that "the age of Centralized Intelligence is ending," presenting a new paradigm that is open, agentic, and alive at the edge.

Compared to similar distributed computing projects, Gradient's strength lies in building AI-specific infrastructure and deep integration with the Solana ecosystem. The low barrier to entry through browser extensions has been particularly successful in attracting large-scale user participation.

Community Policy and Fairness

Gradient Network operates strict community guidelines for long-term, sustainable growth. Key policies include:

• Retroactive point slashing for Sybil attacks and fraudulent activities

• Reward restrictions when using VPN/proxy

• Prohibition of running multiple nodes on the same device

• Reward splitting between nodes sharing the same IP address

The team emphasized that they will "implement the strictest measures against harmful actions to protect the interests of genuine users."

Future Timeline and Prospects

While the beta program has ended, Gradient Network's journey is just beginning. The team plans to announce a concrete roadmap for the next phase soon, and recognition and reward systems for Sentry Node participants' contributions are expected to be established.

Industry observers evaluate that Gradient's approach could present a new model to the DePIN (Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Networks) ecosystem. The need for distributed infrastructure is growing especially in the context of surging AI computing demand.

However, there have been no official announcements yet regarding token launch or specific economic models. The community shows high interest in reward systems for beta participants and future network participation methods.