Pearl (PRL) launched its mainnet in late April 2026, introducing a new cryptocurrency that leverages AI-compute for mining. The network uses a Proof-of-Useful-Work consensus mechanism that relies on large-scale matrix multiplication to process AI workloads. The method replaces conventional proof-of-work mining with practical computing workloads.
Network difficulty climbs steeply with increased capacity reducing per-card payouts
Together AI partnered with Pearl Research Labs to support the new network. The collaboration includes discounted inference endpoints for the Gemma-4-31B-it-pearl model. Mining operations on the platform are limited to Nvidia hardware, which has drawn significant attention from GPU enthusiasts and miners alike.
The network's performance metrics have already shown notable shifts since its launch. According to hashrate.no, daily revenue for RTX 5090 GPUs dropped by nearly half, falling from approximately $33.80 in April to $17.19 currently. This decline reflects a 49% reduction as more miners joined the network and increased competition.
Most mining activity runs on rented cloud capacity through providers like RunPod and Vast.ai. Community pools utilize consumer-grade GPUs, making the hardware accessible to smaller operators. Omri Weinstein, co-founder and CEO of Pearl Research Labs, stated that Pearl changes the unit economics of AI by introducing this new model.
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