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Nillion

Nillion (NIL) — a reference card for a crypto project: what the product does and how verifiable the project’s key claims are; also — alignment with the Decentralized AI thesis (DecAI Fit).

Nillion — an AI/Compute | AI/Inference | Infra project that builds a “blind compute” network: private computation/storage and private LLM inference in TEE (nilAI), plus the coordination blockchain layer nilChain (Cosmos SDK, PoS) for payments/staking/governance. Native token: NIL.

Disclaimer

Important: this page is a reference overview of the project. Within DecAIHub, we separately record a verification based on open sources within the AI thesis (what is real AI/onchain/why a token, and which sources this is based on).
This is not financial advice and not a recommendation to buy/sell/hold any asset. We do not assess price, returns, or entry/exit timing.
Conclusions are based on publicly available materials found as of the verification date. The absence of confirmation does not imply the absence of the technology.

TL;DR (for readers who are not into AI)

  • What it is: a network for private computation/storage (“Blind Computer”) + the coordination blockchain nilChain.
  • Who it’s for: developers who need to compute on/store sensitive data (including AI applications).
  • Why onchain/token: the NIL token — payments for resources, staking/validators for security and onchain governance.
  • What you can actually touch (Tier‑1): Quickstart + Private LLMs (nilAI, OpenAI‑compatible API), network endpoints (nilChain mainnet).

How it works (very briefly)

  1. The user does: connects to Petnet nodes (nilAI/nilDB/nilCC) and/or to nilChain, runs a private task (LLM inference / storage / compute).
  2. The system does: processes the data privately (PETs: MPC/HE/TEE; for LLMs — inside a TEE) and returns the result; coordination of payments/resources and incentives go through nilChain.
  3. The user gets: a private result (model response/computation/database query) and cryptographic artifacts (attestation/signatures for nilAI).
  4. Where the blockchain is: nilChain — the onchain layer for payments/rewards/staking/governance and coordination of network resources.
  5. Token role: NIL is used for coordination services/access to resources, staking and governance.

Quick links: AI thesis fit

Project passport

Field Value
Project name Nillion
Also known as (aliases) Nillion Network; Blind Computer; nilChain; Petnet; NIL
Logo (logo) ../assets/91_nillion_logo.png
Token symbol (ticker) NIL
Category AI/Compute | AI/Inference | Infra
Primary chain (chain) nilChain
Type Appchain
Network status mainnet
Consensus (consensus) PoS (CometBFT)
Launch date (launch_date) 2025-03-24
Project status (status) active
Token (standard) native
Token contract —
Token model (token_type) utility (payments + staking + governance)
Max supply 1 000 000 000 (at genesis)
Issuance —
Tokenomics (tokenomics, brief) NIL: coordination services (payments/usage), access to blind compute, staking (validators + rewards), governance
Governance onchain governance (nilChain)
Admins/keys —
Audit —
Bug bounty —
Team (team) Nillion Team
Funding (investors/funding) —
AI component (ai_component) private LLM inference in TEE (nilAI)
Use‑case (use_case) private compute/storage for sensitive data
DecAI Fit — AI thesis fit 6/6 — high alignment with the Decentralized AI thesis
DecAI Fit component summary ai_score 3 / onchain_score 3 / token_score 3 / evidence_score 3
Last verified 2026-02-11

General project overview

Nillion positions itself as a “Blind Computer” network where data remains private not only at rest but also during processing. The architecture in the Tier‑1 documentation highlights two main components:

  • nilChain — the coordination blockchain layer (Cosmos SDK, PoS), which “manages shared resources”, supports payments/rewards/cryptoeconomic staking and is needed for coordinating the network.
  • Petnet — a network of nodes (clusters) that implement privacy‑enhancing technologies (PETs) for private storage and computation.

For AI scenarios, Nillion separately highlights Private LLMs with nilAI: OpenAI‑compatible APIs that run models inside a TEE and support attestation/signed responses.

Features/modules

  • nilChain (coordination layer): payments, rewards, staking, governance; coordination of network resources.
  • Petnet Blind Modules: nodes/clusters for private compute/storage.
  • nilAI (Private LLMs): OpenAI‑compatible API, models in TEE, attestation + signed responses.
  • nilDB (Private Storage): encrypted/distributed storage and queries over data (including with MPC/HE).
  • NUC + nilAuth: the access control layer (signatures/delegation/revocation of permissions).

Typical scenarios

  • Scenario 1 (Private LLMs): an application sends a prompt to nilAI → receives the LLM response and a signature/the ability to verify the attestation.
  • Scenario 2 (Private Storage): a developer stores sensitive data in nilDB → queries the data without revealing its contents to the nodes.
  • Scenario 3 (Coordination): a user stakes NIL / pays for resources → the network distributes incentives and coordinates operations.

Getting started (wallet/network)

  • What you need: for onchain operations — a wallet (Tier‑1: Keplr) and a nillion... address; for nilAI — an API key + node URL; for dev — the Quickstart in the docs.
  • Network/chain: nilChain mainnet (Chain ID nillion-1); for Petnet — connection to the nilCC/nilDB/nilAI endpoints.
  • Fees: nilChain network fees for NIL transactions; usage costs for network resources are paid in NIL (Tier‑1).

Architecture/tech (non‑AI)

  • Components: nilChain (coordination blockchain), Petnet (Blind Module nodes: nilDB/nilAI/…); APIs + SDKs for interaction.
  • Participant roles: users/developers; Petnet node operators; validators/delegators (staking) on nilChain.
  • Where logic runs: coordination and cryptoeconomics — onchain (nilChain); private processing/storage — on Petnet nodes (offchain compute, but with PETs and attestation where applicable).
  • Dependencies: nilChain RPC/REST/GRPC endpoints; nilAI HTTPS endpoints; SDKs/libraries (Tier‑1 docs).

Token/economics (expanded, no forecasts)

  • Token utility (Tier‑1): coordination services (transactions/resources/usage costs), access to blind computation, staking, governance.
  • Protocol necessity drivers: nilChain uses NIL for payments/resources and cryptoeconomic security (staking) + governance.
  • Who pays fees: users who make nilChain transactions and consume network resources.
  • Where fees go: network rewards/incentives (Tier‑1: payments, rewards).
  • Issuance/burn: Tier‑1 records a total supply of 1B “at genesis”; inflation/burn parameters were not extracted within this card.
  • Security/incentive mechanisms: staking; validators “bond tokens” for validation (Tier‑1).
  • Distribution: Tier‑1 provides an allocation breakdown (Ecosystem & R&D 29%, Community 20%, Protocol Dev 10%, Early Backers 21%, Core Contributors 20%) and an initial circulating supply of 19.52% (at genesis).
  • Treasury: governance includes decisions on resource allocation and community grants (Tier‑1).

Governance

  • Who makes decisions: NIL tokenholders (Tier‑1: governance eligibility for tokenholders).
  • How protocol parameters change: via onchain governance (Tier‑1 mentions protocol upgrades / parameters / resource allocation).
  • Where: governance processes are described at the level of principles in Tier‑1 (tokenomics post).
  • Keys/multisig: —.

Security and incidents

  • Audits: —.
  • Bug bounty: —.
  • Incidents: —.
  • Threat model: risks of the PETs/TEE implementation (environment compromise), node/cluster configuration risks, access permission risks (NUC/nilAuth), nilChain consensus/validator risks.

Project status and timeline

  • Current status: Alpha Mainnet launched; NIL “live” (Tier‑1 launch post).
  • Key milestones: Alpha Mainnet launch + NIL live (2025‑03‑24); tokenomics publication (2025‑03‑20).
  • Roadmap: Tier‑1 roadmap post (see links_*).

Ecosystem/integrations

  • Integrations: Keplr wallets for NIL; developer tooling/quickstarts; mentioned integrations with AI frameworks and platforms (Tier‑1 launch post).
  • Partners: ecosystem projects and integrations are listed in the launch post (without a separate audit/agreements in this card).
  • Where it’s actually used: as a backend for private compute/storage/LLM inference; examples of “what you can do” are listed in the Tier‑1 post and in the docs quickstart.

AI component of the project

  • What is real AI here? Tier‑1 describes Private LLMs with nilAI: an OpenAI‑compatible API, models inside a TEE, a list of available models, attestation and signed responses.
  • What is truly onchain? nilChain (payments/rewards/staking/governance) + onchain NIL transactions and coordination of network resources.
  • Why is a token needed? payments and usage costs, staking/validators for security, governance.
  • Red flags (based on the information found): TEE risk (trust in the implementation/attestation), the complexity of PETs, early‑stage centralization (governance/validator parameters require monitoring).

DecAI Fit component summary

  • DecAI Fit: 6/6 — high alignment with the Decentralized AI thesis
Component Level Score
AI reality high 3
Onchain necessity high 3
Token necessity high 3
Evidence Tier‑1 present 3
Details

AI reality

AI_0 — AI intent (Tier‑1 roadmap) (1/0)

  • AI_0 (decision): 0
  • Claim (one line): there is only a roadmap/intent about AI without a working AI component.
  • Evidence: Tier‑1 — —.
  • Why sufficient / why not (one line): Nillion has a working AI module, nilAI (Private LLMs), so this is not only intent.
  • Conflict note (if any): —

AI_1 — what the AI does (1/0)

  • AI_1 (decision): 1
  • Claim (one line): nilAI runs LLM inference privately inside a TEE via an OpenAI‑compatible API.
  • Evidence: Tier‑1 — https://docs.nillion.com/build/private-llms/overview ; https://docs.nillion.com/learn/blind-modules
  • Why sufficient / why not (one line): Tier‑1 explicitly describes private LLMs, TEE and the inference API.
  • Conflict note (if any): —

AI_2 — demos/examples (1/0)

  • AI_2 (decision): 1
  • Claim (one line): there is a Quickstart and a “Private LLMs” guide (how to connect to nilAI and run inference; /models, etc.).
  • Evidence: Tier‑1 — https://docs.nillion.com/quickstart ; https://docs.nillion.com/build/private-llms/overview
  • Why sufficient / why not (one line): these are reproducible instructions on how to “touch” the AI component (Private LLMs).
  • Conflict note (if any): —

AI_3 — metrics/quality (1/0)

  • AI_3 (decision): 0
  • Metrics: —
  • Context (version/date/how measured): —
  • Evidence: Tier‑1 — —.
  • Why sufficient / why not (one line): public model quality metrics/benchmarks in Tier‑1 were not recorded within this card.
  • Conflict note (if any): —

AI_4 — tech description/architecture/versions (1/0)

  • AI_4 (decision): 1
  • Claim (one line): Private LLMs (TEE, OpenAI‑compatible API), attestation/verification and the list of available models are described.
  • Evidence: Tier‑1 — https://docs.nillion.com/build/private-llms/overview ; https://docs.nillion.com/network
  • Why sufficient / why not (one line): Tier‑1 provides a technical description and specific models/an endpoint approach (sufficient for AI_4).
  • Conflict note (if any): —

Onchain necessity

OC_1 — contracts/addresses/chain (1/0)

  • OC_1 (decision): 1
  • Chain: nilChain (mainnet)
  • Addresses/identifiers: Chain ID nillion-1; NIL addresses start with nillion... (Keplr wallet).
  • Evidence: Tier‑1 — https://docs.nillion.com/network ; https://docs.nillion.com/guide-sending-nil
  • Why sufficient / why not (one line): Tier‑1 provides network endpoints/chain id and describes onchain NIL transactions and the address format.
  • Conflict note (if any): —

OC_2 — onchain beyond just a token (1/0)

  • OC_2 (decision): 1
  • What useful logic is onchain: nilChain provides payments/rewards/cryptoeconomic staking and coordination of network resources (not only a “token as an asset”).
  • Evidence: Tier‑1 — https://docs.nillion.com/learn/architecture ; https://raw.githubusercontent.com/NillionNetwork/nilchain/main/README.md
  • Why sufficient / why not (one line): Tier‑1 directly describes the role of nilChain as a coordination blockchain for payments/staking and for paying for blind compute/storage operations.
  • Conflict note (if any): —

OC_3 — onchain is critical (1/0)

  • OC_3 (decision): 1
  • “Replace the blockchain” test: without nilChain, trustless coordination of payments/staking/governance and the cryptoeconomic security of the network (including validator incentives) are lost.
  • Evidence: Tier‑1 — https://docs.nillion.com/learn/architecture ; https://nillion.com/news/blind-compute-needs-its-first-champion/
  • Why sufficient / why not (one line): Tier‑1 directly links Mainnet Genesis to onchain governance and staking for security.
  • Conflict note (if any): —

Token necessity

TK_0 — no token (1/0)

  • TK_0 (decision): 0
  • Claim (one line): the project has a native token, NIL.
  • Evidence: Tier‑1 — https://nillion.com/news/blind-compute-needs-its-first-champion/ ; https://nillion.com/news/nillion-alpha-mainnet-is-live/
  • Why sufficient / why not (one line): Tier‑1 directly names NIL the native token of the network and specifies its role.
  • Conflict note (if any): —

TK_1..TK_4 (1/0)

TK_1 — payment for the service (1/0)

  • TK_1 (decision): 1
  • Claim (one line): NIL is used for transactions, access to coordination layer resources and settlement of usage costs.
  • Evidence: Tier‑1 — https://nillion.com/news/blind-compute-needs-its-first-champion/
  • Why sufficient / why not (one line): the payment use is recorded in the “Coordination Services” section of the tokenomics post.
  • Conflict note (if any): —

TK_2 — incentives/collateral/penalties (1/0)

  • TK_2 (decision): 1
  • Claim (one line): tokenholders stake NIL; validators bond tokens for validation and network security; rewards for participation.
  • Evidence: Tier‑1 — https://nillion.com/news/blind-compute-needs-its-first-champion/ ; https://docs.nillion.com/learn/architecture
  • Why sufficient / why not (one line): Tier‑1 explicitly describes staking and the role of validators.
  • Conflict note (if any): —

TK_3 — governance (1/0)

  • TK_3 (decision): 1
  • Claim (one line): NIL tokenholders participate in governance (proposals/voting on upgrades/parameters/allocations).
  • Evidence: Tier‑1 — https://nillion.com/news/blind-compute-needs-its-first-champion/
  • Why sufficient / why not (one line): the tokenomics post lists governance rights and decision areas.
  • Conflict note (if any): —

TK_4 — token is replaceable (1/0)

  • TK_4 (decision): 0
  • Claim (one line): the role of NIL is embedded in payments/usage costs, staking/security and governance; replacing it with a “subscription” changes the security model/governance model.
  • Evidence: Tier‑1 — https://nillion.com/news/blind-compute-needs-its-first-champion/
  • Why sufficient / why not (one line): Tier‑1 describes the token as a central element of security/governance and coordination services.
  • Conflict note (if any): —

Evidence (table)

Tier Source What it proves
Tier‑1 https://nillion.com/news/nillion-alpha-mainnet-is-live/ Alpha Mainnet live (2025‑03‑24) and NIL live; lists “what you can do today”, including the quickstart, SecretLLM/Private LLMs, staking NIL.
Tier‑1 https://nillion.com/news/blind-compute-needs-its-first-champion/ Tokenomics: NIL utilities (payments/usage costs, access to blind compute, staking, governance), total supply 1B at genesis, initial circulating 19.52%, allocation breakdown; link to Mainnet Genesis.
Tier‑1 https://docs.nillion.com/learn/architecture Architecture: nilChain (Cosmos SDK, payments/rewards/staking) + Petnet (PETs compute/storage over encrypted data).
Tier‑1 https://docs.nillion.com/network Network endpoints: nilChain mainnet nillion-1; nilAI node URLs and models (AI component + access).
Tier‑1 https://docs.nillion.com/quickstart Quickstarts, including “Private LLMs” — a reproducible entry point for the demo/guide (AI_2 demo‑sync).
Tier‑1 https://docs.nillion.com/build/private-llms/overview Private LLMs (nilAI): OpenAI‑compatible API, TEE, attestation, signed responses, available models and “Getting Started”.
Tier‑1 https://docs.nillion.com/guide-sending-nil How to send NIL (Keplr, nillion... addresses), plus a list of nilChain explorers (Mintscan and others).
Tier‑1 https://docs.nillion.com/build/permissions-and-payments Access control layer: NUC/nilAuth for delegation/revocation of read/write/compute permissions.
Tier‑1 https://raw.githubusercontent.com/NillionNetwork/nilchain/main/README.md nilChain as the coordination layer for paying for blind compute/storage; Cosmos SDK / PoS stack.

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