AKT migration to Solana planned through one-way portal

Akash has selected Solana as the destination for its network and outlined a one-way AKT migration from its existing chain. Governance Proposal 346 ratified the decision, with 97% of participating token holders voting in favor, Cision PR Newswire reported.

The move separates the token transfer from the later relocation of Akash's compute marketplace. According to Akash, tokens sent to Solana cannot be moved back through the migration system, while live workloads remain unchanged until a marketplace cutover that has not yet been dated.

How the AKT migration will work

Akash says it plans to launch AKT as an SPL token on Solana and open an AKT migration portal for two years, two weeks after the proposal passes and only after two independent audits have passed. Cision PR Newswire reported that holders will be able to transfer tokens at a one-to-one ratio.

The token will retain its AKT ticker and six decimal places, according to Akash. The team says tokens sent to the portal leave circulation on Cosmos, so the transfer does not change total supply.

Akash's AKT migration instructions describe a portal flow in which a holder connects Keplr, enters a Solana address and an amount, and confirms the transfer. The team also describes a command-line alternative and says the public portal URL will be announced separately.

According to Akash, a module on the original chain locks the tokens and records each transfer, after which a relayer submits block headers and proof to Solana. Akash says its Solana program checks that proof, and independent reporters then check the result and vote on the Akash chain.

If Solana cannot deliver a transfer to the specified address, it records a void and the AKT follows a refund process on Akash, the team says. Akash says a program address or token account, rather than a wallet address, can cause a void, and the network fee for the deposit is not returned.

Akash governance can set and change transfer limits, according to the team. Akash says minting on Solana can begin when deposit proof is available, but affected mints must wait until the next UTC day if Solana's separate daily cap has been exhausted.

Cutover, staking and live leases

The marketplace will move later, with new deployments shifting to Solana once audits and rehearsals pass, according to Akash. A separate governance vote must set the cutover date, and the plan also calls for a sunset upgrade; Akash says workloads will keep running for 90 days after cutover while tenants redeploy.

Holders who want to undertake the AKT migration with staked tokens must first unbond them, a process Akash says takes 21 days. Until cutover, the team says staked tokens continue to secure the old chain, earn rewards and vote on remaining proposals; staking rewards on that chain end at cutover.

Founder Greg Osuri says staking on Solana will not be live for several months, according to TokenPost and Yahoo Finance. Akash says it has yet to settle how unvested AKT will migrate, how tokens still on Cosmos at the chain halt will reach the portal, and what happens to tokens not moved within two years.

Before cutover, providers must upgrade a daemon, re-register on Solana with collateral and be re-audited, according to Akash. The team says old-chain earnings and refunds of deposits made before cutover will be paid weekly in new AKT, while top-ups made after cutover will not be credited on Solana.

Akash says its updated chain SDK will be a breaking release built on Solana tooling while retaining the high-level API. The team says its Console API will use Solana addresses in version 2, with version 1 frozen on old-chain data, and that wallets, decentralized exchanges and custodians can add SPL AKT before the marketplace moves.

Why Akash selected Solana

Akash says it sought a shared-security provider among established layer-one networks and assessed proposals against goals that included reducing the AKT staking burden, cutting operational overhead and preserving interoperability. Of seven options considered, Solana mainnet and an existing Ethereum layer-two network met every hard requirement, according to Akash.

Overclock Labs published a 15-document plan detailing both a Solana route and an Ethereum layer-two route, Akash says. The team says it favored Solana on factors including cost under load, the suitability of its runtime for the marketplace and the presence of comparable projects.

Akash says about 100 validators currently bond AKT to secure consensus, while the core team maintains forks of cosmos-sdk, CometBFT and gogoproto. The team argues that the network bears the cost of its own chain without using its sovereign powers, and says Solana programs inherit security without requiring Akash to bond tokens or stake SOL.

At current volume, Akash estimates network fees on Solana at about 0.075 SOL a day. The team puts its marketplace activity at roughly 15,000 transactions daily, compared with 112 million daily user transactions on Solana, and says its throughput can scale with the block because each lease has its own account.

Akash cites Helium and Render as examples of projects that have migrated to Solana. It says Render's token upgrade portal is a model for its own transfer process and that Helium's migration tooling is available for reuse.

Risks and remaining decisions

Akash acknowledges that the move gives up sovereign consensus, validator income and native IBC. The team also says it cannot control Solana's block times or fee markets, and that economic slashing is not yet live on Solana.

Solana experienced several full outages between 2021 and February 2024, according to Akash. The team says Solana nevertheless met its requirement for 99.5% liveness over the preceding 24 months.

Akash identifies the migration itself as the source of the largest risks and says each has a mitigation and a gate to clear. The team says the Solana Foundation responded to its request by offering funding, assistance with audits, a design for subsidizing gas and a phased rollout plan.

Cision PR Newswire reported that Akash Marketplace, AkashML and Akash Homenode are to be available natively on Solana. For the marketplace, Akash says the next operational step remains dependent on audits and rehearsals, followed by a governance decision on cutover.

Conclusion

Akash has chosen Solana and received community approval for the move, according to Akash and Cision PR Newswire. Its plan separates a one-way token transfer from the later marketplace cutover: the portal is scheduled to open only after the specified waiting period and two independent audits have passed. Akash says the marketplace date requires a separate governance vote after audits and migration rehearsals, while the treatment of tokens left on Cosmos at the chain halt remains unresolved. The old chain is scheduled to halt 90 days after cutover, according to the team.

Frequently Asked Questions

When will the AKT migration portal to Solana open?

Akash says the portal is planned to open two weeks after approval of the migration proposal, provided two independent audits have been completed successfully. It is intended to remain open for two years. Cision PR Newswire reported that the proposal received community approval; Akash says the public portal URL will be announced separately.

Can AKT holders move tokens back from Solana to Cosmos?

No. Akash says its migration system transfers AKT in one direction and cannot send tokens that arrive on Solana back to the Akash chain. Cision PR Newswire reported that the portal will support transfers at a one-to-one ratio. Akash says the token will keep its ticker and six decimal places.

How do holders migrate staked AKT to Solana?

Akash says holders must unbond staked AKT before using the migration portal, and that unbonding takes 21 days. Until the later marketplace cutover, staked AKT continues to secure the old chain, earn rewards and vote on remaining proposals, according to the team. Akash says old-chain staking rewards end at cutover.

When will the Akash chain halt after the Solana cutover?

Akash says the old chain will halt 90 days after the marketplace cutover. The team has not set a cutover date: it says a separate governance vote will establish one after audits and rehearsals pass. Akash says live workloads continue during the 90-day period while tenants redeploy.