Nillion Launches NIL Token and Mainnet, Eyes Future of Private AI Computing

Privacy-focused computation network Nillion has launched its mainnet and native token, NIL, marking a major step forward in secure decentralized data processing. Dubbed the “blind computer,” Nillion enables private, encrypted computation without exposing sensitive data—addressing critical concerns in sectors like AI, healthcare, and decentralized finance.

The NIL token debuted with a total supply of 1 billion, with 19.52%—around 195 million tokens—airdropped to the community, resulting in an initial market cap of $165 million. However, NIL's market value dropped 12% within 24 hours to approximately $144.93 million, trading at $0.74, according to CoinGecko data. Despite the decline, NIL has gained listings on major platforms, including Binance, Gate.io, MEXC, Bitget, and South Korea’s Bithumb, which recently added the NIL-KRW pair.

Nillion’s tech differentiates itself through Nil Message Compute (NMC), allowing computations on encrypted data without decryption. This innovation ensures no single party ever accesses sensitive information, protecting personal and financial data from breaches. The architecture includes a Coordination Layer (nilChain) and a privacy-first storage layer (Petnet), integrating advanced technologies like multi-party computation, fully homomorphic encryption, and trusted execution environments.

Experts believe Nillion could become foundational for AI, just as SSL is for the web. “Nillion is tackling AI’s biggest hurdle: trust,” said Yau Teng Yan, founder of Chain of Thought. “Its privacy tech could fuel the next wave of AI adoption.”

NIL serves as a governance and utility token, securing the network through staking and paying fees for blind computation. Its burn-based demand model is designed for long-term adoption and value growth, making it a key asset in the growing private data economy.