Last updated: October 2026
What is Golem? It is a peer-to-peer market for computing power. “Requestors” pay “providers” in the GLM token to run tasks on their machines. Ten years after one of Ethereum’s first big crowdfunds, the network is still live and developed by Golem Factory in Warsaw. In September 2026 the team published a security review that confirmed 36 bugs in provider software. GLM had a market cap of about $109 million on 25 October 2026 per CoinGecko, and all 1 billion tokens are in circulation.
Key takeaways
- Golem connects people who need CPU or GPU time with people who have idle hardware. Payment is in GLM, usually settled on Polygon to keep fees low.
- GLM is a fixed-supply ERC-20 token (1 billion). It replaced the original GNT in a migration that began in November 2020.
- The 2016 crowdfund raised 820,000 ETH, worth about $8.6 million at the time. Golem Factory’s later ETH transfers to exchanges, especially in 2024, have been a recurring concern for holders.
- A security review published on 23 September 2026 found one critical and six high-severity issues in provider-side software. Fixes shipped in yagna v0.17.10 and later.
- Akash, io.net and Render now compete for the same compute buyers.
| Golem at a glance | |
|---|---|
| Ticker | GLM (formerly GNT) |
| Launched | Crowdfund November 2016; current “New Golem” network (Yagna) in 2021 |
| Consensus | None of its own: GLM is a token on Ethereum, with payments mostly on Polygon |
| Supply | 1,000,000,000 GLM, fully circulating (CoinGecko, 25 Oct 2026) |
| Status in October 2026 | Active, small; provider software patched after a 2026 security review |
| Official domain (plain text) | golem.network |
What is Golem? Short answer
The 2016 pitch was “Airbnb for computers”: anyone with a spare PC could rent its processing power to anyone who needed it, without Amazon or Google in between. In 2026 that is still the core idea. A provider installs Golem’s software, called yagna, which runs incoming jobs inside an isolated virtual machine. A requestor writes a script that describes the job and the price they will pay. The network matches the two, and payment in GLM flows when work is done.
Golem is not its own blockchain. It runs on Ethereum for the token and uses a layer 2 network, Polygon, for most payments, because paying small compute bills on Ethereum mainnet would cost more in gas than the work itself. That puts Golem among the older AI and compute projects tracked in our AI crypto roundup.
How renting compute on Golem works: requestor vs provider
| Step | Requestor (buyer) | Provider (seller) |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Set up | Installs yagna plus an SDK (Python or JavaScript); funds a wallet with GLM and a little gas token | Installs the provider package on Linux; sets CPU/GPU limits and prices |
| 2. Offer and demand | Publishes a “demand”: image to run, resources needed, maximum price | Publishes an “offer”: hardware available and price per hour or per unit |
| 3. Agreement | Accepts matching offers; can split one job across many providers | Signs the agreement and downloads the workload |
| 4. Execution | Sends tasks, collects results | Runs them inside a sandboxed VM, isolated from the host |
| 5. Payment | Pays GLM invoices, usually on Polygon | Receives GLM; reputation builds over time |
Typical jobs are ones that split into many independent pieces: rendering animation frames in Blender, running batches of machine-learning inference, scientific simulations and video transcoding. Jobs that need many machines to talk constantly, such as training one large AI model, suit the network less well. To judge real demand, look at Golem’s public network statistics page (active providers, completed tasks, GLM paid out) instead of relying on marketing.
GLM: what the token pays for
GLM has one main job: it is the currency requestors use to pay providers. Its other uses are secondary:
- Payment: compute is priced and settled in GLM.
- Newer products: Golem Factory’s data-layer spin-off, Arkiv (formerly Golem DB / Golem Base), lists GLM as a fee token alongside ETH on its test networks.
- Ecosystem grants: the Golem Ecosystem Fund pays builders.
GLM is not a staking or governance token, and holding it gives no claim on Golem Factory’s treasury. Demand for the token depends on how much compute is bought on the network.
From the 2016 crowdfund to GLM and Yagna
Golem was founded by Julian Zawistowski, Piotr Janiuk and Andrzej Regulski, who had previously run a Polish software house. On 11 November 2016 its crowdfund sold out in minutes and raised 820,000 ETH, about $8.6 million at the time, issuing GNT tokens. It was one of the first large token sales on Ethereum.
The first public product, “Brass Golem” (2018), focused on Blender rendering. Progress was slower than the white paper’s roadmap promised, and the team eventually rebuilt the stack from scratch. Later milestones:
- November 2020: GNT began migrating 1:1 to GLM, an updated ERC-20 token contract.
- 2021: “New Golem,” built on the yagna daemon, launched on mainnet with a general-purpose task API.
- 2024: GPU provider beta testing and an AI inference service called Modelserve were announced, as Golem chased the AI compute boom.
- 2025: Golem DB, earlier called Golem Base, became Arkiv, an Ethereum-based data layer. Golem’s own documentation still described its testnets as experimental.
The 2026 security review
In July 2026 Golem stepped up a security review of its software, citing new pressure from AI-assisted vulnerability discovery. The results, published on 23 September 2026, covered 76 reports and confirmed 36 issues: 1 critical, 6 high, 15 medium and 18 low. All were in provider-side software. The critical bug let a crafted task reach files outside its sandbox directory, which in some setups could lead to code execution. Golem says requestors were not affected and it found no evidence of exploitation. It recommended that providers upgrade to v0.17.10 or later, rotate secrets and consider moving funds from wallets on affected machines. A bug-bounty program with Sherlock was announced.
Golem vs Akash, io.net and Render
| Network | Focus | Token / chain | Main buyers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Golem | General batch compute on CPU and GPU | GLM, Ethereum plus Polygon | Rendering, inference, research jobs |
| Akash | Decentralized cloud for containers and GPUs via reverse auction | AKT, its own Cosmos chain | Developers deploying apps and AI workloads |
| io.net | Clustering GPUs for AI training and inference | IO, Solana | AI startups that need GPU clusters |
| Render | GPU rendering, expanding into AI | RENDER, Solana | 3D artists and studios |
Golem was first, but it is no longer the default choice. The newer networks raised more capital, focused tightly on GPUs, and in several cases report larger usage. Golem’s distinguishing points are its long track record and general-purpose design. Its weakness is that “general purpose” competes with every specialist.
Golem Factory’s treasury and why it matters
Golem Factory holds a large ETH reserve from the 2016 raise, and that reserve funds development. Its movements make headlines because large transfers to exchanges usually precede sales. In mid-2024 on-chain trackers flagged tens of thousands of ETH moving from Golem wallets to exchanges such as Binance and Coinbase. In September 2024 roughly 135,000 ETH moved, and Golem said in a blog post that the transfers were part of an ETH staking test, not a sell-off. Many community members criticised the slow communication.
Why it matters to GLM holders: the treasury is held in ETH, not GLM, so ETH sales do not directly add GLM supply. But they reveal how fast the project spends its runway, and they can weigh on sentiment. The team’s wallets are public. You can check current balances on a block explorer or an on-chain tracker such as Arkham rather than relying on old figures.
Risks
- Competition. Better-funded GPU networks and falling centralized cloud prices squeeze Golem’s niche.
- Usage vs valuation. GLM’s market value can drift far from actual compute spending, so check network statistics.
- Treasury spending. Long-running reserve sales mean development funding is finite.
- Software security. The 2026 review showed provider software had serious bugs, and running a provider means running other people’s code on your machine.
- Liquidity. Some smaller exchanges have dropped GLM pairs, though major venues still list it.
Golem is grouped with compute and DePIN networks in our crypto coin directory.
FAQ
Is Golem crypto still active in 2026?
Yes. Golem Factory published a security review on 23 September 2026, shipped patched provider software (v0.17.10 and later) and announced a bug-bounty program. The network is small compared with newer GPU marketplaces, and its market cap was about $109 million on 25 October 2026 according to CoinGecko.
How do I convert GNT to GLM?
GNT converts to GLM at 1:1. The migration began in November 2020, and most major exchanges converted balances automatically at the time. If you still hold old GNT in a private wallet, use only the migration instructions linked from golem.network, typed by hand. Never use a site that contacts you or asks for your seed phrase.
Can you rent Golem GPU power for AI?
Golem has tested GPU providers and AI inference tooling since 2024, and some providers offer GPUs. Availability and reliability vary, and its AI services have changed over time. Check the current Golem documentation for supported GPU workloads before relying on it for production AI jobs.
Where is the GLM token traded?
On 26 October 2026, public exchange data showed GLM trading on Binance (GLM/USDT), Coinbase (GLM/USD), OKX, KuCoin and Upbit (KRW and BTC pairs). We found no GLM market on Kraken. US availability depends on your state and exchange, so confirm before you sign up.
Crypto is volatile and risky; this is education, not financial advice. Do your own research.
