Cysic (CYS) Research Report: Leader in ZK Hardware Acceleration and ComputeFi

1. Executive Summary

Cysic is currently the first hardware-accelerated network on the market focusing on "real-time ZK proof generation," and it just completed its mainnet launch and token generation event (TGE) in December 2025. The project addresses the computational efficiency bottleneck faced by ZK-Rollup and ZKML (zero-knowledge machine learning) in large-scale adoption.
Reasons for optimism: Occupies the "water seller" ecological niche in the ZK track (computing power infrastructure); possesses self-developed ASIC chip technology barriers; backed by top institutions such as Polychain and OKX Ventures; the "ComputeFi" narrative will assetize computing power, extending beyond ZK to AI inference.
Risk warnings: The token has just launched with significant price volatility; supply chain risks in hardware production and distribution (ZK Air/Pro); early monopoly concerns regarding centralized computing nodes.

2. Project Overview

2.1 Business Model

Cysic defines itself as a real-time ZK proof generation and verification layer. In simple terms, it is a decentralized computing power market specifically designed to accelerate the generation of zero-knowledge proofs (ZKP) through hardware (GPU/FPGA/ASIC).
Supply side: Miners connect GPUs or use Cysic's self-developed mining machines (ZK Air/ZK Pro) to provide computing power.
Demand side: ZK-Rollup (such as Scroll, Linea), ZK Bridge, and AI projects submit proof tasks and pay fees.
Core narrative: ComputeFi ------ transforming illiquid hardware computing power into verifiable, liquid on-chain assets.

2.2 Technical Barriers

Cysic's core competitiveness lies in the integration of software and hardware:
Hardware side: Self-developed FPGA/ASIC chips.
ZK Air: A lightweight device for consumer users (similar in size to a router), with computing power equivalent to multiple high-end graphics cards.
ZK Pro: Server-level equipment aimed at institutions, designed for large-scale tasks.
Software side: Optimized CUDA algorithm library, claimed to be 50%-80% faster than open-source solutions.
Consensus mechanism: Proof-of-Compute (PoC), rewards are allocated based on the effective computing power contributed by nodes, rather than simple token staking.

3. Team & Backers

3.1 Founding Team

Leo Fan (Co-founder): PhD in Cryptography from Cornell University, previously a researcher at Algorand, with a strong background in the academic field of cryptography.
Bowen Huang (Co-founder): Formerly worked at major companies such as Meituan and Baidu, with rich experience in system architecture implementation.

3.2 Funding History (Total funding of over $18 million)

Seed round ($6M): Early 2023, led by Polychain Capital, with participation from HashKey, ABCDE, and others.
Pre-A round ($12M): May 2024, led by HashKey Capital and OKX Ventures.

4. Tokenomics

Token Name: $CYS
Total Supply: 1 billion (1,000,000,000)
Circulating Supply: Approximately 160 million (16.08%) ------ Data as of December 2025

4.1 Token Utility

Gas Fees: Pay for task generation fees on the network.
Staking: Validators and computing power providers must stake $CYS to participate in network consensus (PoC) and prevent malicious behavior.
Governance: Staking $CYS earns non-transferable governance tokens $CGT for voting.

4.2 Early Token Distribution

Ecosystem Incentives (40.19%): Includes mining output, released linearly.
Investors (23.62%): Longer lock-up periods, typically with a cliff of over 1 year.
Team (20%): Long-term lock-up.
Airdrop and Community: Recently (December 2025) conducted TGE airdrop, early testnet participants and node holders have profited.

5. Market Performance & Recent Developments

5.1 Recent Major Events

December 11, 2025: Mainnet officially launched, and token $CYS began trading.
Exchange Listings: Concurrent with the TGE, Binance launched contract trading for CYS (and some spot trading expectations), while secondary exchanges like KuCoin have listed spot trading.
Price Trends:
Current Price: Approximately $0.37 - $0.38 (high volatility)
Circulating Market Cap (MC): Approximately $60 million
Fully Diluted Market Cap (FDV): Approximately $378 million
Note: The FDV is relatively low, considering the backing from Polychain and the popularity of the track, the current valuation is in the medium to low range, possibly constrained by market conditions or early profit-taking pressure.

6. Investment Logic & Risk Assessment

6.1 Potential Upside (Bull Case)

Intensifying competition in Ethereum L2: ZK-Rollups like Scroll, Linea, and Taiko are extremely sensitive to the speed and cost of proof generation, making Cysic a necessary solution.
Revival of the DePIN track: DePIN is expected to explode in 2026, with Cysic as one of the leaders in "computing power-based DePIN," likely to attract funding.
Release of ASIC miners: With ZK Air/Pro hardware set for large-scale delivery in 2026, this will bring real hardware sales revenue and locking demand.

6.2 Risk Warnings (Bear Case)

Selling pressure risk: Just after the TGE, airdrop users and early community members may continue to sell for profit.
Technical implementation may fall short of expectations: If the actual mining returns of ZK Air do not meet expectations, or if chip mass production is delayed, it will severely undermine community confidence.
Centralization concerns: Early computing power may be concentrated in the hands of a few large holders or official nodes, leading to accusations of "official control."