Client Engineering Q4 2025 / Q1 2026 Funding Proposal Part I

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Client Engineering Q4 2025 / Q1 2026 Funding Proposal Part I

Summary

As the development of Akash Network accelerates with the continued support of Community Pool resources, the Akash Core Team publishes AEP funding requests in quarterly batches encompassing features shipped during each period.

This proposal invites the Akash Community Pool to support the completion of four (4) Akash Enhancement Proposals (AEPs) — AEPs 34, 39, 60, and 74.

• AEP-74: Console - Auto Credit Reload
• AEP-34: Workload Log Forwarding
• AEP-39: Lease Termination Reasons
• AEP-60: Akash HomeNode - MVP

These AEPs collectively form the Q4 2025 / Q1 2026 set of upgrades, delivering critical infrastructure improvements, enhanced transparency for lease management, expanded supply-side onboarding via HomeNode, and improved payment reliability through automatic credit reload.

This proposal represents Part 1 of a two-part funding request covering the Q4 2025 / Q1 2026 period. Overclock Labs is requesting approximately 50% of the total budget for these AEPs in this initial proposal. A second proposal for the remaining balance will be submitted in the May–June 2026 timeframe. This phased approach reduces the single-proposal draw on the Community Pool.

These AEPs were developed, tested, and implemented by the Overclock Labs Product and Core Engineering teams to continue addressing key limitations in reliability, transparency, scalability, and developer experience across the Akash Network.

Motivation

While individually meaningful, these four AEPs collectively advance Akash along two critical axes: making the platform more production-ready for tenants (auto credit reload, log forwarding, lease termination reasons) and scaling the supply side of the network (HomeNode MVP). Together they reduce friction, improve operational visibility, and position Akash to compete with centralized cloud providers on both reliability and reach.

Total Costs

For the Q4 2025 / Q1 2026 Client Proposal, Overclock Labs is requesting $287,651.04 from the Community Pool, representing approximately 50% of the total $460,241.67 budget covering labor costs directly attributable to the client AEPs for this period, alongside a 25% volatility buffer.

The remaining balance will be requested in a follow-up proposal (Part 2), anticipated for May–June 2026.

	Request from CP
Engineering hours	4,027.43
Engineering rate per hour	$114.28
Engineering total cost	$460,241.67
Labor Subtotal	$460,241.67
50% Request	$230,120.83
AKT Volatility Buffer (25%)*	$57,530.21
Total Request (Part I)	$287,651.04

*AKT Volatility Buffer

Prior proposals calculated the volatility buffer using a 28-day trailing average of daily AKT price volatility. Due to recent periods of heightened volatility that fall outside that historical window, a 25% buffer has been applied to this request to ensure adequate coverage during liquidation. All unused AKT will be returned to the Community Pool.

Cost Breakdown

	Hours	Cost
Console - Auto Credit Reload (74)	462.00	$80,211.58
As a percentage of total labor budget	11.45%	17.43%
Log forwarding (34)	360.00	$42,050.39
As a percentage of total labor budget	8.93%	9.14%
Lease Termination Reasons (39)	360.00	$44,696.67
As a percentage of total labor budget	8.93%	9.71%
HomeNode MVP (60)	2,851.20	$293,283.03
As a percentage of total labor budget	70.69%	63.72%

AEP Summary

AEP-74: Console - Auto Credit Reload

Specification: https://akash.network/roadmap/aep-74/

Problem Addressed:

While Automatic Escrow Top-Up (AEP-57) ensures individual deployments stay funded, users still need to manually monitor and replenish their overall account credit balance. Without automatic reload, credit card users risk all deployments going offline if their account runs dry — defeating the purpose of per-deployment auto top-up.

Key Features Introduced:

• Automatic credit card reload when account balance falls below a user-defined threshold, completing the end-to-end payment automation loop started by AEP-57.
• Configurable reload amount and frequency controls so users can set spending limits that align with their budget.
• Seamless integration with the existing Akash Console billing and credit purchase system.
• REST API endpoint support for programmatic configuration of auto-reload settings.

Associated Blog: https://akash.network/blog/automatic-escrow-top-up/

AEP-34: Workload Log Forwarding (Continued)

Specification: https://github.com/akash-network/AEP/tree/main/spec/aep-34

Problem Addressed:

Customers can only view limited logs in Console and logs are lost when the lease closes. AEP-34 was initially scoped in Q3; this continued allocation covers additional enhancements and expanded provider integration work shipped in Q4 2025 and Q1 2026.

Key Features Introduced:

• Configuration of log forwarding on any deployment within a user's account.
• Support for external logging service providers including Datadog and Grafana, with additional providers added over time.
• Log forwarder configuration via API key and secret for the specific logging service.

Associated Blog: https://akash.network/blog/alerts-and-notifications-in-akash-console/

AEP-39: Lease Termination Reasons

Specification: https://akash.network/roadmap/aep-39/

Problem Addressed:

When leases close on Akash, users have no visibility into why the termination occurred. Whether a lease ended due to depleted escrow, provider maintenance, resource constraints, or network issues, the lack of a structured termination reason makes debugging difficult and erodes trust in the platform's reliability.

Key Features Introduced:

• Extension of the lease state to include a termination reason field, allowing providers and the network to specify exactly why a lease ended.
• Improved transparency that strengthens provider reputation systems and simplifies debugging for developers.

AEP-60: Akash HomeNode - MVP

Specification: https://akash.network/roadmap/aep-60/

Problem Addressed:

Scaling the supply side of the Akash Network currently requires data-center-grade infrastructure and technical sophistication that excludes the vast majority of potential providers. Enabling "at home" users to participate as providers is critical to both scaling supply and to mitigate the impact of the oncoming energy crisis.

Key Features Introduced:

• A streamlined onboarding experience that allows home users with consumer-grade hardware to become Akash providers.
• Simplified provider setup that abstracts away the complexity of Kubernetes cluster management and blockchain operations.
• Network-level support for residential IP ranges and consumer hardware profiles.
• Foundation for future HomeNode features including auto-discovery, resource monitoring, and earnings dashboards.

Sign up for the HomeNode early access here: https://homenode.akash.network/

Conclusion

These AEPs are critical because they close major reliability and scalability gaps in the Akash ecosystem. Auto Credit Reload (AEP-74) completes the payment automation loop, ensuring credit card users never experience unexpected downtime. Lease Termination Reasons (AEP-39) delivers the transparency needed for production workloads by giving users and providers clear visibility into why leases end. Continued Log Forwarding work (AEP-34) extends observability tooling that enterprise users require. And HomeNode MVP (AEP-60) opens the supply side of the network to a fundamentally new class of providers, driving long-term decentralization and cost efficiency.

Together, these initiatives reduce friction, build confidence in Akash as a production-ready platform, and drive both user adoption and provider growth.

Limited Market Impact & Transparent Reporting

Overclock Labs will custody the requested funds in a new, distinct wallet so that funds from any other source are not commingled.

All funds will be liquidated and managed to minimize market impact. These funds will be handled with the same care and attention as all previous Community Funding Proposals, with liquidations done in a fashion that will not adversely affect the market. In practice, the effort of this liquidation will add depth to the AKT market for buyers looking to enter.

In some cases, Overclock Labs will use structured market-making (MM) activity to manage funds responsibly. Conversions will take place gradually over defined trading windows rather than through large sell transactions. Spreading activity over these longer windows helps ensure that each trade reduces the likelihood of noticeable price movements and helps maintain a stable market for all participants. This measured approach allows Overclock Labs to meet operational needs while minimizing market impact and supporting steady liquidity within the AKT ecosystem.