# What is Pearl?

https://www.learnpearl.org/what-is-pearl/ · Checked October 20, 2026 · Beginner

Pearl is a blockchain that swaps Bitcoin’s hash puzzles for verifiable matrix multiplication, the math AI runs on. The bet: the same computation that powers AI could also secure an open money network.

## Key takeaways

- Pearl is its own blockchain (a layer 1) with a native coin, PRL, capped at 2.1 billion.
- Miners prove their work by doing matrix multiplication instead of hashing, so mining hardware could be doing AI work at the same time.
- The network has been live since April 27, 2026. The software is open source and still early.
- Pearl can verify that the math was done. Whether it served a real AI customer is a separate, open question.

## Pearl in plain English

AI models spend most of their computing time multiplying large grids of numbers called matrices. Pearl is designed so a miner can turn that matrix multiplication into a cryptographic proof that secures a blockchain.

The network’s coin is PRL. New PRL goes to miners as block rewards, and transactions move existing PRL between addresses on a public ledger built the way Bitcoin’s is, out of UTXOs.

Bitcoin also pays miners for work, but its work is guessing numbers until a hash comes out small enough. That secures the network and is useful for nothing else. Pearl asks whether the work could be something the world already wants done: the arithmetic inside AI.

> **The careful wording matters.** Pearl proves that qualifying matrix multiplication was performed. Whether every calculation also served a real AI customer is a separate question, covered in [the risks guide](https://www.learnpearl.org/risks/).

## The protocol at a glance

- **Network type:** Layer 1 · Its own chain, nodes and coin
- **Ledger:** UTXO · Bitcoin-style accounting
- **Target block time:** 194 seconds · About 3 minutes 14 seconds
- **Maximum supply:** 2.1 billion PRL · Smooth emission, no halvings
- **Smallest unit:** 1 grain · 0.00000001 PRL
- **The work:** Matrix multiplication · Proved with block certificates
- **Live since:** April 27, 2026 · Mainnet genesis, 09:00 UTC
- **License:** ISC · Open source, on GitHub

## Pearl and Bitcoin, side by side

Pearl’s node descends from btcd, a Bitcoin implementation, so everything about how money moves is Bitcoin-shaped. What changes is how blocks are produced and paid for.

| Feature | Bitcoin | Pearl |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Mining work | SHA-256 hashing, useful only for mining | Matrix multiplication, the core operation of AI |
| Target block time | About 10 minutes | 194 seconds (3 min 14 s) |
| Supply cap | 21 million BTC | 2.1 billion PRL |
| Issuance | Halves every four years, in steps | Shrinks a little every block; about half is issued in the first four years |
| Difficulty | Adjusts every 2,016 blocks | Adjusts every block (WTEMA) |
| Ledger | UTXO | UTXO |
| Addresses | Several formats, from legacy to Taproot | Taproot and the newer P2MR, both starting with prl1 |
| Scripting | Deliberately limited | Deliberately limited, plus a few additions such as an XMSS signature check |

## What exists today

The public Pearl repository holds a full node (pearld), the Oyster wallet daemon (a background program) and its terminal app, a privacy-preserving light client, a desktop wallet, a GPU miner built on vLLM, a zero-knowledge proving system and supporting tools. It is open source under the ISC license.

- **Mainnet:** Live · Since April 27, 2026 · _Live_
- **Core software:** v1.5.2 · Released Oct 17, 2026 · _Live_
- **Desktop wallet:** v3.0.0 · Windows, macOS, Linux · Oct 13, 2026 · _Live_
- **Inference platform:** Offered · Pearl Research Labs’ paid AI API · _Live_
- **FP8 protocol:** In development · Specified; not live on mainnet · _Planned_

Pearl is still early software. Releases, mining compatibility, pools, exchanges and tooling change quickly. Treat every third-party guide, this one included, as a snapshot, and check anything you act on against the [official repository](https://github.com/pearl-research-labs/pearl).

## Questions people ask

### Is Pearl the same thing as PRL?

Not quite. Pearl is the network and protocol; PRL is its native coin. Pearl Research Labs is the company that develops the reference software, and it also runs an AI inference business. Price sites list the coin as PEARL: see [which “Pearl” is which](https://www.learnpearl.org/which-pearl/).

### Is Pearl a token on Ethereum or another chain?

No. Pearl is its own layer-1 blockchain with its own nodes, ledger and coin. Native PRL has no token contract. Tokens elsewhere that borrow the name, such as WPRL on Ethereum, are third-party and are not native PRL.

### Who runs Pearl?

Anyone can run a node or mine. The reference software is developed in the open by Pearl Research Labs on GitHub, and proposed changes are written up as Pearl Improvement Proposals in a [public repository](https://github.com/pearl-research-labs/pips).

### Is Pearl post-quantum today?

Not in a way you should rely on. Pearl’s script includes an XMSS signature check and its wallet can commit XMSS keys into an address, but standard wallets sign with ordinary Taproot keys, and nothing establishes that mainnet funds are protected that way. “Post-quantum ready” is not “quantum-safe today”.

## Sources

- [Pearl monorepo on GitHub](https://github.com/pearl-research-labs/pearl) (Pearl Research Labs, primary)
- [Pearl INT whitepaper (the scheme mainnet runs)](https://pearlresearch.ai/research/int-whitepaper) (Pearl Research Labs, primary)
- [Official Pearl releases](https://github.com/pearl-research-labs/pearl/releases) (Pearl Research Labs, primary)
- [Pearl Research Labs website](https://pearlresearch.ai) (Pearl Research Labs, primary)