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We Read Planck’s 41-Page Whitepaper—Here’s What You Really Need to Know

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clock Nov 26,2025
pen By Joshua
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Introduction: From Vision to Fine Print

The Planck Network website paints an exciting picture: a project building the world’s first Layer-0 for AI, combining decentralized infrastructure with high-performance GPU computing. Its stated goal is to become “The New Industry Standard of Decentralized AI.” The vision is ambitious, backed by impressive traction and partnerships.
 
But savvy participants know the real story isn’t just in the vision—it’s in the legal architecture and risk disclosures that underpin it. What details are found in the dense, 41-page legal whitepaper—a document few will ever read in its entirety? We did the reading for you. Our goal is to distill the most surprising and impactful takeaways from the formal document into a clear, scannable list. Here’s what you really need to know.

 

 

 

1. It’s a “Utility Token,” and That’s Not Just Jargon

The whitepaper is unequivocal about the legal and practical classification of the $PLANCK token. It is defined strictly as a “utility token,” a term with specific implications for any potential holder.
In this context, a utility token’s functions are confined to the Planck ecosystem. The whitepaper outlines its core purposes:
 
• Payment: Acting as the medium of exchange for GPU compute resources, AI model training, and deployment.
 
• Staking: Securing network operations and earning rewards.
 
• Governance: Participating in votes on protocol upgrades and proposals.
 
• Fee Participation: Allowing stakers to receive a share of fees generated by the network.
Crucially, the document emphasizes what the token is not. It makes a clear legal distinction between a utility key for a network and a traditional financial asset. To underscore this point, the whitepaper states:
 
Holders do not obtain ownership, equity, or dividend rights in Planck Network. All rights are exercised on-chain through smart contracts…
 
This distinction is fundamental. It means your potential upside is tied to the demand for the service, not the financial success of the company. They are related but critically different concepts for any potential buyer to understand.
 

2. The Project is Ambitious, But the Company is Brand New

Planck’s marketing materials highlight impressive scale and real-world traction, including “1.4m revenue YTD in GPU rental & cloud computing services sales.” These figures suggest a mature, thriving operation.
 
However, the “Issuer-Related Risks” section of the whitepaper provides a sobering counterpoint. It describes the issuer, Planck Network Ltd., as a “recently established company with limited operating history and financial track record” that “relies heavily on external financing.”
 
This reveals a crucial distinction: while the technology and infrastructure may be robust, the business model for monetizing it is still a venture-stage hypothesis. The risk isn’t in the hardware; it’s in the market’s willingness to adopt a new economic model for compute. Further complicating the picture, the whitepaper distinguishes between the token issuer in the British Virgin Islands and the legal entity in Cyprus handling the EU regulatory filing—a common but complex corporate structure designed for global operations and regulatory management.
 

3. They’re Taking on the Titans of Tech

While some projects remain vague about their competitive landscape, the Planck whitepaper is refreshingly direct. The “Competition risks” section explicitly identifies its primary rivals, and they are the biggest names in technology.
The document states that the company faces “strong competition” from “traditional hyperscale cloud service providers,” specifically naming:
 
• Amazon Web Services (AWS)
 
• Microsoft Azure
 
• Google Cloud
 
This isn’t just a statement of fact; it’s a strategic positioning. By naming the giants, Planck is not claiming it will replace them tomorrow. Instead, it is clarifying its value proposition as a decentralized alternative built on a different philosophy—a key differentiator for users and developers wary of vendor lock-in with big tech.
 

4. There’s No Safety Net for Your Investment

For those accustomed to the protections of traditional finance, the whitepaper’s warnings about risk are stark and absolute. It makes clear that the principles of self-custody and decentralized assets come with non-negotiable responsibilities.
The document explains that holders are solely responsible for safeguarding their private keys. If those keys are lost or stolen, the tokens are gone permanently, with “no recourse or recovery possible.”
 
This lack of protection is so fundamental that under the new EU MiCA regulations, Planck is legally required to include the following explicit warning:
 
The crypto-asset referred to in this white paper is not covered by the investor compensation schemes under Directive 97/9/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council. The crypto-asset referred to in this white paper is not covered by the deposit guarantee schemes under Directive 2014/49/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council.
This is a core principle of most crypto-assets. Unlike a bank deposit or a security held with a broker, there is no third-party insurer or government scheme to protect you from loss.
 

5. Insiders Hold a Major Stake, But Their Hands Are Tied (For Now)

Transparency about token allocation is critical, and the whitepaper addresses potential conflicts of interest head-on. It discloses that founders, advisers, and early investors hold significant allocations of $PLANCK, which could misalign their incentives with those of public holders.
However, the document immediately outlines the mitigation measures designed to prevent short-term sell-offs and encourage long-term alignment. It specifically mentions the use of “vesting schedules, lock-up periods, cliff arrangements, and phased release mechanisms.”
 
For example, the “Core Team” allocation, which makes up 17.50% of the total supply, is subject to a 12-month cliff (meaning no tokens are released for the first year) and a subsequent 48-month vesting period. This structure ensures that the team cannot sell its tokens for a significant amount of time, tying their financial outcomes to the sustained success of the network. This level of transparent disclosure, combined with explicit mitigation structures, is a hallmark of a mature project attempting to build long-term trust.
 

Conclusion: The Power of Reading the Fine Print

Behind the powerful vision of projects like Planck lies a complex reality of legal frameworks, strategic trade-offs, and clearly defined risks. While the marketing materials provide the inspiration, the whitepaper provides the crucial context.
Ultimately, the transparency in this document should be seen as a strength. It provides the necessary data for a sophisticated assessment, separating hype from operational reality and treating potential participants as discerning stakeholders.
 
This brings us to a final question worth pondering: In an industry often criticized for a lack of transparency, does this level of detailed, public disclosure give you more or less confidence in a project’s future?

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