Nodle Network (NODL)

Overview

Nodle Network connects everyday devices to the internet using a resource many people already carry: a smartphone. A phone running the Nodle app can detect nearby Bluetooth signals from tags and sensors. The network turns those encounters into useful information, such as the last reported location of a tagged asset. People who help provide this coverage can earn the network’s token, NODL, also called Nodle Cash. (docs.nodle.com)

This approach is often called a decentralized physical infrastructure network, or DePIN. Instead of placing dedicated readers everywhere, Nodle coordinates phones and other devices that are already in use. Businesses can then use the resulting coverage to locate assets or gather information from connected equipment. Nodle also uses its infrastructure for digital-content verification, linking physical observations and online records through cryptographic tools. (nodle.com)

History & Team

From wireless networks to Nodle

Micha Benoliel and Garrett Kinsman co-founded Nodle in 2017. Benoliel had previously co-founded Open Garden, which developed technology for nearby devices to communicate with one another. The founders brought that interest in shared connectivity to a new goal: using phones to reach Bluetooth-enabled objects and rewarding people for helping the network grow. (paragraph.com)

NODL first appeared on Stellar in 2018. The team launched its own chain in 2020, and Nodle later operated as a Polkadot parachain. In 2024, the project began moving its network and token to ZKsync Era, an Ethereum layer-2 network. Nodle’s documentation describes its network, token, and related products as migrated to ZKsync. These changes mark the project’s shift from an early connectivity experiment toward a broader set of consumer and business products. (docs.nodle.com)

An announced 2018 seed round was led by Blockchange Ventures. Participants included Blockhead Capital, Bootstraplabs, Olymp Capital, and Mark Pincus with Work Play Ventures. (globenewswire.com)

Technology & How It Works

Phones as wireless readers

Nodle relies on Bluetooth Low Energy, or BLE, a wireless technology used by small tags and sensors. A tagged object sends out a short signal called a beacon. When a participating phone comes within range, the Nodle software can detect that signal and send an encrypted report to the network. Nodle combines reports about the same asset into a location result that an authorized owner can request through an API. (nodle.com)

A phone that performs this work is called an edge node. “Edge” means the phone handles part of the task close to where the signal is found, rather than leaving every step to a distant server. Developers can add Nodle’s software development kit, or SDK, to an app so its users’ devices can help provide coverage. The Nodle app gives individuals a direct way to participate. (nodle.com)

The network uses connectivity reports to measure contributions and assign NODL rewards. Its documentation describes rewards as tied to factors such as whether a node is available, what it can do, and where its coverage is useful. Nodle calls its wider method Proof of Connectivity: the network rewards devices for providing a wireless service rather than for solving computing puzzles. (docs.nodle.com)

Blockchain and programmable tasks

NODL operates on ZKsync Era, which supports Ethereum-compatible applications. This gives Nodle a place to manage token transfers and network-related contracts while connecting with the wider Ethereum ecosystem. The project previously described Smart Missions as programmable tasks that can ask participating devices to perform work, such as looking for a particular Bluetooth tag. Its documentation shows how a mission can pair a device task with a reward for an accepted result. (docs.nodle.com)

Tokenomics & Utility

NODL’s published maximum supply is 21 billion tokens. About 8.4 billion were created during the project’s early period. The economic design sets aside further issuance to encourage participation as coverage grows. Its longer-term aim is for demand from people and businesses using network services to play a larger role in funding rewards. (docs.nodle.com)

The original allocation gave tokens to early network participants, the team, investors, and a treasury for development. Historical parachain documentation describes an issuance split of 80% for edge-node activity, 10% for protocol development, and 10% for collators, which helped operate that chain. Those figures describe the earlier parachain design; Nodle’s later move to ZKsync changed the chain infrastructure around the token. (docs.nodle.com)

NODL has several roles in the ecosystem. It rewards people who help run the network and can be used for network services and transfers. Nodle also provides a staking pool. In governance, holders can participate in the Nodle DAO, where voting is weighted by tokens held: one NODL represents one vote. This gives the token a role in decisions about the network as well as in paying for activity on it. (docs.nodle.com)

Ecosystem & Use Cases

Locating connected assets

Asset tracking is Nodle’s clearest physical-world use case. A business attaches a Bluetooth tag to an item, and participating devices listen for the tag as they move nearby. Nodle’s ConnectX product offers this service to enterprises. The company describes a vehicle-recovery partnership with Roole in France, showing how a network of passing readers can help locate tagged vehicles. (nodle.com)

Coverage can serve other objects that are difficult to follow with fixed readers, such as equipment moving through a supply chain. Nodle says its network reaches devices in 175 countries. The value of that reach depends on participating readers being near the particular tag when it sends a signal. (nodle.com)

Proving where content came from

Nodle’s ContentSign product serves a different need: checking the origin and integrity of digital files. It creates a cryptographic record for content such as a photo, video, or document. The record includes a fingerprint of the file, a time, and signer information in a format based on the open C2PA standard. A later change to the signed file produces a different fingerprint, allowing a verifier to detect the change. Nodle says Vivendi used ContentSign for press releases and corporate documents. (nodle.com)

The consumer app brings several functions together. Alongside earning NODL through Bluetooth coverage, it includes a self-custody wallet, token swaps, encrypted messaging, and an AI tool designed to run on the device. These features give participants ways to use the app beyond providing wireless coverage. (nodle.com)

Advantages & Challenges

Nodle’s main advantage is its use of existing devices. A business can seek Bluetooth coverage without installing a dedicated reader wherever an asset may travel. People can join with a phone, while app developers can add the SDK to make their software part of the network. BLE also suits small tags designed to send short signals. (nodle.com)

That model creates practical challenges. A tag can be reported only when a participating reader comes close enough to hear it, so usefulness varies by place and by the number of active devices. More coverage makes the service more useful, while useful business services can help support the rewards that attract participants. Nodle’s token model is built around developing both sides of that relationship. (nodle.com)

The ecosystem also spans different kinds of work. Bluetooth detection, location reporting, token rewards, business tools, and content credentials must each serve a clear purpose. Nodle’s asset-tracking products and ContentSign show two distinct ways it is putting that infrastructure to use. (nodle.com)

Where to Buy & Wallets

NODL is available on Gate and on ZKsync-based decentralized exchanges including SyncSwap and Koi Finance. Nodle also identifies MEXC as a platform supporting the ZKsync-based token. Its app offers swaps between NODL and supported assets within its self-custody wallet. Platform access can differ by location. (docs.nodle.com)

The Nodle app can hold NODL. Nodle’s documentation also lists Ethereum-compatible wallets such as MetaMask, Talisman, and Ledger with Ethereum integration for use on ZKsync Era. The project publishes the ZKsync token contract address in its documentation, which helps users identify the token on that network. (docs.nodle.com)

Regulatory & Compliance

Nodle’s wireless and token activities meet several kinds of rules. In the European Union, the Markets in Crypto-Assets regulation, known as MiCA, sets requirements for crypto-asset offers and service providers. Its application to an activity depends on the service being provided. Location-related information also brings data-protection duties into view: the EU’s GDPR governs the processing of personal data, including location data linked to an identifiable person. (eur-lex.europa.eu)

In the United States, the IRS includes digital assets received as rewards and digital assets sold or exchanged in its tax-reporting guidance. That makes recordkeeping relevant to people receiving or using NODL. (irs.gov)

Nodle’s published token documentation does not assign NODL a halal classification or present a Shariah certification. Its described uses include payment for connectivity services, participation rewards, governance, and staking. A religious assessment of NODL would consider those activities and the terms of any staking arrangement under the applicable Islamic finance principles. (docs.nodle.com)

Future Outlook

Nodle’s development centers on making shared device coverage useful to more customers and giving participants clear reasons to contribute. ConnectX applies that coverage to physical assets, while ContentSign extends the project into verifiable digital content. Smart Missions offer a framework for developers to define further tasks for participating devices. The Nodle DAO provides a way for token holders to take part in decisions as those services develop. (nodle.com)

The project’s longer-term economic goal is to connect network rewards more closely to demand for completed services. Whether that model expands depends on the fit between reader coverage, customer needs, and the work that phones can perform. (docs.nodle.com)

Summary

Nodle Network turns phones into a shared Bluetooth-reading network and uses NODL to reward participation. Its ecosystem links asset tracking, programmable device tasks, governance, and content verification. Within crypto, it is an example of a token designed to coordinate a service that reaches beyond the blockchain and into everyday devices. (docs.nodle.com)