Render Network Foundation Monthly Report — May 2025
Overview of Render Network ecosystem activity in May 2025, including key metrics, governance updates, events, partnerships, artist spotlight, and more.
Ecosystem metrics
The Render Network Foundation tracks various metrics on its network. Below is the aggregate view of the month’s activity, previous month’s activity, and month-over-month change for a few key metrics. Much of this information is found at stats.renderfoundation.com.
Glossary
Frames rendered — number of frames rendered by the network.
Burns — the USDC equivalent of RENDER tokens burned on the network. Additional burn and mint data and details of the burn and mint equilibrium model (BME).
Emissions — RENDER tokens minted for the month per the emissions schedule for BME.
Rewards to Foundation rendering node (RENDER) — RENDER tokens issued, both for rendering jobs and availability, to the rendering node operated on behalf of the Foundation. The Foundation’s rendering node Solana wallet address is: AAHwFzKj8U1E7JyNBz2v561eXCz41Uv123xzjAYo3GdT
Rewards for jobs — rewards sent, in RENDER tokens, to render node operators on the network whose machines were used to complete rendering jobs.
Rewards for availability — rewards sent, in RENDER tokens, to render node operators who made their machines available to the network.
Total rewards to nodes — the sum of rewards sent to render node operators for rendering and availability.
Governance updates
RNP-019 — Render Compute Network
RNP-019 passed in April 2025, which enabled the Render Network Foundation to start setting up a new emissions and rewards framework designed to support AI and general compute workloads. It enables the creation of a new Render Compute Network specifically optimized for AI workloads including inferencing, offline and edge machine learning, and other AI related tasks.
At RenderCon we demonstrated a few test deployments for use cases for which distributed compute can support agentic platforms and financial services workflows for creators.
In May, we began recruiting node operators with consumer grade GPUs that met the specific requirements to support these AI and general compute use cases. The waitlist for interested node operators went live.
Interested in joining the waitlist? Check the hardware requirements and further details in the proposal. Have a read through our RNP-019 blog post as well as our overview of real use cases where decentralized compute networks are meeting increased AI demand.
A note for GPU operators interested in joining this new compute network:
- The Render Compute Network is separate from the existing rendering network.
- Compute nodes for this network are optimized for AI compute software, hardware, and connectivity requirements.
- We highly advise against purchasing new equipment for this network. It is intended for existing hardware with idle capacity.
- Joining the waitlist does not guarantee a spot in the first (or subsequent) cohorts.
- There are no guarantees about the amount of work that will be assigned to nodes via the network.
- We are in the early days of building the Render Compute Network. As demand increases, we will continue to onboard operators.
Partnerships
RenderLabs is one of the latest Render Network Foundation partners. Created earlier this year as a for-profit organization spun out of the Render Network Foundation, RenderLabs was established to pursue potential commercial opportunities related to AI applications that could be built for or supported by distributed compute, specifically the Render Network.
In particular, RenderLabs is a resource for builders looking for the best AI tools and agentic workflows. Their goal is to help builders identify the best tools and agents to integrate into their specific projects by evaluating tools based on quality, speed, accuracy, and ease of integration.
Check out their talk and demo at RenderCon from April this year to learn more about what they’re working on.
Product updates
Three big and a few smaller product updates were released in May for the Render Network.
The first is that we have rolled out full support of Blender Cycles to all users on the Render Network. Previously undergoing extensive testing in beta for more than six months, the Blender Cycles integration in the Render Network makes it possible to seamlessly support the most widely available, open source rendering engine, with millions of downloads per year.
From students to artists, creators, and filmmakers who use Blender Cycles, the integration is the most significant milestone to date in a years-long partnership with the Blender Foundation.
Check out everything you need to know about this launch. The knowledge base has tutorials for getting started with your Blender Cycles integration on the Render Network.
Octane 2025.1 is the latest addition to the OctaneRender versions supported on the Render Network. Paired with the Render Network’s near-limitless GPU compute power, this release introduces key new features like rest attributes, Vectron displacement, decals, realistic camera lenses, a rebuilt chaos texture node, and more. This 30 second clip shows how to use this latest version of OctaneRender:
Iterate With AI is a new tool in the Render Portal that allows you to create new versions of your frames using an image-to-image or image-to-video AI generation tool. Sign into your Render Network account and head to the AI Generation tab to start iterating your work.
Cinema4D was also updated to 2025.2.1 while Redshift was updated to version 2025.4.1.
Additionally, there’s now a new view in the job window that shows progress of frames being sent to Dropbox.
And lastly, a new OctaneBench was released for 2025.1, providing updated metrics for the latest generation NVIDIA GPUs. This short video shows you how to use the OctaneBench 2025:
Ecosystem/Community
In the News
Jules Urbach sits down with Andrey Lebrov
Jules Urbach, founder of the Render Network and CEO of OTOY, sat down with Andrey Lebrov to talk in depth about all things rendering: RenderCon recap, the concept of neural rendering, how AI is influencing rendering trends, tools galore, and more.
Coinbase U.S. will stop trading of legacy RNDR token
In May, Coinbase announced they would stop supporting trading of RNDR, the legacy ERC-20 token that was upgraded to the Solana-based RENDER token in November of 2023. This change will take effect on June 26th, 2025 and impacts Coinbase U.S. customers.
The move marks a notable chapter in the Render Network Foundation’s continued efforts to build on Solana with a focus on fast, low-cost transactions.
For holders of RENDER, there is no impact.
For Coinbase users who hold the legacy RNDR token, it’s a reminder and opportunity to upgrade to RENDER. For tokenholders who have not made the upgrade, we encourage start here: https://upgrade.rendernetwork.com.
Why upgrade? Not only will you be able to trade RENDER on Coinbase in the future, you’ll also be able to vote on RNPs (Render Network Proposals) as voting is structured for tokenholders to vote based on their RENDER tokens.
More information about the decision behind the upgrade: https://renderfoundation.com/upgrade.
Upgrading is easy:
Step 1: move your RNDR off exchange to a wallet that supports ERC-20 tokens
Step 2: visit https://upgrade.rendernetwork.com
Step 3: connect your ERC and Solana wallets
Step 4: click ‘Upgrade’ to upgrade your RNDR (ERC-20) to RENDER (SPL)
Announcements
Render Royale — the Premier Monthly 3D Contest — May recap
The first month of Render Royale kicked off with strong creative energy across the 3D community. We received 19 high-quality submissions, showcasing a diverse range of styles and storytelling.
- Octane remained the dominant rendering engine, powering 17 of the 19 entries.
- Blender Cycles made its debut with 2 entries, marking early traction following its recent integration into the Render Network.
Winners for May were:
OctaneRender
1st place — The Light Beyond by Sajjad Salem X Instagram
3nd place — rayCAST.00 by REVILO Instagram Threads TikTok
3rd place — DICE by Deneth X Instagram Facebook
Blender Cycles
1st place — RNDR Temple by Omid Pakbin X Instagram Facebook Threads
2nd place — The First Hufflepuff by nothaslu X Instagram Threads
Big thank you to our judges, Amrit Pal Singh, Jess Wiseman, and Matt Milstead!
Do yourself a favor and read all about the winning entries. You can also watch this reel of their work:
While we’re excited by the momentum, there’s a clear opportunity ahead. We need more creators using Maxon Redshift and more Blender Cycles artists to join the competition and unlock the power of decentralized rendering.
As we move into June, our focus is on:
- Broadening outreach to Redshift users across motion design and visual effects.
- Deepening engagement with the Blender community, highlighting how they can access the Render Network for fast, efficient, and easy rendering with Blender Cycles.
2024 foundation grants and credits deadline extended
Good news for recipients of 2024 Render Network Foundation grants! Free grant credits that would have expired on December 31, 2024 have been extended until June 30th, 2025.
Did you receive free foundation grant credits to try the Render Network but haven’t used them all yet? Use them by June 30th, 2025 before they expire.
Need ideas for how to use your free rendering grant credits? Enter our monthly rendering contest, Render Royale, for a chance at USDC prizes and public recognition of your work.
Artist spotlight
Wes Cockx (aka Wes Cream) is known for experimental motion work and crisp, abstract 3D designs. May was a notable month for Wes: he worked (as an independent contractor) on Google’s I/O 25 event and he launched a much-anticipated mentorship program.
For a deeper dive into his process, check out this interview where he explains his process, how high costs and lack of software support led him to use the Render Network, and the surprising topics that led him to launch his mentoring program.
Ulli Schultz is a Germany-based artist whose entrepreneurial background across Asia influence his 3D and VFX work today. Through his studio, ThreeDeeVision, Ulli creates 3D designs for clients in various industries.
An example of work he rendered using the Render Network for an advertising client was for “THEO Laser Welding,” done on a tight production timeline of 12 days for 30 seconds of high quality, full CG output. Instead of taking up to 5 minutes per frame for shots using very high-end machines, Ulli was able to complete the full shot in around 10 minutes on the Render Network.
What’s coming up
Render Royale: The Premier Monthly 3D Contest, June Edition
Announced last month, Render Royale is a contest for artists/creators to submit their best work using Redshift, OctaneRender, or Blender Cycles on the Render Network. It’s a chance to win USDC prizes and be part of a global showcase of great work.
Each month features a different theme and a new chance to win. June’s theme is Urban Utopias.
One winner per rendering engine will be selected each month but you can enter as many times as you’d like.
Submissions are open until June 25th. Good luck!
Enter now at renderfoundation.com/royale
Catch us at upcoming events
We’re sponsoring Motion Plus Design, a curated motion design festival, in New York, June 14, 2025 and Paris, November 8, 2025. Find us there!
As the sponsors of the DePIN track at Permissionless IV, we’re hosting a DePIN x AI happy hour, June 22–26, 2025 in New York City. Attending Permissionless? Meet us there!
