Fluctuations in artificial intelligence chip rental rates can now be traded directly onchain. Layer-1 network Injective has launched an onchain perpetual futures market based on the Super Intelligence Compute Index (SICI) on mainnet. Through this instrument, market participants can speculate on or hedge AI compute rates using up to 10x leverage backed by USDC margin. The introduction of these contracts shifts compute rental cost risks into the crypto derivatives market.
How GPU Rental Rates Are Calculated
The SICI index tracks the hourly rental rates of five Nvidia graphics processing units (GPUs). The H100 SXM 80GB model holds the largest share with a 40% weighting, followed by the B200 architecture at 25%. The remaining three chips include the H200 at 15%, alongside the A100 SXM 80GB and GeForce RTX 4090, each contributing a 10% weighting to the index basket.
The market benchmark is not determined unilaterally by Injective, but is calculated by London-based market data firm LO:TECH. LO:TECH aggregates on-demand and spot compute rental pricing from various cloud marketplaces. The SICI calculation methodology applies a 7-day moving average of hourly rental rates, normalized to a baseline value of 100 since its initial fixing on July 22, 2026. The index is updated daily through a fixing process at 19:00 UTC.
This index contract expands Injective’s existing compute derivatives portfolio. In August 2025, Injective launched rental futures for a single H100 chip on the decentralized exchange Helix in partnership with Squaretower. The launch of SICI broadens the instrument from single-hardware exposure to a multi-GPU weighted index.
Capital Pressure in the Neocloud Sector
Providing these multi-GPU derivatives is aimed at helping AI developers mitigate rental rate volatility while offering revenue stream protection for GPU hardware providers. This hedging demand coincides with mounting financial pressures across the compute infrastructure sector. Gartner research projects that over 80% of independent AI cloud providers risk collapsing by 2030 due to the heavy burden of infrastructure capital expenditures they must bear.
For software developers and AI server operators, this instrument offers hedging capabilities that were previously difficult to access in conventional cloud markets. Industry players can now lock in future compute cost projections without having to purchase physical processor units upfront. Tapping into decentralized exchange liquidity has become a tangible option for compute companies looking to maintain operational balance sheet resilience.
Reported by crypto.news.
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