iExec (RLC) is a decentralized computing project focused on 'confidential computing' — letting apps process sensitive data privately, even from the machine owner running the computation. It uses secure hardware enclaves (Trusted Execution Environments, e.g. Intel's SGX) so that data can be handled inside a sealed, tamper-proof space. The pitch is to be a 'trust layer' for two hot areas: DePIN (decentralized physical infrastructure) and AI — for example, letting businesses train AI models on private data without exposing it. RLC is the token that pays for this: every confidential computation, every piece of protected data used, and every app run requires RLC. It's one of the older projects in the space, dating to a 2017 launch, with a small, fully-circulating supply (about 87 million).
Where it stands today: iExec has kept shipping products rather than just marketing — deploying its privacy tools on Arbitrum, running builder-grant programs, and preparing a 'Confidential Token' product. Demand for confidential computing has grown (partly from businesses wanting to train AI on sensitive data safely), and its whole supply is already in circulation, so there's no risk of surprise dilution. But RLC sits around 97% below its 2021 peak, and it's a small-cap with reduced exchange support and persistently weak price action — a classic 'builders are confident, traders are bearish' split. So today it's a technically serious, privacy-focused infrastructure project riding the AI/DePIN themes, whose small-cap token has badly lagged its development.