"Venice Launches Cryptocurrency VVV on Coinbase's Base, Aims to Decentralize AI"

Erik Voorhees-backed AI startup Venice has made a significant move into the web3 space by launching its own cryptocurrency, VVV, on Coinbase's Base layer-2 network. The startup, which aims to provide an alternative to the increasingly centralized and censored AI offerings of major tech firms, has been backed by Voorhees since its inception in May 2024.

With the launch of VVV, Venice seeks to make its API more accessible by allowing AI agents to stake tokens for continuous access to its growing offerings for generative text, images, and code. This move is expected to eliminate the usual pay-per-request model, enabling agents to gain a share of Venice's inference capacity by staking tokens. According to a Jan. 27 blog announcement, if an agent stakes 1% of VVV, they will receive 1% of Venice's growing API capacity indefinitely, without paying per request.

In conjunction with the token announcement, Venice launched an airdrop, giving away 50 million VVV tokens. Half of the tokens were distributed to over 100,000 Venice users, while the other half was allocated to AI and crypto communities such as Virtuals, Luna, and VaderAI. The VVV token has a limited supply of 100 million at launch, with an additional 14 million tokens to be added each year, distributed as staking rewards.

Voorhees, the founder of ShapeShift, has been a vocal advocate for decentralization, privacy, and permissionless technology in the AI space. With Venice, he aims to provide users with an alternative to the dominant AI offerings from major tech firms, which have been criticized for their centralized nature and censorship.