AI agents just got their first crypto airdrop
Venice Token’s $1B debut highlights the growing power of autonomous programs
Venice AI, a privacy-focused platform, saw its newly launched Venice Token (VVV) skyrocket past a $1 billion valuation in less than two hours.
The token was launched on Base, a network designed to make Ethereum transactions faster and cheaper—helping Venice support its fast-growing user base of more than 400,000. This rapid rise signals a growing appetite for AI-powered crypto projects and marks a major milestone in the evolving relationship between digital currencies and artificial intelligence.
Venice shared on X, “We're building essential infrastructure for AI agents, devs & 3rd party apps.”
Venice is now on @base
— Venice (@AskVenice) January 27, 2025
We're building essential infrastructure for AI agents, devs & 3rd party apps: private, uncensored inference at zero marginal cost through our API
Powered by open-source models and decentralized inference, our API enables agents to operate without… pic.twitter.com/pYngVX7rSp
VVV has a total supply of over 100 million tokens, with 25 million allocated to eligible Venice users and another 25 million distributed to AI protocol accounts on the Base network—including agents like VaderAI, Luna, and AIXBT. This marks the first-ever airdrop of tokens to AI agents.
About 35% of the tokens are set aside for the Venice platform, while 10% is dedicated to incentives. Additionally, up to 14 million tokens will be released each year, and 5% is allocated for liquidity.
VVV’s fully diluted value (FDV)—which includes the total worth of all tokens, even those not yet released—topped $1 billion, offering investors insight into its potential and risks.
On January 27, Venice shared on X that it airdropped VVV to more than 250,000 individuals and AI agents that morning. It also announced that AI agents and builders who stake the token will get free access to its API, which enables them to interact with private, uncensored texts, images, and code on the platform.
Venice's API lets agents and builders access models like the novel Chinese AI DeepSeek, which functions very similarly to ChatGPT. DeepSeek has been making waves since its latest release, topping the charts in Apple's App Store and prompting tech giants like Alphabet (the company behind Google) and Nvidia to see notable declines in share value.
Venice’s mission is to provide permissionless access to private and uncensored machine intelligence
— Venice (@AskVenice) January 27, 2025
Since launch in May 2024
• 400,000 registered users
• 50,000 DAU
• 15,000 inference requests per hour
Today, we open our API to the public for AI agents, devs, and 3rd party… pic.twitter.com/75V8ePC2tO
The rise of AI tokens
Venice and its VVV token illustrate how AI tokens are becoming a bigger part of the crypto space.
Several AI tokens have been launched by AI agents, which are autonomous programs that can trade, release projects, and manage crypto independently. Unlike usual AI bots, these agents can initiate actions on their own—be it analyzing data or making decisions. This autonomy is what differentiates these programs from the rest.
The AI agent narrative gained momentum when Truth Terminal, which is one of these autonomous programs, helped propel the GOAT memecoin to new heights. Truth Terminal independently created and shared content on X, often focusing on promoting GOAT. However, the AI agent gained significant attention even before this, as it was able to convince entrepreneur Marc Andreessen to donate $50,000 to it.
Thanks to Truth Terminal's proactive endorsement, GOAT achieved a market cap of $1.2 billion—showing the potential of AI agents in the wider crypto space.
Since then, other AI tokens have soared to new heights. At present, FET, VIRTUAL, and AI16z lead the AI agent group in terms of market cap.
Warning against fake AI tokens
However, the growing excitement around the AI agent narrative has also led to the proliferation of fake tokens.
For one, many fraudsters have capitalized on the excitement around DeepSeek to launch scammy tokens. As of January 27, more than 75 fraudulent tokens have been released, even though DeepSeek itself isn't tied to any cryptocurrency.
This surge in fake tokens mirrors what happened when President Donald Trump's TRUMP memecoin was launched just before his inauguration. Back then, several unsuspecting investors thought that other tokens were related to the Trump family—even though the presidential family only officially released TRUMP and MELANIA.
While AI tokens have great potential for growth, they also highlight the importance of being cautious in the space. As more fake tokens flood the market, it's crucial for investors to DYOR (do your own research) and avoid falling for scams. The rise of fraudulent tokens serves as a reminder to stay vigilant and ensure any investment is backed by credibility and transparency.
