Fair Launch Tokens and the Ethos of Crypto
An Arweave-based computing protocol for artificial intelligence (AI) applications, AO, has quickly attracted over $158 million in deposits within a week following its ‘fair launch.’
AO operates on Arweave’s permanent data storage layer, enabling parallel application execution through a decentralized computational model. This innovation allows AI applications, including large language models (LLMs), to run within smart contracts on-chain.
The significant inflows for the AO (AO) token underscore the industry’s eagerness for new technological advancements, according to Arweave’s founder, Sam Williams. Williams emphasized that the launch of AO has spurred a considerable amount of development, usage, and excitement, reflected in the rapid growth of the network’s Total Value Locked (TVL). He noted that the industry is ready for novel technologies and economic models provided by AO.
Fair Launch Tokens and Crypto’s Ethos
Out of the $158 million in total deposits, the AO token attracted $48 million worth of stETH on June 18, as reported by Dune data. The success of AO is not only due to its innovative parallel computing strategy but also its ‘fair launch’ model. The AO token was minted without any venture capitalist (VC) involvement, pre-sale, or pre-mining allocations. Instead, 100% of the token supply was allocated to the community.
Source: Dune
Source: AO
Williams explained that this fair launch model aims to return to the original ethos of crypto, which emphasizes fair and equal access. He stated, “AO’s technology addresses many core issues that have hindered crypto from achieving mass adoption, so we designed its economics to be equally inclusive, ensuring no preferential treatment for anyone.”
Recovery of AI-Related Cryptocurrencies
In 2024, AI-related cryptocurrencies have gained significant attention, with investors looking for the next major AI applications. On June 20, several top AI-based cryptocurrencies started recovering after experiencing double-digit weekly drops. The Near Protocol (NEAR) token recovered over 8.4% intraday, following a nearly 13% decrease the previous week. The Fetch.ai (FET) token and SingularityNet (AGIX) token also saw significant gains, rising over 23% in the past 24 hours.
Source: CoinMarketCap
The total trading volume of AI-based cryptocurrencies increased by over 14% to $2.68 billion, while their cumulative market capitalization rose by over 7% to $30.9 billion.
