Original title: (An in-depth analysis of the value and participation methods of AI public chain Vana) Original author: Jesse, Biteye core contributor
Over the past two decades, personal data has gradually evolved into the core currency of the Internet economy. While enjoying free services, users often inadvertently transfer control of their data to platforms. These platforms have gained huge economic benefits through targeted advertising and data transactions.
With the rapid development of artificial intelligence technology, private data has become a key resource to promote an AI-driven world. However, there are two significant contradictions in this ecosystem: the producers of data, individuals, often cannot obtain financial returns from it; and AI researchers face difficulties in obtaining high-quality data sets.
The early internet concept was to create an open ecosystem where users could fully control their data. However, with the popularity of cloud infrastructure and the convenience of free services, platforms gradually monopolized the management of digital identities, constructing a centralized data economy system.
This status quo clearly deviates from the original intent of the internet's design.
1. Data Ownership and Its Importance
Today, two transformative forces are challenging the existing data monopoly: on one hand, the rapid development of AI is causing the value of personal data to grow exponentially; on the other hand, the rise of decentralized technology provides individuals with new tools to regain control over their data. Vana is committed to leading this transformation, as the first open protocol designed specifically for data sovereignty, ushering in a new era of data economy.
Vana is an EVM-compatible AI public chain focusing on the management and governance of user sovereign data. Its core goal is to establish a distributed network that allows users not only to own and govern the data they contribute but also to profit directly from data assetization.
Vana not only empowers users with control over their data but also provides developers with compliant and high-quality data resources, building a win-win ecosystem.
Vana utilizes private key permission management to ensure data portability and control, challenging the monopolies of centralized platforms in the Web2 era, building a decentralized data market, eliminating intermediaries, and creating fair value for all participants.
Targeting Users
· Data Monetization: Vana supports users in extracting data from centralized platforms and aggregating it into decentralized data collectives. By participating in decentralized Data DAOs, users can earn economic returns from data sharing.
· Sovereignty and Portability: Users not only control their data but also unlock diverse values, such as personalized AI services or data insights.
Targeting Developers and Researchers
· High-Quality Data Access: Vana provides datasets owned by users with transparent governance, significantly improving the efficiency of the data market.
· AI Model Optimization: Developers can utilize compliant and portable datasets to drive AI innovation.
Targeting the Overall Ecosystem
· Efficient Data Market: Creating a fair and efficient data ecosystem through aligned interests and disintermediation.
· Promoting responsible innovation: Ensuring data contributors receive fair compensation and encouraging ethical and responsible data use in the AI economy.
Through Vana's technology and ecological design, the realization of personal data value is shifting from passive to active. Vana not only challenges the centralized monopoly of the Web2 era, continuing the network effects of centralized platforms, but also brings a more equitable, transparent, and efficient future for the data economy.
2. How DataDAO better empowers AI Agents
Unlike traditional digital assets, the economic value of data relies on controlled access. Once data is made public, its market value rapidly depreciates. Traditional blockchains, which emphasize public verification, are unsuitable for handling private data. Vana successfully solves this problem by combining private data hosting with public ownership architecture.
Vana maintains a global state network that ensures transparency in data ownership, quality verification, and profit distribution. Its core functions include:
· Data Ownership Record: Encrypted proof of user ownership of the data.
· Access Control Management: Define access conditions and authorization scope for data.
· Verification proof: Ensuring the quality, authenticity, and completeness of metadata.
· On-chain DataDAO contracts and token balances: Achieving governance and economic rights distribution.
Data is always encrypted and stored in a secure environment or personal server, with the platform programmatically controlling access rights and ensuring that profits are returned to data creators. Users can export their data, protect it with encryption, and join a collective called DataDAO. Through these collectives, users negotiate the commercial use of data with researchers or developers, ensuring contributors receive reasonable compensation.
Each DataDAO customizes proof of contribution based on its data type, measuring data value through the following indicators (including but not limited to):
· Financial Data: Transaction accuracy, record completeness, and consistency.
· Social Media Data: User interaction levels, account activity time, and content engagement.
· Health Data: Data freshness, measurement frequency, and device accuracy.
Data verification is completed by the Satya network, which consists of Trusted Execution Environments (TEEs) that can provide data quality verification while protecting privacy. Additionally, some DataDAOs use zero-knowledge proofs (zk-proofs) to further enhance privacy and security.
When developers purchase data access rights, contributors receive proportionate compensation through governance tokens. This mechanism ensures that data contributors can receive ongoing economic returns from data usage. Contributors have decision-making power and participate in the governance of data usage. The data market achieves fair pricing and improves efficiency by incentivizing high-quality data contributions.
Vana provides decentralized and highly liquid data liquidity pools (Data Liquidity Pools, DLPs). While users collectively share data, they maintain encrypted control over it. The mechanism driven by smart contracts maps the non-fungible data of DataDAO into tradable tokens, achieving market liquidity of data, which is an innovation in Vana's crypto development history. Whenever new tokenized assets appear in the market, market attention and capital will follow suit. From a historical perspective, NFTs introduced tokenization to art, with single prices of artworks such as Bored Apes and Art Blocks reaching millions of dollars, driving investors crazy. From the innovation of this cycle, Pendle's tokenization of yield has activated the DeFi market, becoming the most outstanding DeFi protocol of 2024. Pioneers in each asset class can enjoy the most premium. This time, the new tokenization innovation comes from Vana's exploration of the potential of unstructured data. This may also be a consideration for major exchanges to list Vana at the first opportunity.
2025 will undoubtedly be the year of the AI Agent. AI Agents will be the next external form of dApps. Their transformative significance is similar to the leap from desktop to mobile devices we experienced over the past decade. But this will happen faster and on a larger scale. Data is the new oil of the AI era. This makes Vana's story interesting because the performance of AI models directly depends on the quality of their training data, not just on computing power or innovations in model architecture. This reality is redefining the priorities of AI development: data quality has become the core bottleneck for AI progress.
AI Agents face a common challenge: useless inputs lead to useless outputs. Without high-quality training data, even the most sophisticated AI agents cannot truly function. This highlights the importance of building a credible data foundation.
This is precisely the importance of Vana. Vana is not just a conventional AI project; it attempts to pave the way for user data ownership and high-quality AI data. Through DataDAO, users can stake
$VANA token supports the creation of high-quality datasets. This model incentivizes users to participate in shaping AI training data.
For AI Agents, the importance of this mechanism is self-evident: higher quality training data directly translates to more powerful AI performance. The community-driven curation mechanism also ensures the diversity and reliability of data sources, providing assurance for the sustainability of the model.
Today, ai16z stands in the spotlight due to the backing of resources from a16z, while Virtual, backed by Base's liquidity, has become a hot AI Agent Launchpool. Vana has secured $25 million in funding from top venture capital firms such as Coinbase Venture, Paradigm, and Polychain, with resources comparable to those of ai16z and Virtual. The DataDAO built on Vana requires the VANA token to participate, which is essentially similar to a Launchpool focused on the data track. Investors stake Vana in promising DataDAOs, supporting their development while also earning staking rewards. In the future, these DataDAOs may airdrop tokens to Vana stakers who support their development (the dFusion AI Protocol has already announced a 1:1 token airdrop for Vana stakers). Each DataDAO needs a minimum staking amount of 10,000 $VANA to receive rewards, further promoting Vana's deflation. AI Agents are undoubtedly the hottest topic right now, and the critical input data affecting AI Agent performance will also be discovered by investors as market education progresses, at which point Vana's value discovery is just beginning.
Through the innovative design of DataDAO and DLPs, Vana is reshaping the infrastructure of the data economy while promoting the fair circulation of high-quality data, creating a more responsible ecological environment for AI innovation.
3. Vana's Value Analysis
In addition to the aforementioned discussions about Vana's pioneering tokenized data in Web3, providing high-quality data for AI agents, and the value of the DataDAO Launchpool, we can also look beyond the Web3 framework to see Vana's positioning in the entire Internet technology ecosystem. a16z partner Justine Moore has published a noteworthy list of AI projects, with Vana being the only Web3 AI project (even though a16z has not invested in Vana).
AI = Data + Model + Computing Power. Currently, the model track is a duopoly competition between Open AI and Anthropic, the computing power track is monopolized by Nvidia, and Hyperbolic is challenging with distributed computing power. The data track is the core and foundation of AI, the new oil of the AI era. Without data, the AI express cannot start. Currently, no company is in an absolute leading position in the data track.
In the internet age, the information revealed by digital footprints is more than what self-awareness can provide: algorithms can analyze subtle clues, such as Facebook likes or GPS records, to predict personality traits, income levels, and even mental health status more accurately than friends and family. Seemingly trivial behaviors, such as the timing of shopping or the tone of social media posts, inadvertently reveal our emotions, preferences, and even deeper truths. Personalized information pushing based on digital data can more effectively target personality traits, such as significantly improving the savings capacity of low-income groups. Therefore, it is crucial to explore the potential of data.
In Web3 projects, owning your data is no longer an attractive topic. What users care about is how to bring tangible benefits through data value mining. The profits of Web2 tech companies actually come from controlling data, such as Google's precise advertising placements and Ant Financial's big data finance. Reddit generated over $200 million in revenue by selling user-generated content data for AI training. Many Web2 tech companies are essentially big data companies. Google's parent company Alphabet has a market value of $2.39 trillion, Facebook $1.15 trillion, Twitter $55.68 billion, and Reddit $29.6 billion. On Vana's platform, researchers can not only access data from Twitter or Reddit but also obtain highly valuable sensitive data such as health and finance without infringing on privacy. With the network effect gradually spreading under token incentives, it is foreseeable that Vana will become a hub for high-quality data sources, with more and more researchers accessing data from here, and AI will no longer be controlled by a few elites. Vana's role in democratizing AI is as significant as Bitcoin's impact on traditional finance.
On the other hand, Vana views unstructured data as tradable financial assets, constructing a secondary spot market, lending market, options, and futures contracts around DLP. This opens up a brand new asset class, both in traditional finance and DeFi. This is something that cannot be achieved on Nasdaq and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, as no Web2 tech giant will self-revolutionize and cede core data profits. Once data is made public, its value plummets or privacy issues arise. Not to mention the complicated KYC processes of centralized exchanges. Vana can effectively solve these pain points, and currently, only Vana can do so. Any new asset typically brings about speculative bubbles, just like the recent narratives of DeSci and AI Agents triggering FOMO among people. The total market value of DLP will rise, attracting new crowds to pay attention and participate in these DataDAOs. New users will bring fresh ideas on how to improve user experience, enhancing the operation mechanism of DataDAOs and strengthening the entire ecosystem.
The core reason Silicon Valley has been able to create so many high-value companies that change the world is the bet on a vision of a better life. Compared to internet tech companies, Vana is still small, but its mission is great. Cryptocurrencies give investors worldwide the opportunity to participate in early potential projects. Currently, Vana's circulating market value is only $500 million.
4. Vana Ecological Flywheel
The VANA token is the cornerstone of this economic system, with functions including network security, transaction fees, DLP staking, data access currency, and protocol governance.
When AI companies access data, they use VANA tokens to purchase and destroy DLP-specific tokens. This destruction mechanism establishes a direct economic link between network usage and token value, ensuring that value flows back to data contributors and the broader network ecosystem.
Furthermore, the incentive structure further promotes the adoption of the protocol, such as enhancing ecosystem activity by rewarding outstanding DataDAOs. So far, the Vana Foundation has supported 12 active DataDAOs and received over 300 accelerator applications. These DAOs cover diverse application scenarios from Twitter data, synthetic data to genetic data and browser data, showcasing the broad potential of the Vana protocol.
Vana values community power, allocating 44% of its tokens to the community, of which 20.3% has already been released at TGE, making it one of the few projects in 2024 that can benefit participants significantly in the short term. Investor allocations have a one-year lock-up period, followed by a three-year release, further demonstrating investors' confidence in its technology and model. The team has received 18.81% of the tokens, which are locked for the first year, then released over four years. This distribution method ensures that the team has the motivation to continue building Vana, providing a guarantee for the long-term development of the ecosystem.
Figure 1: Token Distribution Institutions
Figure 2: Token Unlocking Process
5. Current Participation Methods
Vana is implementing a DataDAO reward system aimed at ensuring fair value distribution and incentivizing high-quality data contributions. This reward system operates in 21-day cycles, rewarding the top 16 best-performing DataDAOs. The distribution of rewards is proportional to each DataDAO participant's share and multiplier, ensuring that only the most valuable and trusted datasets can be rewarded, thereby promoting continuous optimization and innovation within the ecosystem.
Vana allocates 15% of the total supply of $VANA tokens for the DataDAO reward program, which will be gradually released over three years. The specific allocation structure is as follows:
· 50% is used to support the top 16 $VANA stakers of DataDAOs.
· 50% goes to the DataDAO treasury for funding operations, incentivizing data contributions, and increasing staking rewards.
This reward structure ensures that the most valuable and contributory DataDAOs can receive ongoing support and incentives, while also promoting the healthy development of the entire ecosystem.
To encourage long-term commitment, Vana has introduced a staking multiplier mechanism. The longer participants stake, the higher the multiplier they receive, ultimately reaching the maximum value after continuous staking for 63 days. This mechanism increases the share weight in reward calculations, aligning the incentives of stakers with DataDAO, further promoting the system's sustainable development.
How to participate in the DataDAO ecosystem?
Step 1: Explore the Data Center
Visit the website: datahub.vana.com to view all registered DataDAOs eligible for rewards. Data Hub is the portal for entering, understanding, and interacting with the Vana ecosystem. Here you can view the provided datasets, learn about contributors and their verification mechanisms, and compare the performance and rankings of different DataDAOs.
Step 2: Stake $VANA Tokens
After selecting a DataDAO, staking $VANA tokens indicates support. If that DataDAO ranks in the top 16, stakers will receive rewards. Each DataDAO needs to meet a minimum staking threshold of 10,000 $VANA to receive rewards.
Step 3: Track and Optimize
Monitor the staked amount, multiplier growth, and the performance of supported DataDAOs using the dashboard.
Step 4: Earn and Reinvest
As DataDAOs receive rewards, users will gain shares based on their staked amount and multiplier. Users will reinvest their income to increase their influence and returns in future cycles or moderately cash out based on financial needs.
Currently, the annualized yield (APY) for staking VANA is as high as 273.58%. For users with low-risk preferences, they can earn contract profits while hedging the contract, earning additional funding rates. In the future, Vana stakers may receive token airdrops from Data DAO subprojects.
Vana's DataDAO ecosystem already has multiple interesting innovative projects. Users can earn Vana token incentives by participating in these DataDAOs.
Featured Project Introduction
1.@VanaTensor
Supported by Vana, @VanaTensor offers users high-quality synthetic data and rewards contributors for sharing verified, valuable datasets.
2.@datapiggy
DataPig is an AI platform focused on transforming trading data into meaningful insights. Through its DataDAO ecosystem, users can convert their trading data into valuable assets and participate in a growing on-chain economy.
3.@Volaraxyz
Volara is dedicated to transforming users' Twitter data into valuable assets, providing more utilization opportunities for data owners.
4.@sixgpt
SixGPT supports synthetic data generation for training AI models and is currently leveraging
5.@vChars_AI
vChars AI can transform Telegram data into personalized AI characters, allowing users to create customized virtual characters to interact with.
6.@OpenyourMindDAO
MindDAO is the first decentralized autonomous organization exploring how Web3 impacts emotions, aiming to create the world's largest user-owned mental health data collection.
7.Auto DLP
Auto DLP is a DataDAO launched by @DLPLabs that allows drivers to connect their @DIMO_Network accounts to earn rewards through secure data sharing and advancing automotive-related AI innovation.
8.@dFusionAI
How dFusion's knowledge base allows users to profit from chat data while retaining complete ownership and control.
9.@primedatadao
How to help users contribute and earn $VANA from Amazon shopping data
10.@NakaMining
The first genetic data collection on Vana is fundamentally changing health science through community-driven breakthroughs. Users can contribute genetic data.
11.@Finquarium
Traders can contribute trading data from exchanges to receive rewards.
In addition to DataDAO, Vana has also launched a Uniswap V3 fork for data trading—Data DEX, facilitating users to buy and sell VANA tokens and already DLP tokens. Traders and liquidity providers can leverage powerful analytical tools to help them make informed decisions and optimize strategies.
As a public chain focused on the data economy, Vana will see more ecological protocols built around DLP in the future.
6. Looking to the Future
The launch of the Vana mainnet marks an important turning point. Users have the opportunity to challenge the data monopoly of tech giants, reclaim control over their data, and reshape the AI economy. By collectively sharing data in a decentralized manner, individuals can provide datasets that rival or even surpass those of centralized platforms in scale and quality.
Vana's vision is not only economic compensation but also redefining data ownership, sharing, and monetization methods. In this new paradigm, data flows freely, sovereignty always belongs to individuals, and AI models are trained based on the data owned by users—contributors benefit directly from this.
Vana lays the foundation for jointly building a self-sovereign internet and an open, fair data economy. New targets in new tracks often gain market premiums. After the New Year, funds are expected to return to the market, and when AI gains momentum again, Vana may take off once more.
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