The decentralized AI data liquidity network Vana Foundation has been announced, and the mainnet and tokens are about to launch. On November 26, Rhythm BlockBeats conversed with Vana Foundation's Managing Director Art Abal to discuss the progress of the VANA token and data ownership issues.
BlockBeats: Please give a brief self-introduction, discuss your experiences in the crypto industry, and also introduce Vana briefly.
Art Abal: I am Art Abal, one of the founders of Vana, and also the Executive Director of the Vana Foundation. Vana's vision is to empower users by enabling them to take control of their private data, thereby driving the development of the next generation of artificial intelligence. Current AI lacks high-quality private data, and we firmly believe that Vana can create a decentralized ecosystem where users can have data ownership. Therefore, I am very pleased to be here to communicate with the Chinese community.
Actually, my background is somewhat unique. I initially entered the cryptocurrency field not because I was a blockchain enthusiast, but because I believed blockchain technology solved a very specific problem. In fact, I specialized in the data sales field, working for a top global data brokerage company for many years, collaborating with major companies like Facebook, Google, Amazon, Apple, and Microsoft, primarily responsible for buying and selling data used for AI development.
Through these experiences, I have truly seen the challenges and flaws in the current data market, including transparency, user consent, and effectively using private data for AI development, which is exactly why we founded Vana: to realize private data ownership and data decentralization. We believe we can create better AI models while protecting and empowering user ownership.
BlockBeats: Vana can actually be considered a VC coin, but the narrative revolves around user data ownership, which can be seen as an anti-monopoly concept. Do you think there are contradictions between these two aspects?
Art Abal: This actually depends on which venture capital firms are involved in the project and the terms of their participation. In some cases, venture capital funding is absolutely necessary, especially when a project requires significant research and development. Vana is such a case; excellent partners have provided us with great support, allowing us ample funding for research, testing, and development, ensuring the long-term development of Vana.
Our approach has always been to work only with venture capital firms that align with our vision and values in the long term. All our venture capital partners have long lock-up periods, so there is no risk of sell-off at the time of token issuance. Furthermore, they provide us with significant strategic value, introducing us to our current tech partners and important figures in the AI and Web3 fields.
So I do not think there is a contradiction here. Of course, if a project partners with the wrong venture capital or signs unfavorable terms, problems may arise. But the focus should be on understanding the terms, the project structure, and the venture capital firm itself, as well as the alignment of the venture capital firm with the community's long-term goals. This requires careful analysis and research, rather than simply concluding that VC coins are inherently bad.
BlockBeats: In the operation of the Vana system, there are some key components: for example, the Data Liquidity Pool (DLP), Nagoya Consensus, etc. Can you detail for us what you think are the most important parts of Vana?
Art Abal: I summarize Vana in three points: data aggregation, data validation, and data ownership and portability.
The first point is data aggregation. One key reason why Web2 platforms have achieved great success in data sales is their ability to aggregate large amounts of data while maintaining structure and consistency. What Vana does is achieve the same data aggregation, but in a decentralized manner, without needing a central authority to manage or control the data. This creates a fair competitive environment where users can control data themselves, rather than being controlled by businesses and companies.
The second part is data validation. In Web2, these centralized companies validate and ensure data quality, and we trust them, although this trust can sometimes be abused. In Web3, we have no intermediaries; instead, we need a system to validate data in a decentralized, trustless manner. This is where Vana's architecture comes into play. Vana enables secure validation of data without exposing the underlying data itself, protecting the value and privacy of the data so that no one can steal it.
Finally, there is data portability and ownership. Data portability refers to the ability to take data anywhere. Through Vana, users own their data and control it with keys. Our non-custodial storage system means you can authorize your data to circulate anywhere, just like handling tokens in a crypto wallet. In Web2, the concept of data portability is nearly nonexistent. Vana achieves true portability, allowing users to control their data and unlock its value anywhere.
If anyone is interested in Vana's mechanism, you can visit our official website to read our project documentation for more detailed content. Official website link: https://www.vana.org/?
BlockBeats: It seems that people are not opposed to contributing their data, but there are still some concerns. For example, if I contribute my data, how is the security of that data guaranteed?
Art Abal: I explain this issue on two levels: one is the security on system and technical levels, and the other is the security on behavioral and incentive levels.
At the system and technical level, the Vana ecosystem has many technologies that help users protect privacy and ownership. Data is encrypted through your private key, ensuring it is always under your control, which essentially means data is as secure as your tokens. During the aggregation and processing, data will never leave your control unless you sign a transaction. In contrast, Web2 companies often store, sell, and expose data, as seen with Reddit and 23andMe, which have sold user data.
On the behavioral and incentive side, Vana provides users with transparency and choice. If users submit data to a data DAO, they can review the terms of the data DAO, assess its credibility, and even check the open-source code. This is a significant improvement compared to Web2, where data operations are opaque, and users have almost no control over their data.
BlockBeats: How can ordinary retail investors participate to obtain VANA tokens?
Art Abal: I am often asked this question. Retail investors will soon be able to purchase VANA tokens on centralized exchanges, and we will announce the details about the tokens shortly. The topic of tokens is of great interest to everyone, and we will do our best to ensure that those who want to participate have the opportunity to obtain tokens.
In addition to purchasing tokens, individuals actively participating in the Vana network can also earn tokens. Users can contribute data and participate in project governance to earn tokens. Therefore, users can both purchase tokens and earn them by engaging in the Vana ecosystem. I encourage everyone to follow Vana's official channels, as we will announce more information in the future.
BlockBeats: What role does VANA play in this system? What are the use cases for token holders?
Art Abal: I believe there are two main application scenarios: the VANA token plays a core role in the ecosystem, much like ETH does in Ethereum. The main function of VANA is to serve as gas within the ecosystem, including sending data, verifying data, and participating in decentralized applications within the ecosystem.
The second part is the Data Liquidity Pool (DLP) rewards system. Through this reward mechanism, VANA tokens can incentivize high-quality and large-volume data contributions to the ecosystem, thus bringing in data, which is the most valuable input for AI. Data DAOs contribute data to these liquidity pools in exchange for additional rewards. Token holders can stake VANA tokens in these data DAOs to add data and receive extra rewards.
The distribution of rewards from the Data Liquidity Pool (DLP) is based on the amount of Vana staked by token holders, the volume of data contributed, the quality of data, and the number of new users they can bring in, all measured with VANA tokens as rewards.
However, if users stake their tokens in liquidity pools, they can also earn VANA rewards. So I refer to this system as a data security system, allowing the community to use their VANA tokens to aggregate and store data on Vana.
BlockBeats: We know that the VANA token is about to launch, and since previous airdrops from Paradigm's portfolio, such as blur and friend tech, did not satisfy everyone, retail investors are most eager to know the airdrop ratio and rules. Can you reveal anything?
Art Abal: Due to regulatory reasons, I cannot talk directly about airdrops. In Web3, initial users typically receive rewards, especially those deeply involved in the community. For Vana, users who participate in the early pre-mining of the data DAO can receive rewards. Many users actively engage with our community and projects, whether through discussions on Discord, sharing information about Vana, or promoting the vision of user-owned data, can also receive rewards.
We have currently launched 16 data DAOs covering various fields, providing many opportunities for participation. Reserving a spot in these data pre-mining projects or interacting with data DAOs in the future will both offer chances to receive airdrops.
Each project is different, and each founder has a unique approach when designing their airdrop rules. Vana is fortunate to learn from the successes and failures of other projects. Our goal is to launch a fair reward mechanism that rewards early contributors.
BlockBeats: In fact, many AI companies currently use data for training that has copyright issues, and it seems that this has not yet raised significant repercussions. Do you think data copyright issues will be one of the biggest challenges AI faces in the future?
Art Abal: In fact, copyright is where the Vana system excels. In Vana, users own their data and can transact securely on-chain. We actually solve two problems. The first is consent and ownership; users gain permission to use private data through signed transactions, creating an unalterable consent record ensuring their data won't be used without their approval.
The second point is traceability. On Vana, private data is not only owned by users, but the entire lifecycle of data usage is traceable on-chain. Therefore, this system effectively addresses the copyright issues of private data. Once data ownership is recorded on-chain, any misuse can be traced back to the source. This contrasts with the Web2 public internet where data cannot be traced, making copyright enforcement difficult.
Space link: https://x.com/i/spaces/1BdxYEOjrWDxX