The Vana mainnet is online, and the VANA token drives data to become an emerging asset class in the global AI economy

The decentralized user-owned data network Vana announced the official launch of its mainnet and native token VANA last night. This release not only breaks the data barriers that limit AI development but also achieves privacy protection, allowing users to share the value created by their data.

The Vana network was developed by Open Data Labs, a research and technology company based in San Francisco, originating from the MIT Media Lab. The Vana network is an EVM-compatible blockchain that allows users to utilize their data for AI model training while maintaining ownership and control over their personal data through privacy protection technologies.

Before the official launch of the mainnet, the Vana testnet achieved impressive results. During the testnet phase, approximately 1.7 million transactions were processed daily, and over 1.3 million users contributed more than 6.5 million data points to DataDAO. The success of the testnet proves that programmable data ownership is not only possible but also crucial at this pivotal moment in AI development. Anna Kazlauskas, CEO of Open Data Labs and founder of Vana, stated:

"Today's mainnet launch marks a fundamental shift in data ownership and monetization in the AI era. Users have legally owned their data, although most users are not even aware that their data legally belongs to them, while platforms capture all the economic value. Vana lays the foundation for a new data economy where users can benefit from the AI models they help create, and developers can ultimately access the cross-platform datasets needed to build truly powerful AI. Property rights are the foundation of modern economic prosperity, and in today's digital economy, programmable data rights will be the cornerstone of the next generation of AI development."

The main features of the Vana mainnet include:

• Trustless Verification: Data verification through secure data access and trusted execution nodes;

• Fine-Grained Permission Control: Empowering users with complete control over the use of their data;

• On-Chain Data Provenance: Tracking how user-contributed data is applied;

• Data Liquidity Pools (DLPs): Supporting collective sharing, governance, and monetization through DataDAO;

• Contribution Proof Mechanism: Ensuring fair reward distribution based on data quality;

• Staking VANA: Staking VANA through the Data Hub to DataDAO.

Through the network's contribution proof system, users can earn rewards by contributing data to DataDAO, receiving tokens for specific datasets that grant them governance rights while maintaining control over data usage. These data tokens can be exchanged for VANA, the native currency of the network. Additionally, DataDAO will also receive DataDAO rewards. Besides data contributions, users can earn extra tokens by running nodes, validating transactions, and staking to DataDAO.

The total supply of VANA tokens is 120 million, serving as the foundation of the network's economic model, supporting the following functions:

• Governance of network parameters and data usage;

• Staking to secure the network and validate data contributions;

• Incentivizing data contributors to submit high-quality data;

• Revenue sharing from AI model development and data usage.

DataDAOs built on Vana include DNA DAO, aimed at addressing privacy issues surrounding genetic data ownership, and the successful expansion of the Reddit Data DAO, which has already demonstrated the potential of community-owned data pools.

The launch of the mainnet comes at a critical moment when AI development faces an increasingly severe data scarcity issue, while users seek greater control over their digital footprints. Vana's solution enables individuals to participate in and benefit from the AI economy while retaining sovereignty over their data.

Art Abal, CEO of the Vana Foundation, stated: "When AI encounters data barriers, and more platforms monetize user data without sharing any revenue with users, individuals should have the right to have a place in the future of AI. The ways of buying and selling private data in Web2 have collapsed. Our data is extracted and held for ransom by a few platforms and data brokers. They decide the value of our data and the technologies created from it. But this will not continue. This is just the beginning; in the future, we can determine the value of data and the technologies it creates. This is the data revolution."

About Vana

Vana is the first decentralized user-owned data network that unlocks data as a new category of digital asset. The Vana network consists of an EVM-compatible blockchain, a secure personal server environment, and a set of native contracts designed to enable trustless, secure exchange of user-owned data through DataDAO. The network allows users to participate in the growing AI economy by sharing data with others and earning rewards while maintaining control over their data.

About the Vana Foundation

The Vana Foundation is a non-profit organization responsible for ensuring the sustainability and growth of the Vana ecosystem.

About Open Data Labs

Open Data Labs is a research company focused on accelerating the technological development of user-owned data. They created the Vana protocol and provide ongoing core development services for the Vana Foundation.