Overview
Venice is an AI chat and image app founded by Erik Voorhees, known for founding the crypto exchange ShapeShift. Its pitch: private (conversations are not stored on Venice’s servers) and uncensored AI, using open-source models.
Venice launched its VVV token on Base in January 2025 with an airdrop. In 2026, as its business grew, VVV became one of the best-performing tokens in crypto, rising well over 1,000% during the year.
How it works
- Anyone can use Venice for free with limits, or pay for a Pro plan.
- Developers can use Venice’s API to run AI models privately.
- Staking VVV lets holders mint DIEM, a token that gives $1 of AI credits every day, forever. This turns VVV into a way to get ongoing access to AI computing.
Venice reported over 4 million users and passed $100 million in annualized revenue in August 2026.
Buybacks and supply
- Since late 2025, Venice has bought back and burned VVV using its revenue; from July 2026, part of API revenue (about $5 of every $100 spent on credits) goes directly to buybacks.
- Emissions (new VVV created each year) were cut from 14 million at launch to about 2.5 million in September 2026, with further cuts planned.
- Tens of millions of VVV have been burned since launch.
The VVV token
| VVV at a glance | |
|---|---|
| Total supply | about 81 million VVV |
| In circulation (Oct 2026) | about 48.7 million |
| Price (29 Oct 2026) | about $25.60 |
| All-time high | about $34.50 (September 2026) |
| Market cap | about $1.25 billion (#69) |
Risks
- Volatility. After a huge rally, sharp pullbacks are likely.
- Concentration. One analysis found the largest 100 wallets hold the vast majority of VVV (including contracts and staking).
- Competition. Big AI companies keep improving their own products.
- Regulation. “Uncensored” AI could draw scrutiny in some countries.
Venice vs. the competition
| Venice (VVV) | Bittensor (TAO) | Virtuals (VIRTUAL) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it is | Private AI app and API | AI work marketplace | AI agent platform |
| Revenue | $100M+ annualized | Mixed | Smaller |
| Token use | Staking for AI credits, buybacks | Staking, subnets | Pairs with agent tokens |
Our verdict
Venice is one of the few crypto AI projects with a real, fast-growing business, and VVV is unusually well connected to it through DIEM credits and buybacks. That’s why it has soared.
But after such a rally, the risk of a sharp correction is high, and ownership is concentrated. VVV is a high-risk investment: invest only what you can afford to lose.
This review is for information only and is not financial advice.