VanaMainnet is online, and VANAToken is driving data to become a new asset class in the global AI economy


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

The Vana network, developed by Open Data Labs, is 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 use privacy protection technology to train AI models while maintaining ownership and control of their personal data.

Before the Mainnet is officially launched, the Vana testnet has achieved good results. During the testnet phase, approximately 1.7 million transactions are processed daily, and over 1.3 million users have contributed over 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 key moment in AI development. Anna Kazlauskas, CEO of Open Data Labs and founder of Vana, stated:

The launch of Mainnet today marks a fundamental shift in the ownership and monetization of data in the AI era. Users have always had legal ownership of their data, although most users are not even aware that their data belongs to them legally, 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 cross-platform datasets required to build truly powerful AI. Property rights are the foundation of driving modern economic prosperity, and in today’s digital economy, programmable data rights will be the cornerstone of AI development in the next generation.

The main functions of Vana Mainnet include:

• Trustless Validation: Achieve data validation through secure data access and trusted execution nodes.
• Fine-grained permission control: Give users complete control over their data usage;
• On-chain data traceability: Tracking how user-contributed data is applied;
• Data Liquidity Pools (DLPs): Support collective sharing, governance, and monetization of data through DataDAO;
• Contribution Proof Mechanism: Ensuring fair reward distribution based on data quality;
• Stake VANA: Stake VANA to DataDAO through Data Hub.

Through the contribution proof system of the network, users can earn rewards by contributing data to DataDAO and obtain Tokens for specific datasets. These Tokens grant users governance rights while maintaining control over data usage. These data Tokens can be exchanged for VANA, the native currency of the network. In addition, DataDAO will also receive DataDAO rewards. In addition to data contribution, users can earn additional Tokens by running nodes, validating transactions, and staking to DataDAO.

The total supply of VANA Token is 120 million, which will serve as the foundation of the network economy model, supporting the following functions:

• Governance of network parameters and data usage;
• Staking is to protect the network and validate data contributions;
• Incentivize data contributors to submit high-quality data;
• Income sharing from AI model development and data usage.

The DataDAO built on Vana includes DNA DAO, which aims to address privacy issues around ownership of genetic data, as well as an extension of the successful Reddit Data DAO, which has demonstrated the potential of community-owned data pools.

The launch of the Mainnet is a critical moment for the development of AI, which is facing an increasingly serious data scarcity problem. Users are seeking greater control over their digital footprint. Vana’s solution enables individuals to participate in and benefit from the AI economy while maintaining sovereignty over their own data.

Vana Foundation CEO Art Abal said: “When AI encounters data barriers, more and more platforms are monetizing user data without sharing any profits with users. Users should have the right to occupy a place in the future of AI. The way of buying and selling private data in Web2 has collapsed. Our data is extracted and held for ransom by a few platforms and data brokers. They determine the value of our data and the technology created from it. But this will no longer continue. This is just the beginning, and in the future, we can determine the value of data and the technology it creates. This is the data revolution.”

About Vana

Vana is the first decentralized user-owned data network that unlocks data as a new digital asset class. The Vana network consists of a compatible EVM blockchain, a secure personal server environment, and a set of native contracts, aiming to achieve trustless and secure exchange of user-owned data through DataDAO. The network enables users to share data with others and be rewarded for contributions while retaining control of their data, participating in the growing AI economy.

About 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 that focuses on accelerating the technological development of user-owned data. They have created the Vana protocol and provide ongoing core development services for the Vana Foundation.