Arweave has launched the mainnet of its computing platform, AO, after a year of testing. This launch allows the native tokens, previously given to AR holders and testnet users, to be transferred. AO is described as a “hyperparallel computer,” which means it can process tasks simultaneously in a distributed computing environment.
The operations of AO rely on Arweave’s permanent data storage, ensuring that data remains unchanged and always accessible. Sam Williams, the founder of Arweave, emphasized that this decentralized data layer guarantees the availability and integrity of AO’s computations. This will help scale AO’s shared ledger of messages efficiently. Additionally, AO is expected to boost the demand for Arweave’s storage services.
The mainnet launch also introduces the AO token, which is different from Arweave’s AR token. The AO token has a maximum supply of 21 million, similar to Bitcoin. The team behind AO has chosen a fair launch model, distributing tokens to users who bring assets to the platform and to existing AR token holders.
Over time, 36% of the tokens will go to AR holders, while 64% will be used to encourage economic growth, especially for those bridging assets into AO. Users who deposit assets like DAI and stETH will receive rewards.
The public testnet for AO began in February 2024, and by June, the AO token and its economic model were announced. Before the mainnet launch, over $700 million in assets were pre-bridged to the AO testnet to mine AO tokens.
Now, users can transfer and trade these tokens. The AO token plays a crucial role in securing message passing within the network by rewarding users for their attestations.
