Venice burns $100M in tokens after airdrop completion

Privacy-focused AI startup Venice has burned nearly 33 million unclaimed VVV (CRYPTO:VVV) tokens, valued at approximately $100 million, following the conclusion of its airdrop.

The burn amounts to one-third of the total token supply and aims to address concerns surrounding the project’s integrity after allegations of pump-and-dump schemes.

The airdrop, which ran from late January to March 13, 2025, distributed 17.4 million VVV tokens to over 40,000 participants.

The unclaimed tokens were destroyed early Thursday morning, as confirmed by a blog post from Venice.

“The unclaimed supply, worth roughly $100 million, was burned today at dawn,” the company stated.

Token burning is a common practice in cryptocurrency to reduce supply and potentially increase value.

Following the burn, VVV’s price rose by 9.3% to $3.53, according to Coinbase data.

Venice also repurchased and burned tokens sold by employees during the token’s launch to mitigate accusations of insider profiteering.

Venice.ai, founded by crypto entrepreneur Erik Voorhees in May 2024, aims to provide decentralised and censorship-resistant AI services.

The VVV token enables users to stake for access to Venice’s AI API without traditional pay-per-use fees.

The platform has grown rapidly, processing 15,000 inference requests per hour and serving 450,000 users globally.

Despite its innovative approach, Venice faced backlash after some team members reportedly sold tokens at peak prices shortly after launch.

Voorhees denied wrongdoing but acknowledged the need for transparency.

“To resolve any lingering doubts about our commitment to unrestricted intelligence, Venice bought back the 1% of VVV that was sold and burned these tokens as well,” the company stated.

The burn follows Venice’s efforts to position itself as a leader in decentralised AI services while addressing controversies that could tarnish its reputation.

With half of its 100 million token supply already distributed through the airdrop and significant measures taken to restore trust, Venice continues its mission to challenge centralised AI platforms like OpenAI by offering privacy-focused alternatives.

At the time of reporting, the Venice Token (VVV) price was $3.42.