$AO is the native token of the decentralized supercomputer project 'AO' (Actor-Oriented Computer) built on the Arweave network. Arweave itself is a decentralized storage protocol, while AO expands high-performance parallel computing capabilities on top of it, aiming to achieve an infinitely scalable computing environment that supports a large number of parallel processes, often regarded as a potential solution for on-chain artificial intelligence (AI) and decentralized applications.
Basic information about the $AO token:
Total supply: 21 million tokens, similar to the supply model of Bitcoin.
Issuance mechanism:
$AO adopts a 100% fair issuance model, with no pre-sale or pre-allocation.
Tokens are obtained by holding Arweave's native token ($AR) or participating in cross-chain bridge staking (e.g., depositing $stETH, $DAI, and other assets).
Minted every 5 minutes, with a monthly new issuance of 1.425% of the remaining supply, following a four-year halving cycle, but the halving process is smooth rather than sudden.
Distribution method:
Approximately 36% of AO tokens are allocated to $AR holders to incentivize the security of the Arweave network.
Approximately 64% of AO tokens are used to bridge external assets into the AO ecosystem to promote economic growth.
Unlock time: The AO token remains locked until 15% of the total supply (approximately 3.15 million tokens) is minted, with an expected unlock date around February 8, 2025. As of the current date (March 1, 2025), the tokens have begun circulating.
Features and uses of AO:
Technical core: AO is based on the 'Actor-Oriented Paradigm', allowing any number of processes to run in parallel, coordinated through message passing without relying on shared memory. This design gives it advantages in scalability and parallel computing.
Ecosystem goals: Support applications such as on-chain AI agents (AI Agent), decentralized finance (DeFi), gaming, etc., to create a trustless collaborative computing environment.
The AR token mainly focuses on Arweave's storage function and consensus maintenance, while the $AO token focuses on solving communication issues between computing and applications, meaning AO and AR maintain the computing and storage functions of the network respectively.
Current status (as of March 2, 2025):
According to the latest data
The price of $AO is approximately $34.13, with a 24-hour trading volume of $2.17 million and a circulating market cap of about $114 million, with a circulation of approximately 3.349261 million tokens.
Summary:
$AO is the token used to incentivize decentralized computing within the Arweave ecosystem, combining the functions of storage (Arweave) and computing (AO), considered a cutting-edge attempt at the fusion of blockchain technology and AI.