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What Is Venice AI? The Privacy-Focused Chatbot

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In brief

  • Unlike more widely known chatbots, Venice AI offers private, uncensored access to generative AI tools.
  • It supports text generation, image creation, real-time web search, and a developer API.
  • The platform uses tokens—VVV and DIEM—to allocate daily AI inference instead of charging per request.

Venice AI is a generative AI platform designed from the start to be private and uncensored.

Like other AI models, Venice provides a consumer-facing chat interface and a developer API that support text generation, image creation, and live web search. What sets Venice apart is not the surface features, but how it handles data, restrictions, and payment.

Launched in 2024 by the founder and former CEO of ShapeShift, Erik Voorhees, Venice is designed around the idea that users should be able to use modern AI systems without having their conversations stored on centralized servers and without being constrained by rigid content filters.

“I saw where AI is going, which is to be captured by large tech companies that are in bed with the government,” Voorhees previously told Decrypt. “And that really worried me, and I see how powerful AI is, how consequential it can be—an amazing realm of new technologies.”

What Venice AI can do

Venice supports a full range of core AI capabilities:

  • 🖨️ Text generation: General chat, long-form writing, research assistance, and creative output using open-source large language models.
  • 🖼️ Image generation: Text-to-image generation through open-source image models.
  • 📺 Video generation: Text-to-video and image-to-video generation, introduced as part of Venice V2 and initially available to beta and Pro users.
  • 🔎 Real-time web search: Responses that include current information with clickable source links.
  • 👨‍💻 Developer API: Programmatic access for applications and AI agents, with inference allocated through staking or paid credits.

Subscription tiers

Venice AI offers a free tier and a paid Pro subscription. The free tier provides limited access to core features and basic API usage, including private text, image, and code generation using base AI models, with 10 text prompts per day and 15 image prompts per day.

The Pro tier expands those capabilities with access to advanced models and character creation. Pro users can generate unlimited text, remove image watermarks, apply high-resolution upscaling, and create up to 1,000 images per day.

The Pro plan also includes a one-time grant of 1,000 credits for video generation or API use. Pro costs $18 per month or $149 per year, with payment available via credit/debit cards, Bitcoin, or Coinbase.

From the user’s perspective, Venice’s functionality looks similar to other modern AI chatbots like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude. The difference lies in how access and control are structured behind the scenes.

Privacy by design

Venice AI puts privacy at the center of its design. The platform keeps conversations locally in a user’s browser rather than storing them on company-controlled servers. By doing so, Venice limits long-term data retention and reduces how closely prompts can be linked to a user’s identity.

“[The GPU] does see the plain text of the specific prompt, but it doesn’t see all your other conversations, and Venice doesn’t see your conversations, and none of it is tied to your identity,” Voorhees said.

Uncensored AI

In addition to being privacy-focused, Venice also positions itself as an uncensored AI platform and comes with fewer restrictions than those enforced by mainstream consumer AI products. Venice emphasizes user control and configurability, allowing a wider range of prompts and outputs—particularly for creative or exploratory use cases.

Timeline: Venice AI, VVV, and DIEM

  • May 2024: Venice launches publicly as a private, uncensored AI platform built on open-source models.
  • July 2024: Venice adds real-time web search with clickable citations.
  • November 2024: Venice releases an early version of its developer API.
  • January 2025: Venice announces the VVV token and introduces a staking-based inference model.
  • April 2025: Introduces text-to-image generation.
  • August 2025: Introduces DIEM, a token designed to represent fixed daily AI inference credits, and announces a reduction in VVV inflation.
  • October 2025: Venice V2 is announced, adding video generation, outlining the deeper integration of VVV into the platform.

What Is VVV?

VVV is Venice AI’s native token, which functions as an access token rather than a payment token. Built on Coinbase’s Ethereum layer-2 network Base, it has a total supply at launch of 78 million VVV.

When users stake VVV, they receive a daily allocation of Venice API inference capacity for text, image, and code generation, without paying per request. Venice calculates that allocation as a pro-rata share of its total API capacity, measured using an internal unit called Diem.

Venice sets inference limits based on each user’s share of VVV staked among active stakers, defined as accounts that have made at least one API call in the past seven days. Users do not spend VVV to make requests; they stake it and draw from their daily allocation as needed.

While staked, VVV also earns emissions-based yield, distributed according to demand on the Venice API.

​What Is DIEM?

Launched in August 2025, DIEM is a token introduced by Venice to represent perpetual AI inference.

Each DIEM provides $1 per day of Venice API credit, forever, giving holders a fixed daily allocation of AI compute instead of usage-based pricing. Users can mint DIEM only by locking staked VVV.

While VVV is locked to mint DIEM, it continues to earn 80% of normal staking yield. Burning DIEM unlocks the original staked VVV at any time.

DIEM is an ERC-20 token on Base that can be staked for API access, transferred, or traded, allowing AI inference capacity to exist as a standalone, tradeable asset.

How Venice charges for AI access

Most AI APIs bill per token or per call. Venice offers an alternative: users can stake VVV to receive a pro‑rata share of the platform’s daily inference capacity, tracked in an internal unit called Diem.

API usage then draws down that daily Diem allocation (with different models costing different amounts), and the allocation resets each day, so it’s predictable but not unlimited.

​Venice also lets users pay for inference directly in USD through a Pro account, but it positions staking as the way to avoid per-request billing friction for high-frequency automation.

Venice AI is an attempt to separate who controls AI, how it’s paid for, and who can use it. Privacy, uncensored access, and tokenized inference are the tools it uses to make that separation possible.

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Sypris Wins Expanded Follow-On Award for Deep Space Program

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TAMPA, Fla.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Sypris Electronics, LLC, a subsidiary of Sypris Solutions, Inc. (Nasdaq/GM: SYPR), announced today that it has received an expanded follow-on award from a leading U.S. aerospace and defense contractor to produce and test circuit card assemblies for use in Orion spacecraft supporting the missions of NASA’s Artemis program. Production is scheduled to begin in 2026. Financial terms were not disclosed.

The Orion spacecraft is designed to serve as the primary exploration vehicle for the Artemis program, enabling crewed missions to destinations such as the moon, while also functioning as a small, multi-purpose space station to support continued scientific research and technology development in preparation for establishing a sustained human presence in deep space.

The critical electronic assemblies to be produced by Sypris Electronics will be embedded within the Orion spacecraft and support space-grade sensor systems, including navigation, altitude determination and environmental monitoring, as well as crew safety functions essential to mission success.

“We are pleased to have this important opportunity to expand our involvement with the Orion spacecraft and the Artemis program,” said Mike Sedgwick, Vice President and General Manager of Sypris Electronics. “Our backlog on this program now extends through 2027, providing production continuity and support for NASA’s efforts to establish a sustained human presence in deep space through the timely delivery of this critical technology.”

Sypris Electronics is a trusted provider of complex, mission-critical electronic solutions for customers in the Defense, Space, Deep Sea Communications and Industrial sectors. With over 50 years of experience, the Company specializes in manufacturing electronics for high-cost-of-failure applications. For more information, visit www.sypriselectronics.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains “forward-looking” statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws. Forward-looking statements include our plans and expectations of future financial and operational performance. Each forward-looking statement herein is subject to risks and uncertainties, as detailed in our most recent Form 10-K and Form 10-Q and other SEC filings. Briefly, we currently believe that such risks also include the following: the fees, costs and supply of, or access to, debt, equity capital, or other sources of liquidity; the termination or non-renewal of existing contracts by customers; our failure to achieve and maintain profitability on a timely basis by steadily increasing our revenues from profitable contracts with a diversified group of customers, which would cause us to continue to use existing cash resources or require us to sell assets to fund operating losses; volatility of our customers’ forecasts and our contractual obligations to meet current scheduling demands and production levels, which may negatively impact our operational capacity and our effectiveness to integrate new customers or suppliers, and in turn cause increases in our inventory and working capital levels; cost, quality and availability or lead times of raw materials such as component parts (especially electronic components), natural gas or utilities including increased cost relating to inflation, as well as the impact of proposed or imposed tariffs by the U.S. government on imports to the U.S. and/or the imposition of retaliatory tariffs by foreign countries; our reliance on a few key customers, third party vendors and sub-suppliers; significant delays or reductions due to a prolonged continuing resolution or U.S. government shutdown reducing the spending on products and services that Sypris Electronics provides; risks of foreign operations, including foreign currency exchange rate risk exposure, which could impact our operating results; the cost, quality, timeliness, efficiency and yield of our operations and capital investments, including the impact of inflation, tariffs, product recalls or related liabilities, employee training, working capital, production schedules, cycle times, scrap rates, injuries, wages, overtime costs, freight or expediting costs; inventory valuation risks including excessive or obsolescent valuations or price erosions of raw materials or component parts on hand or other potential impairments, non-recoverability or write-offs of assets or deferred costs; our failure to successfully complete final contract negotiations with regard to our announced contract “orders”, “wins” or “awards”; our failure to successfully win new business or develop new or improved products or new markets for our products; adverse impacts of new technologies or other competitive pressures which increase our costs or erode our margins; the costs and supply of insurance on acceptable terms and with adequate coverage; unanticipated or uninsured product liability claims, disasters, public health crises, losses or business risks; breakdowns, relocations or major repairs of machinery and equipment; the costs of compliance with our auditing, regulatory or contractual obligations; pension valuation, health care or other benefit costs; dependence on, retention or recruitment of key employees and highly skilled personnel and distribution of our human capital; war, geopolitical conflict, terrorism, or political uncertainty, or disruptions resulting from the Russia-Ukraine war, the Israel and Gaza conflict, or other tensions in the Middle East, including arising out of international sanctions, foreign currency fluctuations and other economic impacts; labor relations; strikes; union negotiations; disputes or litigation involving governmental, supplier, customer, employee, creditor, stockholder, premises liability, personal injury, product liability, warranty or environmental claims; failure to adequately insure or to identify product liability, environmental or other insurable risks; costs associated with environmental or other claims relating to properties previously owned; our inability to patent or otherwise protect our inventions or other intellectual property rights from potential competitors or fully exploit such rights which could materially affect our ability to compete in our chosen markets; changes in licenses, security clearances, or other legal rights to operate, manage our work force or import and export as needed; cyber security threats and disruptions, including ransomware attacks on our systems and the systems of third-party vendors and other parties with which we conduct business, all of which may become more pronounced in the event of geopolitical conflicts and other uncertainties, such as the conflict in Ukraine; our ability to maintain compliance with the Nasdaq listing standards minimum closing bid price; risks related to owning our common stock, including increased volatility; possible public policy response to a public health emergency, including U.S. or foreign government legislation or restrictions that may impact our operations or supply chain; or unknown risks and uncertainties. We undertake no obligation to update our forward-looking statements, except as may be required by law.

Crypto infrastructure firm pushes deeper into stablecoin payments with $250 million deal

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The move comes as crypto projects increasingly position themselves as offering payment platforms that resemble traditional digital banks, but operate on blockchain rails.

BNB's price holds above $900 after slight gain but fails to break key resistance

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The Fermi hard fork upgrade has improved BNB Smart Chain’s throughput and finality, and Grayscale has filed for a BNB ETF.

Spark Explained Like You’re Five

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Some of you may remember an article I published years ago, Understanding Lightning Network Using an Abacus, which I wrote after it became clear to me that many people didn’t fully understand how Lightning works. At the time, my goal wasn’t to explain Lightning’s cryptography or implementation details, but to demystify the core idea behind payment channels. I used the analogy of the abacus to focus on the concept rather than the mechanics. It worked extremely well and people later adopted the abacus analogy to explain Lightning to noobs.

Lately, I’ve been feeling a strong sense of déjà vu.

When discussing Spark, I notice a similar pattern. Some know to say “statechain”, but for most, that’s where the understanding ends. And as with Lightning back then, the problem isn’t a lack of intelligence or effort, it’s simply that the underlying mental model isn’t clear. So I’ll try the same approach again: explain how Spark works conceptually, without getting into cryptographic terminology.

At its core, Spark allows users to send and receive bitcoin without broadcasting on-chain transactions. The bitcoin doesn’t move on-chain when ownership changes. Instead, what changes is who can jointly authorize their spend. This joint authorization is shared between the user and a group of operators called a Spark Entity (SE).

To explain how this works, imagine that spending a given set of bitcoin on Spark requires completing a simple two-piece puzzle: 

  • One piece of the puzzle is held by the user. 
  • The other piece is held by the SE.

Only when both matching pieces come together can the bitcoin be spent. A different set of bitcoin will require the completion of a different puzzle. 

Now let’s walk through what happens when ownership changes.

Initially, Alice holds a puzzle piece that matches the piece held by the SE. She can spend her bitcoins by combining the pieces and completing the puzzle. When Alice wants to send her bitcoins to Bob, she allows Bob to create a new puzzle together with the SE. Importantly, the puzzle itself doesn’t change: the old and new puzzle have the same shape, but the pieces that compose it change. The new puzzle is designated for Bob: one side is associated with Bob and the other with the SE. From that point on, only Bob’s piece matches the SE’s piece. Alice may still retain her old puzzle piece, but it’s now useless. Since the SE destroyed its matching piece, Alice’s piece no longer fits any other piece and cannot be used to spend the bitcoin. Ownership has effectively moved to Bob, even though the bitcoin in question never moved on-chain.

Bob can later repeat the same process to send the same set of bitcoin to Carol and so on. Each transfer works by replacing the puzzle pieces, not by moving the funds on-chain.

At this point, a question naturally arises: what if the SE simply doesn’t discard its old puzzle piece? In that case, the SE could collude with the previous owner, Alice, and spend Bob’s bitcoin. We need to trust the SE that, when ownership moved from Alice to Bob, it also destroyed its piece of the puzzle. However, it’s important to understand that an SE is not a single party. It consists of a group of operators, and the SE’s side of the puzzle is never held by one operator alone. Replacing the puzzle requires cooperation among multiple operators. No single party can secretly keep an old puzzle active or recreate it later. It’s enough for one operator to act honestly during a transfer to prevent an old puzzle from ever being reactivated.

The key idea is simple: Spark doesn’t move bitcoin on-chain between users. It replaces who holds the valid authorization to spend them. The on-chain bitcoin doesn’t move. What changes is which two puzzle pieces fit together.

To keep this explanation focused, I intentionally didn’t get into Spark’s unilateral exit mechanism. It’s an important part of Spark’s security model, but it would distract from the core idea I want to convey here. What matters is that Spark is not a system where users are permanently dependent on the SE. While everyday transfers rely on joint authorization, Spark also provides users with a way to spend their funds on-chain without requiring the cooperation of the SE. That escape hatch exists by design, it’s just outside the scope of this explanation. 

Optalitix partners with Dutch MGA Intermont to drive its digital transformation

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London, UK – 13 January 2026 – Leading underwriting and pricing Insurtech, Optalitix, has announced a strategic partnership with Intermont, a Dutch MGA and part of the Acrisure group, to accelerate its digital transformation and establish a flagship Optalitix use case in the Netherlands.

The partnership will upgrade Intermont’s core pricing and underwriting operations while creating a strong foundation for Optalitix’s expansion into the Dutch market.

As part of the project, Intermont is implementing Optalitix Quote and Optalitix Models to transform existing Excel-based pricing and underwriting models into cloud-based, end-to-end pricing and underwriting systems. The project will begin in Q1 2026, with full go-live planned in Q2/Q3 2026.

The platform will replace manual, fragmented workflows with a fully digital, integrated process. This includes centralised model management, automated workflows, faster quote delivery, reduced human error, and real-time portfolio data capture to improve risk selection and decision-making.

Dino Mantovani, Enterprise Sales Executive at Optalitix, said:
“This partnership with Intermont is a landmark moment for Optalitix in the Netherlands. Intermont will benefit from increased agility and flexibility without the need for costly, bespoke system builds, while gaining the scalability required to expand across new products, regions, and growing business volumes. The partnership will also accelerate speed-to-market and significantly improve operational efficiency, strengthening Intermont’s competitive position.”

Jeroen Baart, Managing Director at Intermont, said:
“By working with Optalitix we are improving our commercial underwriting and strengthening how we present our portfolio to capacity providers. The platform helps us demonstrate control, transparency, and granular insight in our book of business.”

Pascal Durant, Head of Business Development & Underwriting Director Casualty & Marine at Intermont, added:
“The partnership with Optalitix enables us to take the next step towards becoming a data-driven MGA. It allows us to analyse and process data more efficiently to develop stronger underwriting models and propositions.”

Ognjen Jovanovic, Operations Director at Intermont, said: “Optalitix understands how an MGA works in practice. This partnership is about giving our brokers a smoother experience, our underwriters better tools, and our carriers a deeper, data-driven view of the portfolio.”

Intermont is a Dutch MGA managing delegated authority for multiple insurers and writing a commercial portfolio of over €120 million. It specialises in tailored insurance solutions for public and institutional clients and manages more than 200 public tenders each year.

AllDomains Launches .com on Solana – onboarding the internet’s largest namespace into Web3

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United States, 12/1/2026 — Following the successful launch of .id on Solana in 2024, AllDomains is now expanding its hybrid domain architecture with the introduction of .com on-chain — bringing the world’s most recognisable Web2 TLD into a Web3-enabled environment.

This next step transforms .com into a fully interoperable identity primitive, combining:

Web2 nameserver compatibility (ICANN-rooted, globally resolvable domains)
Web3 ownership, portability, and programmability
Solana’s fast, affordable, and composable infrastructure

The result is the first at-scale bridge between the internet’s dominant namespace and the next generation of on-chain identity.

Why This Is Huge for the Future of Domains in Web3

.com is the largest digital namespace on Earth

Over 160M .com domains exist today. No Web3 TLD even comes close.
By bringing .com on-chain, AllDomains is not creating a new niche — it’s onboarding the original Internet RWA and a secondary market with $2 billion in annual trade.

This positions AllDomains as the first project capable of introducing millions of users to on-chain identity without requiring them to “switch” to Web3 domains.

Why Domain Owners Should Bring Their .com On-Chain

For existing .com owners, bringing a domain on-chain unlocks new functionality without disrupting anything that already works. Websites, DNS, hosting, and email remain unchanged, while ownership gains a secure, verifiable on-chain layer on Solana. This enables instant transfers, transparent ownership records, and access to global marketplaces—eliminating the delays, escrow costs, and friction associated with traditional domain transactions. Beyond trading, on-chain .com domains can also function as portable digital identities, supporting wallet-based login, payments, and profile discovery across modern applications. The result is a future-proof upgrade to a domain owners already trust, not a replacement.

“AllDomains has consistently shipped product and pushed Web3 domains forward,” said Tom Osborne, Head of Marketing at AllDomains. “We’re excited to introduce .com into our existing hybrid infrastructure, which has already been adopted and supported by the Solana community. With this addition, we’re expanding into one of the most established and valuable digital asset classes in the world — bringing .com domains onto the new internet.”

Summary

AllDomains’ launch of .com on Solana is a watershed moment for Web3 identity:

The world’s most valuable namespace
Fully interoperable across Web2 and Web3
Backed by Solana’s performance and composability
Usable by businesses, developers, creators, and everyday users

This is not just another TLD launch — it’s the unification of the internet’s largest naming system with the next generation of digital identity.
It is the biggest Web3 domain milestone to date.

To buy a hybrid .com domain visit the AllDomains website https://alldomains.id/domains/com

About AllDomains
AllDomains is one of the most advanced and widely adopted domain and identity platforms in Web3, already partnered with some of the ecosystem’s biggest brands, powering Solana Mobile’s Seeker IDs and delivering TLD partnerships with leading communities such as BONK, MonkeDAO, SuperTeam, and many more. Beyond scale, AllDomains continues to push the domain space forward through constant innovation, pioneering hybrid Web2/Web3 TLDs with on-chain .id and now .com, expanding domain utility beyond crypto-native namespaces. The protocol today supports all major SVM blockchains and has recently deployed EVM capabilities, positioning AllDomains as a truly cross-ecosystem identity layer bridging traditional internet domains with next-generation on-chain ownership and programmability.

Media Contact
Tom Osborne
Email: tom@alldomains.id
Website: www.alldomains.id

Source: AllDomains

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Another Dogecoin ETF Just Dropped: When Will It Begin Trading?

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Trusted Editorial content, reviewed by leading industry experts and seasoned editors. Ad Disclosure

21Shares is set to launch its Dogecoin ETF after gaining approval from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Nasdaq. This is expected to provide some bullish momentum for the meme coin even as DOGE funds see muted interest from institutional investors. 

21Shares To Launch Dogecoin ETF After Filing Final Prospectus

Crypto ETF issuer 21Shares has filed the prospectus for its Dogecoin ETF, signaling plans to launch this fund this week. However, the asset manager has yet to announce a specific launch date. This will be the third spot DOGE fund to launch after Grayscale and Bitwise’s DOGE ETF, which launched last year. 

21Shares Dogecoin ETF will launch on the Nasdaq under the ticker ‘TDOG.’ Crypto exchange Coinbase is listed among the Trust’s custodians alongside BitGo and Anchorage. Meanwhile, the fund will offer in-kind creations and redemptions, similar to other existing spot crypto ETFs. 21shares will charge a 0.50% management fee for the fund. 

The Dogecoin ETF will be 21Shares’ fifth spot U.S. crypto ETF, as the asset manager already offers Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, and XRP ETFs. The DOGE fund’s launch is bullish for the foremost meme coin as it could attract more institutional flows into its ecosystem. However, it is worth noting that the other existing spot U.S. DOGE funds have only seen moderate demand so far. 

SoSoValue data shows that the inflows into these Dogecoin ETFs have been minimal, with these funds currently boasting net assets of just under $10 million, which is less than 1% of the meme coin’s market cap. They have also mostly recorded zero-flow days since launching, with most inflow days below $1 million. However, it is worth noting that these funds saw greater demand at the start of the year, when DOGE rose to around $0.15. As such, they could attract more inflows as the market recovers. 

A Generational Buying Opportunity

Crypto analyst Hokage described the current DOGE price level as a generational buying opportunity amid the imminent launch of the Dogecoin ETF. This came as the analyst remarked that while the short-term is extremely hard to figure out, the long-term support will eventually get hit. His accompanying chart showed that the leading meme coin could rally to as high as $1.6 in the long term. 

Dogecoin
Source: Chart from Hokage on X

The crypto analyst highlighted the potential integration of Dogecoin into Elon Musk’s X as one catalyst that could spark this run. He opined that the meme coin will eventually get integrated into X as a payment and tips feature. Hokage added that it is just a matter of time and not if. 

Related Reading: Dogecoin Is Breakout Ready: Analyst Shows Major Target For The Meme Coin King

At the time of writing, the Dogecoin price is trading at around $0.137, down over 2% in the last 24 hours, according to data from CoinMarketCap.

Dogecoin
DOGE trading at $0.13 on the 1D chart | Source: DOGEUSDT on Tradingview.com

Featured image from Pngtree, chart from Tradingview.com

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Kraken-backed SPAC files for $250 million initial public offering

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The SPAC will focus on cryptocurrency ecosystem businesses, expanding Kraken’s presence in public markets.