PANews reported on February 9 that according to The block, the decentralized storage project Arweave officially launched the mainnet version of its computing platform AO after a year of testnet phase. The native tokens previously minted and distributed to AR holders and testnet depositors will be transferable after the mainnet is launched.
AO is called a "hyperparallel computer" by developers, which introduces a distributed computing environment with parallel processing capabilities. Arweave's permanent data storage supports AO's operations, ensuring that data is immutable and permanently accessible. According to core developers, AO will support a new wave of dapps, including on-chain autonomous agents focused on AI coordination.
The launch of the AO mainnet was accompanied by the final release of its native token, which is separate from Arweave’s AR token. The maximum supply of AO tokens is capped at 21 million, echoing the model of Bitcoin. The AO team said it adopted a fair distribution model to distribute tokens to users who bridge assets to the platform and existing AR token holders.
36% will be distributed to AR holders over time based on holdings. The remaining 64% is reserved for economic growth incentives, specifically for bridging assets into AO, including rewards for users who deposit assets like DAI and stETH into the AO ecosystem. Prior to launch, over $700 million was pre-bridged to the AO testnet.
Arweave launched AO's public testnet in February 2024. By June, AO announced its native token, AO, as well as token economics and reward mechanisms. The main function of the AO token is to protect messaging within the network through system incentive proofs.
