Venice AI’s VVV token saw a sharp 50% decline following insider trading claims, casting a shadow over its highly anticipated debut.
Launched on Monday, Venice AI introduced its platform on the Base network, offering users private, uncensored access to China’s DeepSeek AI without the burden of per-request fees. The platform’s innovative approach to AI inference rapidly attracted attention, driving the token’s market cap from an initial $20 million to a staggering $1 billion on launch day.
Additionally, the token’s immediate listing on Coinbase (COIN), a rare event for a new asset, contributed to its early success. However, the excitement was short-lived when reports surfaced of two contributors from launch partner Aerodrome Finance purchasing a significant amount of VVV tokens shortly after the launch, before any public announcements were made. Their investment grew from $50,000 to $1 million within an hour, raising suspicions of insider trading.
In response to the community’s backlash, Aerodrome Finance acted swiftly, suspending the two contributors. The company confirmed that internal systems had flagged the unusual trading activity within 30 minutes, leading to an investigation.
“A portion of the trading activity around the $VVV launch was flagged early on, prompting us to suspend two contributors within three hours,” Aerodrome said. “The investigation is ongoing, and we will take further action as necessary.”
