On December 16, 2024, Vana launched its mainnet and the native $VANA token, marking a significant step towards enabling users to own, monetize, and govern their personal data.

Developed by Open Data Labs, Vana is an EVM-compatible blockchain that empowers users to maintain ownership of their data and utilize it for AI model training.

Vana aims to tackle data scarcity in AI development by allowing users to benefit from the AI economy while preserving their data sovereignty.

Users can earn rewards by contributing data, running nodes, and staking $VANA, which has a total supply of 120 million tokens.

Key features of the Vana mainnet include trustless validation, granular permissioning, on-chain data provenance, and Data Liquidity Pools for collective data governance.

DataDAOs, such as DNA DAO, which focuses on genetic data privacy, and an expanded Reddit Data DAO, are being established to manage community-owned data pools on the Vana network.

Despite the excitement surrounding the mainnet launch, the $VANA token experienced significant market volatility, dropping 39.1% to $20.59 within 24 hours.

Art Abal, CEO of Vana Foundation, criticized current data monetization practices in Web2 and emphasized the need for users to control their data's worth.

Vana positions itself as a revolutionary solution to existing data exchange issues, focusing on how personal data is valued and utilized.

In contrast, iDEGEN, an AI-powered meme token, is gaining traction with a presale that has raised over $5.8 million since its launch in late November 2024.

iDEGEN's mainnet is expected to list at a price 10% higher than the final presale price, providing investors with a hedge against market volatility.

During the testnet phase, over 1.3 million users contributed more than 6.5 million data points, showcasing the potential for programmable data ownership.