1. The Original Vision
When we launched VectorChat just over a year ago, the simple chat interface was always meant to be step one. From the outset our ambition has been clear: build a decentralized AI protocol that rewards the people who push the field forward. However, instead of building the protocol from the start, we focused on shipping a major product first for two reasons:
Prove we can execute. Talk is cheap; shipping software earns trust.
Generate real demand. A protocol without users or credibility is an empty shell.
That product became Toffee, and with its public debut around the corner, the time is right to turn our original protocol vision into reality.
2. Why We’re Rebranding to Inference
“VectorChat” described a single application. Inference captures the broader economic engine we’ve been working toward—one where:
Breakthrough AI challenges receive on-chain funding.
Compute providers earn for verifiable work.
A modular ruleset lets the community decide what to optimize and how to measure progress.
The new name signals our evolution from a standalone product to a generalized, permissionless platform for open-source AI.
3. What This Means for Token Holders
Moving from product to protocol introduces inflation—new tokens minted to reward contest winners, designers, validators, and compute suppliers. Incentives need fresh supply, but our issuance will be markedly leaner than comparable networks. Two design choices help keep the balance:
Measured emission schedule. The initial $CHAT supply acts as a “pre-mine,” sparing early supporters the steep inflation curves common in other launches. Exact parameters will remain flexible during development, but the goal is clear: a tamer curve that grows only as fast as real network activity.
Burn mechanics. Every token spent on network compute or hosted inference is permanently burned, creating a built-in counter-weight to inflation.
Most important for current holders:
Every existing $CHAT converts 1-for-1 into the new Inference token at main-net launch.
4. Milestone to Watch
Testnet → Mainnet — The token migration will occur once the first version of the Inference protocol is ready to go live on main-net. This will be announced clearly on all of our official channels, as well as on this site, and all well in advance. Until then, the $CHAT token remains the official token of this project. Please be mindful of bad actors!
Thank you for believing in the mission from the VectorChat days onward. Your support now forms the bedrock of Inference. Together we’ll shape the open AI economy.
