Autonomys is building an AI infrastructure stack with a storage layer for blockchain and AI agent data, a consensus layer for block finality, and a decoupled execution (DecEx) layer for transactions.
In Q3, Autonomys plans to deploy its Decoupled Execution (DecEx) layer, following the July 16 launch of AI3 token transferability on the consensus layer that began Phase-2. Phase-1 launched in November 2024 with storage and consensus.
Archive history size rose 16% QoQ from 124 GB to 143 GB, as Autonomys’ distributed storage network (DSN), which stores blockchain history and agent data, scales to support increased storage demands from new Phase-2 features.
In Q2, Autonomys addressed known vulnerabilities in its cross-domain messaging (XDM) system and passed a Mainnet Phase-2 readiness audit by SRLabs. Autonomys expects to launch Auto EVM (execution domain), Auto ID (identity domain), and TGE of the AI3 token in Q3.
Cumulative Mainnet events rose 67% QoQ from 102.8 million to 172.1 million, driven by XDM stress tests and user campaigns designed to simulate transaction loads.
AI3’s’ pre-market’ market cap decreased 29% QoQ from $148 million on March 31 to $104 million on June 30. Average daily rewards fell 1.6% QoQ from 70,300 AI3 to 69,100 AI3, consistent with issuance parameters designed to taper rewards over time.
Primer
Autonomys Network is an AI infrastructure stack with permanent distributed storage, data availability, and modular execution for deploying applications and AI agents onchain.
Operators, selected by a stake-based election process, manage transaction execution and state transitions within each domain. In Q3, Autonomys plans to launch its first domains: Auto EVM, which supports EVM-smart contract deployment, and Auto ID, designed for identity and agent verification.
Phase-1 allowed farmers to run nodes, build storage capacity, earn Mainnet rewards, and participate in block production for the Autonomys Network. Autonomys offers a telemetry dashboard that displays real-time network activity and node performance.
In addition to the DecEx layer, Phase-2 includes AI3 token transferability (launched on July 16), TGE for AI3, the launch of Auto EVM (formerly Nova EVM), an EVM-compatible domain for executing smart contracts, and Auto ID, a self-sovereign identity and proof-of-personhood framework designed for human-AI interaction.
The Auto EVM deployment will begin by registering the EVM runtime, which loads execution logic to process transactions, maintain state, and connect to the consensus chain. After registration, Auto EVM will be operated by a permissioned validator set.
Autonomys and Tokensoft are developing a stakeholder claim site for investors, ambassadors, and advisors to access their vested and unlocked tokens. Undisclosed CEXs plan to list AI3 in Q3, with the first listings intended to be completed by the end of July. The team also plans to deploy liquidity onchain across DEXs, though no timeline was provided.
In Q2, Autonomys ran a series of testnet campaigns (Game of Domains) to stress-test its cross-domain messaging (XDM) system, which enables messages and asset transfers between Autonomys’ consensus chain and domains on the execution layer. The tests uncovered issues with minting logic, failed transfers, and message sequencing, which the team resolved to stabilize XDM for token bridging and domain communication ahead of the Phase-2 launch. On July 7, SRLabs completed its audit of Autonomys and confirmed Phase-2 deployment readiness.
Community Campaigns and Network Testing
On July 16, Autonomys launched three community campaigns to drive participation and test infrastructure. The Spark Challenge rewarded early contributors for transferring AI3 or referring new users, distributing 15,000 AI3 across random draws and top referrers. The Seed Challenge offered 20,000 AI3 to new users who completed onboarding tasks, such as following Autonomys on X or reading the academy page. The Node Atlas Challenge encouraged users to analyze telemetry data and share insights on node distribution.
Financial Analysis
Market Cap
Though AI3 was not transferable until July 16, “pre-market” trading for the token began on Feb. 6, on XT.com and Gate.io, whereby users can lock USDT in exchange for “pre-tokens,” which convert to transferable spot tokens at TGE (scheduled for August). AI3’s “pre-market” market capitalization, calculated by multiplying the trading price of pre-tokens by the available pre-token supply, fell 29% QoQ in Q2 from $148 million to $104 million, while the token price dropped 32% from $0.23 to $0.16. Pre-token liquidity remained limited, contributing to high volatility and limited price discovery ahead of broader market participation.
Rewards & Fees
The AI3 token is used to compensate Autonomys Network participants who secure and operate the network through user-paid fees and protocol-minted AI3 rewards. Farmers contribute solid-state drive (SSD) storage and earn user-paid storage fees, block rewards for proposing new blocks, and vote rewards for participating in consensus. Storage fees scale with transaction size and resource usage.
Operators earn compute and relay fees for executing transactions and delivering cross-domain messages (XDM), which are collected and burned on the sending domain, then reminted and distributed on the receiving domain. Nominators earn a portion of an operator’s compute fees by staking AI3 in their nomination pools.
AI3 rewards minted by the Autonomys Network follow a dynamic issuance rate that adjusts in response to demand for blockspace and a decay schedule that gradually reduces rewards over 40 years. Following the Mainnet Phase-1 launch in November 2024, the Subspace Foundation set a requirement of 210 petabytes (PB) of total pledged storage from farmers before activating reward issuance. In November 2024, the network reached this threshold, triggering rewards for block proposers and voters at an initial rate of 5 AI3 per block. The issuance rate started declining linearly and will continue for 1.5 years, reaching 4.75 AI3 per block around May 2026. The number of AI3 issued per block varies depending on network utilization and voting participation, but is expected to generally follow the target curve shown in the AI3 issuance schedule.
Since November 2024, 15.4 million AI3 (1.5% of the maximum supply) have been minted as network participant rewards. In Q2, average daily rewards decreased 1.6% QoQ from 70,300 AI3 to 69,100 AI3, in line with Autonomys’ dynamic issuance model.
Network Analysis
Node Count
The Autonomys Network has three node roles that contribute to its infrastructure. These roles allow the storage, consensus, and execution layers to operate as modular components.
Farmers secure the Proof-of-Archival-Storage (PoAS) consensus chain by dedicating disk space to the network. They encode and store blockchain data onto their drives, participate in the Distributed Storage Network (DSN), and earn block rewards by contributing storage. The DSN permanently stores blockchain data and allows nodes and clients to retrieve historical information on demand.
Operators maintain the state and execute transactions on Decoupled Execution (DecEx) chains, which separate transaction execution from consensus to improve scalability. They are selected through a stake-based election process and run computations within specialized environments known as domains, each tailored to specific applications such as smart contracts or AI training.
Timekeepers run the Proof-of-Time chain and maintain the randomness beacon for the consensus chain. They broadcast outputs to the network, a process requiring a powerful CPU.
The number of Mainnet nodes decreased 30% QoQ in Q2 from 1,250 to 860, likely reflecting the exit of Phase-1 participants who joined the Game of Domains staking initiative. The slower churn compared to the 32% drop in Q1 suggests early signs of a more stable validator set entering Phase-2.
Farmers are increasingly using clustering to manage multiple farms through a single node, improving storage efficiency and consolidating reward flows. As more farmers adopt this setup, the number of active nodes on Mainnet may fall. A lower node count without a matching drop in total pledged storage suggests wider use of clustered farming.
Wallet Addresses
Wallet addresses that have used the Autonomys Network Mainnet Phase-1 increased 0.5% QoQ in Q2 from 109,700 to 110,300. Wallet growth remained limited ahead of Auto EVM and Auto ID, which are expected to increase address creation by introducing smart contract deployment, identity registration, and agent execution in the second half of 2025.
Storage
Total pledged storage is the cumulative capacity that Farmers commit to storing and serving blockchain history via the DSN. It decreased 18% QoQ from 522 PB to 430 PB.
Archive history size is the amount of blockchain history data transformed from recent consensus blocks into a permanent archived form and stored across the DSN. It increased 16% QoQ from 124 GB on March 31 to 143 GB on June 30, signaling that the storage system is functioning as intended ahead of Autonomys launching new protocol features in Phase-2 that will increase archive history size requirements.
Events
An event on the Autonomys Network is any message or action broadcast on Mainnet that changes state or triggers consensus, including transactions, Farmer votes, or token minting and burning. Cumulative events on Mainnet grew 67% QoQ from 102.8 million to 172.1 million.
Autonomys has over 40 ecosystem participants, primarily DePIN and agent-focused infrastructure protocols. Below are notable partnership announcements in Q2.
STP Network, a blockchain focused on coordinating multi-agent systems, partnered with Autonomys to store AI agent memories and multi-agent simulation data on the DSN.
Rome Protocol, an interoperability layer for Solana-based applications, partnered with Autonomys to enable cross-chain composability between Auto EVM and Solana.
MetYa, a SocialFi dating platform, partnered with Autonomys to store user-generated content and engagement data using the DSN.
SpoonOS, an agentic operating system, partnered with Autonomys to store AI agent data on Autonomys’ DSN, enabling interoperability with Auto Agents.
DPSN, a data aggregator for AI agents, partnered with Autonomys to deliver live data feeds, such as token prices and social sentiment, to autonomous agents via the DSN.
Beacon Protocol, a proprietary data marketplace, partnered with Autonomys to store protocol and partner datasets on the DSN.
GG3, an AI-powered community engagement platform, partnered with Autonomys to deploy questing and rewards infrastructure for user onboarding and education.
Heurist, a decentralized AI-as-a-Service platform, partnered with Autonomys to store AI-generated outputs and leverage Autonomys’ agent verification.
PAI3, an AI compute and inference network, partnered with Autonomys to store encrypted model inputs and pipeline data on the DSN.
Ecosystem
On July 21, the Subspace Foundation announced plans to launch an Ecosystem Grants Program to fund projects that build core infrastructure, extend Autonomys’ functionality, or increase user activity. The program is expected to support projects across infrastructure tooling, AI-powered applications and agents, external protocol integrations, research, and developer education. Selected teams will receive milestone-based funding, technical support from Autonomys contributors, and exposure through the protocol’s official community and media channels.
AI3 Centralized Exchange Listing
AI3 is the Autonomys Network’s native token and has a fixed supply of 1 billion tokens. Upon the launch of Mainnet Phase-1 in November 2024, 65% of the supply (650 million AI3) was minted (all token allocation categories except Farmer Rewards). The remaining 35% will be minted over 40 years as block rewards for farmers contributing storage to the network under a dynamic issuance model developed with BlockScience. On Aug. 27, the AI3 token was listed on five centralized exchanges, including Kraken, KuCoin, and MEXC.
Closing Summary
In Q2 and the beginning of Q3, Autonomys Network began rolling out Mainnet Phase-2 after they completed XDM testing, resolved key issues, and passed their SRLabs audit. On July 16, the protocol launched AI3 token transferability and announced that Auto EVM (execution domain) and Auto ID (identity domain) would launch later in Q3.
Cumulative Mainnet events increased 67% QoQ from 102.8 million to 172.1 million, reflecting higher network activity. AI3’s market cap fell 29% QoQ from $148 million to $104 million, active node count dropped 30% from 1,250 to 860, and pledged storage declined 18% from 522 PB to 430 PB during the transition to Phase-2. Registered wallets increased 0.5% QoQ from 109,700 to 110,300, and archive history grew 16% from 124 GB to 143 GB, as DSN is sustaining increased archival loads ahead of expanded Phase-2 storage requirements.
Autonomys announced an ecosystem grants program and integrations with partners building agent tooling, interoperability solutions, and data infrastructure. As Auto EVM, Auto ID, and the TGE of AI3 launch in Q3, Autonomys will transition from protocol development to application enablement and ecosystem expansion.
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Austin is a Sr. Research Analyst for Messari’s Protocol Services team. He focuses on Prediction Markets, DeFi, & Interop. protocols. He previously worked on PwC's Digital Assets team.
Austin is a Sr. Research Analyst for Messari’s Protocol Services team. He focuses on Prediction Markets, DeFi, & Interop. protocols. He previously worked on PwC's Digital Assets team.
