OpenGradient $OPG Token

OpenGradient is introducing $OPG as the token it plans to use for AI compute payments, staking, rewards and governance across its network. (portal.opengradient.ai) The company’s token portal says release is scheduled for April 21, 2026, and lists a total supply of 1 billion tokens. The posted allocation shows 40% for the ecosystem, 15% for the foundation, 10% for investors and advisors, 10% for staking rewards, 6% for liquidity and launch, and 4% for an airdrop. (portal.opengradient.ai) OpenGradient’s own developer docs already use $OPG in its test environment for large language model inference on Base Sepolia, an Ethereum test network. The docs say developers must approve $OPG spending before requests, and that payments settle through the x402 payment flow. (docs.opengradient.ai, docs.opengradient.ai) The pitch behind the token starts with the problem OpenGradient says it is trying to solve: most artificial intelligence runs as a black box behind an application programming interface, with users unable to verify which model ran or whether outputs were changed. OpenGradient says its network is built so AI inference can be checked with cryptographic proofs instead of trust alone. (docs.opengradient.ai) That design matters because ordinary blockchains are not built to run heavy artificial intelligence workloads on every validator. OpenGradient says it separates execution from verification, sending model runs to specialized compute nodes and settling proofs later on a verification layer. (docs.opengradient.ai, docs.opengradient.ai) On its website, OpenGradient describes itself as a blockchain “built from the ground up” for verifiable artificial intelligence inference, with products for model hosting, secure inference and on-chain agents. The site also says its testnet is live and that the company has joined the NVIDIA Inception startup program. (opengradient.ai) Its documentation splits the system across two rails. Large language model inference is paid with $OPG on Base Sepolia, while proof settlement, node registration and verification happen on the OpenGradient network itself. (docs.opengradient.ai, docs.opengradient.ai) The company is also pushing a broader “on-chain AI” stack beyond chat models. Its software development kit docs describe alpha-testnet support for machine learning inference, workflows and model management, alongside a model hub for uploading and versioning models. (docs.opengradient.ai, docs.opengradient.ai, docs.opengradient.ai) The token launch gives OpenGradient a native unit for the marketplace it has been sketching in docs and product pages: pay for inference, reward participation, and tie governance to the network’s artificial intelligence infrastructure. The next concrete date on that roadmap is April 21. (portal.opengradient.ai, docs.opengradient.ai)