Velvet (project/company: Velvet Capital) (VELVET) is the native token of Velvet Capital, a non-custodial DeFi trading and portfolio-management platform.
The platform, marketed as an "AI Crypto Trading Terminal" and "DeFAI Operating System," lets users trade spot and perpetual markets, access DeFi protocols, and build or manage tokenized on-chain portfolios and vaults through an intent-based, AI-agent execution layer, without the platform taking custody of user funds. VELVET has live token contracts on BNB Smart Chain and Base, while the Velvet app supports trading across additional chains including Ethereum and Solana.
Velvet differentiates itself by combining AI-agent-driven trade execution with non-custodial portfolio and vault management, rather than offering a single-purpose swap or lending product.
Its "DeFAI" layer coordinates trading through a "CEO-agent" that works with external AI partners including Velvet Unicorn, Loky AI, Athena, SQDGN, and Gloria. The Base-deployed VELVET token recorded roughly $12.8 million in seven-day on-chain trading volume as of 2026-09-01. Additional token value capture is tied to a planned veVELVET fee-share mechanism, which is not yet active.
VELVET functions as both a governance and utility token, with its primary holder interaction being vote-escrow locking rather than direct fee payment or collateral use.
Holders can lock VELVET to receive veVELVET under a ve(3,3) model; longer locks yield more veVELVET, which decays over the lock period and can be renewed. veVELVET is designed to serve as the voting instrument of Velvet DAO and to carry perks such as platform fee discounts and higher referral shares once governance is live.
VELVET has a fixed maximum supply of 1,000,000,000 tokens; circulating supply is estimated near 460 million as of 2026-09-01.
VELVET's supply inflation is rated high risk (93.6th percentile among lowcap peers), consistent with an active unlock schedule.
VELVET launched via a Token Generation Event on July 10, 2025, one day after Velvet Capital announced a $3.7 million funding round.
The round was led by YZi Labs (formerly Binance Labs) and Blockchain Founders Fund, with participation from FunFair Ventures, Selini Capital, Mucker Capital, Gate Ventures, Poolz Ventures, Arbitrum Foundation, and other strategic investors. Reported sale prices included Early Backers at $0.025, a Community Round at $0.040, and the Binance Wallet IDO at $0.005 per token.
VELVET is deployed on two chains: BNB Smart Chain, its original TGE-era deployment, and Base, added on 2025-08-08.
BNB Smart Chain uses a Proof of Staked Authority consensus mechanism secured by a rotating set of validators. Base is an Ethereum layer-2 built on the OP Stack; it settles transactions to Ethereum and inherits Ethereum's proof-of-stake consensus for final security. The Velvet application additionally supports trading across other chains such as Ethereum and Solana, though those are trading venues rather than additional VELVET token deployments.
Velvet Capital's founder and CEO is Vasily Nikonov, a former Boston Consulting Group consultant and LongHash Ventures venture builder.
He holds INSEAD and Wharton MBAs and an MIPT MSc in Applied Mathematics. Ankit Raj serves as CTO. Michael Hage holds the titles Chief Degen Officer and VP of Business Development, and Navina Lang is listed as a Solidity Engineer.
Velvet (operating as Velvet Capital) is the company that develops and maintains the platform, presented at velvet.capital with an active presence on X, Discord, and Telegram.
It positions itself as a non-custodial DeFi Trading & Portfolio Management OS and AI Crypto Trading Terminal, letting users trade and manage on-chain portfolios without the platform holding custody of funds. Velvet Capital is backed by Binance Labs (rebranded YZi Labs), which led its 2025 funding round.
Velvet uses a ve(3,3) vote-escrow model in which users lock VELVET for veVELVET, intended as the voting instrument of Velvet DAO, but on-chain DAO governance is not yet live.
Longer VELVET locks yield more veVELVET, which decays to zero over the lock period and can be renewed; veVELVET is meant to govern decisions such as new integrations, treasury allocation, and protocol parameters, and to carry fee discounts and higher referral shares. Protocol fees currently accrue entirely to the Foundation Treasury, and any future share redirected to veVELVET stakers requires a DAO vote that has not been finalized or scheduled.
In mid-to-late 2026, Velvet launched a multi-agent AI trading system within its DeFAI OS, coordinating a "CEO-agent" with five external AI partners: Velvet Unicorn, Loky AI, Athena, SQDGN, and Gloria.
Velvet states it has completed audits with PeckShield, Softstack, Resonance Security, and ShellBoxes, plus an audit competition run through Hats Finance.
Softstack's report, published July 30, 2024, covering Velvet's Core v3 contracts, found roughly 50 issues including two High-severity findings, which Velvet reportedly resolved. Two bug-bounty programs are active: Immunefi, offering up to $51,000 (plus a separate $10,000 V2 bounty), and Hats Finance, with rewards previously cited up to $56,000. VELVET's holder-concentration risk is rated MEDIUM, in the 84.3rd percentile among lowcap peers, indicating above-average concentration.