Share this article
Erik Voorhees: Merging Crypto and AI
The founder of DEX ShapeShift has launched a new AI platform that’s meant to be a safer and more neutral alternative to ChatGPT and Claude.
Updated Dec 10, 2024, 7:48 p.m. Published Dec 10, 2024, 3:18 p.m.
“Crypto + AI” is personified by Erik Voorhees. His career has spanned the eras. In 2012, when Voorhees launched the blockchain-based gambling game “Satoshi Dice” — which once accounted for half of all Bitcoin transactions — he pioneered a novel use case for cryptocurrency.
The founder of the decentralized exchange ShapeShift is now applying the ethos of bitcoin to the next wave of AI, launching Venice.AI with the humble goal of “unfettered civilizational advancement.” In announcing Venice on May 10, Voorhees explained that the app is similar to ChatGPT or Claude but “without all the Orwellian stuff,” and that Venice doesn’t censor conversations or “inject bias, safetyism, or political propaganda.”
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
Somewhat amazingly, Venice seemed to ship instantly. It’s now live, creates uncensored images, and is part of the open-source Morpheus network. And as Voorhees says, “You can use Venice even without an account, in less than five seconds, from anywhere on earth via desktop or mobile.”
This profile is part of CoinDesk's Most Influential 2024 package. For all of this year's nominees, click here.
More For You
What to know:
- As of October 2025, GoPlus has generated $4.7M in total revenue across its product lines. The GoPlus App is the primary revenue driver, contributing $2.5M (approx. 53%), followed by the SafeToken Protocol at $1.7M.
- GoPlus Intelligence's Token Security API averaged 717 million monthly calls year-to-date in 2025 , with a peak of nearly 1 billion calls in February 2025. Total blockchain-level requests, including transaction simulations, averaged an additional 350 million per month.
- Since its January 2025 launch , the $GPS token has registered over $5B in total spot volume and $10B in derivatives volume in 2025. Monthly spot volume peaked in March 2025 at over $1.1B , while derivatives volume peaked the same month at over $4B.
More For You
Stripe-Backed Blockchain Tempo Starts Testnet; Kalshi, Mastercard, UBS Added as Partners
Tempo, built by Stripe and Paradigm, has started testing payment-focused blockchain and has onboard a slew of institutional partners.
What to know:
- Stripe and Paradigm’s Tempo blockchain has launched its public testnet for real-world payment testing.
- Kalshi, Klarna, Mastercard and UBS are among a wave of new institutional partners now involved in the project.
- Tempo aims to offer low-cost, fast-settlement infrastructure for global payments as stablecoin adoption is accelerating globally.
Top Stories
