VVV & DIEM | Venice API Docs

VVV and DIEM are Venice’s on-chain funding layer for the API. Stake DIEM to receive a fixed daily inference allowance — 1 DIEM = $1 per day of Venice API credit — without buying prepaid USD credits for every request.

Token	Role
VVV	Venice’s foundational token on Base. Stake it to earn yield and to mint DIEM.
sVVV	Receipt for staked VVV. Lock sVVV at the current Mint Rate to mint DIEM.
DIEM	Tokenized compute unit. Stake DIEM to unlock a perpetual daily API credit equal to $1 per DIEM.

DIEM is an ERC-20 on Base. You can transfer, trade, or stake it. Unlike pay-as-you-go USD credits, staked DIEM is capacity you own: the daily allowance refreshes each epoch and does not dilute as network usage grows.

For model rates billed against that allowance, see API Pricing. For wallet pay-per-request without an API key, see x402.

How funding works

API keys spend from the linked Venice account in this order: DIEM, then bundled credits, then USD. When DIEM is the active currency:

Your daily allocation equals the amount of DIEM you have staked (1 staked DIEM → $1 of API credit that epoch).
Unused DIEM in an epoch does not roll over. The allowance refreshes at 00:00 UTC.
Accounts need at least 0.1 staked DIEM before any DIEM balance is spendable.
Request costs use the same USD price sheet as pay-as-you-go; DIEM is the settlement currency at a 1:1 dollar rate for that day’s allocation.

Check your current and next-epoch DIEM balance in the dashboard at venice.ai/settings/api, or via the Billing Balance endpoint.

Get DIEM and stake it

Use the token dashboard at venice.ai/token. Connect a Base wallet — do not send tokens directly to a contract address.

Acquire VVV or DIEM

Buy VVV or DIEM on a Base DEX such as Aerodrome or Uniswap, or receive DIEM transferred from another wallet.

Asset	Contract (Base)
VVV	`0xacfE6019Ed1A7Dc6f7B508C02d1b04ec88cC21bf`
DIEM	`0xF4d97F2da56e8c3098f3a8D538DB630A2606a024`

Stake VVV (if minting DIEM)

On venice.ai/token, stake VVV to receive sVVV. Staked VVV earns emissions. The staking contract is 0x321b7ff75154472B18EDb199033fF4D116F340Ff.

Mint DIEM from sVVV (optional)

Lock sVVV at the current Mint Rate to mint DIEM. The Mint Rate is how much sVVV is required per DIEM and rises as DIEM supply grows — preview it on the DIEM calculator.Minted DIEM appears in your wallet as an ERC-20. The locked sVVV stays locked until you burn the same amount of DIEM to unlock it.

Stake DIEM for API credit

Stake DIEM on the same token dashboard. Each staked DIEM grants $1 per day of Venice API credit for as long as it remains staked.Unstaking DIEM has a 1-day cooldown. Unlocking the sVVV that backed minted DIEM requires burning that DIEM; unstaking the freed sVVV then has a 7-day cooldown.

Create or use an API key

Sign in to Venice with the same wallet (Sign-In-With-Ethereum) so the staked DIEM attaches to your account, then create a key from API settings or the API key guide.Autonomous agents can mint a key from a wallet that holds staked VVV — see Autonomous Agent API Key Creation.

Never send VVV or DIEM directly to a contract address. Tokens sent that way cannot be recovered. Always stake through venice.ai/token or a known staking transaction flow.

Use DIEM with the API

Once DIEM is staked and linked to your account, call the API with a normal Bearer key. No extra headers or venice_parameters are required — Venice deducts from DIEM automatically when consumptionCurrency is DIEM.

curl https://api.venice.ai/api/v1/chat/completions \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $VENICE_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "model": "venice-uncensored",
    "messages": [{"role": "user", "content": "Hello"}]
  }'

Check DIEM balance

curl https://api.venice.ai/api/v1/billing/balance \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $VENICE_API_KEY"

Example response shape:

{
  "canConsume": true,
  "consumptionCurrency": "DIEM",
  "balances": {
    "diem": 90.5,
    "usd": 25
  },
  "diemEpochAllocation": 100
}

Field	Meaning
`balances.diem`	Remaining DIEM credit for the current epoch (`null` if you are not staking DIEM)
`diemEpochAllocation`	Total DIEM allocated for this epoch (staked amount). Compare with `balances.diem` for usage so far
`consumptionCurrency`	Currency that will be charged next (`DIEM`, `USD`, `BUNDLED_CREDITS`, or legacy `VCU`)
`canConsume`	Whether the account can pay for a request right now

List models or usage analytics to see per-request costs in both USD and DIEM — they match at the $1-per-DIEM rate for the day’s allowance. See Billing Usage and Usage Analytics.

Cap spend per key

When creating a key, you can set an epoch consumption limit denominated in diem or usd so a single integration cannot exhaust the full daily allocation. Dashboard keys expose this as Epoch Consumption Limits; Web3-minted keys accept consumptionLimit on POST /api_keys/generate_web3_key.

DIEM vs USD credits vs x402

Path	Best for	How it refreshes
Staked DIEM	Predictable daily capacity, agents, fixed AI cost	Full allocation each epoch (00:00 UTC) while DIEM stays staked
USD / crypto credits	Bursts above your DIEM allocation, simple prepaid spend	Balance decreases with usage; credits never expire
x402 (USDC)	Headless pay-per-request with no API key	Wallet tops up USDC via `POST /x402/top-up`; DIEM on a linked account is still spent first when present

If a request would exceed remaining DIEM and no USD or bundled credits cover it, the API returns 402 with INSUFFICIENT_BALANCE. Stake more DIEM, wait for the next epoch, or add USD credits in Settings → API.

API Pricing

Per-model rates charged against DIEM or USD.

Token dashboard

Stake VVV, mint DIEM, and stake DIEM for API credit.

Autonomous Agent API Key

Mint an API key from a wallet with staked VVV on Base.

x402 Wallet Auth

Pay per request with USDC when you do not want a long-lived API key.

Billing Balance

Read DIEM and USD balances from the API.

Help Center: Token

Mint rate, cooldowns, yield, and other token FAQs.

​How funding works

​Get DIEM and stake it

​Use DIEM with the API

​Check DIEM balance

​Cap spend per key

​DIEM vs USD credits vs x402

​Related resources

API Pricing

Token dashboard

Autonomous Agent API Key

x402 Wallet Auth

Billing Balance

Help Center: Token

How funding works

Get DIEM and stake it

Use DIEM with the API

Check DIEM balance

Cap spend per key

DIEM vs USD credits vs x402

Related resources