The Dawn of Autonomy Has Arrived
On July 16, 2025, we reached a major milestone in the Autonomys journey. At block 3,585,226, the Subspace Foundation officially activated $AI3 token transfers, marking the beginning of Mainnet Phase-2. This is more than a technical achievement - it’s a milestone for our community, our contributors, and the movement we’re building together.
To mark the occasion, we hosted a global community call packed with major announcements, new campaigns, and a look at what’s coming next. Below is a full recap of everything we covered.
Transfers Are Live on Autonomys
Transfer enablement was the final critical step in activating the economic layer of our network. From this point forward, $AI3 holders can move tokens across the Autonomys chain with full finality and permanence.
This milestone was the result of a multi-phase rollout - including rigorous testing on Taurus, validation through Game of Domains and Crossing the Narrow Sea, and upgrades to the runtime and consensus logic. Transfers were enabled via a live transaction during the call - a historic moment shared with our community in real time.
The Dawn of Autonomy Begins
We launched two parallel community campaigns to celebrate the start of Phase-2:
The Spark & Seed Challenge
For long-time community members and early farmers, our sparks. Pass the flame by transferring AI3 to someone new and help jumpstart the Autonomys economy.
For newcomers, our seeds. Join the network, explore Auto Drive, and show us what autonomy means to you through a creative upload.
Both challenges are open now with 35,000 $AI3 in total rewards and exclusive commemorative NFTs up for grabs.
Full details here: 🌅 Dawn of Autonomy Campaign: The Spark and The Seed Challenge
The Node Atlas Challenge
If you’re a node runner or someone interested in the geography of decentralization, we’ve got something just for you.
The Node Atlas Challenge invites participants to analyze and visualize the global footprint of Autonomys validators, farmers, and infrastructure nodes. It’s an opportunity to highlight the distributed nature of our network - and win USDC prizes in the process.
Full details here: 🌎 Node Atlas Challenge: Become a Network Detective!
Domains: Decoupled Execution Is Coming To Mainnet
One of the most anticipated features in our roadmap - domains - is getting ready for launch. For those unfamiliar, domains represent Autonomys’ modular execution environments, enabling tailored runtimes that operate independently but cohesively within the broader network.
The first domain to go live will be Auto EVM, our Ethereum-compatible execution environment. Operationally, this begins with registering the EVM runtime and then launching a domain that runs it. At first, the domain will be operated by a permissioned internal validator set - but decentralization is the goal. We’ll begin onboarding external permissioned operators next, before transitioning to a fully permissionless operator set.
Alongside this rollout, and in collaboration with our partners at Protofire, we’ll be deploying essential EVM infrastructure:
- Wrapped AI3 (WAI3)
- SAFE multisig support
- Bridges to Ethereum and BSC using Hyperlane (expected 5-10 days post-launch)
We may bring domains online before certain tooling like the staking UI and XDM interface are fully available. However, these functions will be completely accessible via Polkadot.js Explorer, and full documentation will be provided.
Also important to note: domain instantiation will initially be permissioned, but we are already working toward permissionless domain creation, allowing anyone to deploy their own native L2 in the future.
Here’s a quick summary of what’s next on the engineering roadmap:
- Permissionless Transition
- Enable permissionless domain operators
- Open domain instantiation to the community
- Auto ID Revisited
- Our recent work with Autonomys Agents have made clear the need and requirements for a native agentic identity layer. Work on defining and implementing Auto ID will be re-prioritized.
- XDM Improvements
- We aim to improve Cross-Domain Messaging by:
- Introducing a fast XDM mechanism that eliminates the current challenge period delay
- Adding EVM precompiles to streamline EVM-to-consensus transfers
- We aim to improve Cross-Domain Messaging by:
- Looking Further Ahead
- We will support third-party domain development through tooling and grants
- We plan to improve current data upload constraints through:
- Specialized Data Domains
- Protocol-level bandwidth scalability improvements
Domains are the next major unlock for composability and interoperability in the Autonomys stack. They’re coming soon - watch the repos and stay tuned.
Exchange Integrations: Expanding Market Access for $AI3
With AI3 transfers now enabled, the next piece of the infrastructure puzzle is nearly in place: exchange integrations. This marks a critical step in bringing Autonomys to a global audience and giving our community seamless market access.
Exchange Selection Strategy
The Subspace Foundation has prioritized broad geographic coverage in our exchange partnerships - focusing on onboarding exchanges that serve users across APAC, North America, and Europe. Our goal is to ensure that as $AI3 listings roll out, token holders around the world will have reliable, localized options for engagement.
Listing Timeline & What Comes Next
Now that transfers are live, exchanges can complete the final stages of their integration with the Autonomys consensus chain. While we can’t provide exact listing dates yet, we’re actively coordinating with all partner exchanges, and expect the first listings to go live before the end of July.
Please note: listing timelines are dependent on individual exchange integration processes and are therefore subject to change. We’ll continue to provide updates throughout this go-to-market phase.
Listings will be staggered and strategic, allowing us to:
- Account for exchange integration queues and commercial terms
- Align listings with broader ecosystem growth
- Enable localized user onboarding through phased regional launches
Expect additional exchange listings to roll out across Q3 and Q4 as Autonomys gains traction and visibility.
User Campaigns on Exchanges
To make these listings meaningful - not just symbolic - we’ve also coordinated user activation campaigns with our exchange partners. These campaigns will:
- Reward early $AI3 adopters
- Introduce new users to Autonomys
- Spotlight the protocol across major exchange platforms
Campaigns will begin shortly after listing, with full details and prep instructions shared in advance so you can make the most of them.
On-Chain Liquidity Coming Soon
Once Auto EVM is live, we will launch Wrapped AI3 (WAI3) as an ERC-20 token within our EVM domain. We’ll also have our Hyperlane bridge deployed. This will enable the deployment of on-chain liquidity across decentralized exchanges (DEXs), further expanding access in a non-custodial, permissionless way. More details to follow once domain infrastructure is finalized.
Market Maker Partnerships
Behind the scenes, we’ve also secured best-in-class market makers to ensure a healthy launch. These partners were selected based on reputation, execution reliability, and transparency - laying the foundation for stable, long-term liquidity across both centralized and decentralized venues.
As we move towards the initial listings this marks the end of this current phase of the journey, but marks the beginning of the project.
Ecosystem Grants Program: A New Phase Begins
Mainnet Phase-2 marks a philosophical shift for the Autonomys Network. With the protocol live and the economic layer unlocked, the role of the Subspace Foundation is evolving. From here forward, we move from building the foundation to empowering the ecosystem.
To support this transition, the Subspace Foundation has announced the Ecosystem Grants Program - an initiative designed to catalyze innovation, unlock new use cases, and elevate community-driven development across the Autonomys stack.
We’ve lit the flame. Now, we’re handing the torch to you.
This program isn’t just funding - it’s a commitment to collaboration. We want to enable the sparks of autonomy already flickering across our community to grow into fully realized tools, protocols, applications, and experiments.
Grants are available across five core tracks:
- Infrastructure - Alternate clients, developer tooling, encryption layers, Auto Drive interfaces, and DSN node enhancements
- AI-powered dApps & Agents - On-chain co-pilots, autonomous DeFi bots, social agents, and more
- Integrations - Bridges, relayers, oracle feeds, plugin SDKs - anything that connects Autonomys to the wider Web3 world
- Research - Novel consensus, governance experiments, ZK/FHE, and DSN optimizations
- Community & Growth - Hackathons, educational content, workshops, onboarding tools, and beyond
Selected projects will receive:
- Milestone-based funding in $AI3 and/or stablecoins
- Mentorship and technical support from Autonomys contributors
- Visibility and promotion across our communication channels
- A direct path to production, with support from prototype through to mainnet deployment
This is your invitation to build the future on Autonomys. Whether you’re a solo dev with a prototype or a team with a vision, the grants program is your open door.
Read the documentation, apply now and let’s turn your idea into something permanent.
Community Q&A
Please check out the call recording on YouTube for the full Q&A but here are some highlights:
Q: Is it possible to participate in network governance [Anonymous]
A: Autonomys employs the Substrate governance pallet - the same one used by Polkadot and many of the projects in the DOT ecosystem. At the moment it is configured to require Subspace Foundation council approval while we bootstrap the network but one of the main goals of the foundation is to execute on a plan of progressive decentralization whereby token holders vote on the future of the network. This is complemented by the already live Autonomys Improvement Proposal system.
Q: Are there any existing use cases for the product? [cj_stanley]
A: We have Auto Drive and the Auto SDK. We also have the Autonomys Agents framework and the Auto EVM domain on mainnet will enable anyone to deploy the rich ecosystem of dApps available on Ethereum compatible chains. Our focus beyond building out PoCs is on infrastructure rather than end-user products and, as mentioned, it’s the grants program where we aim to see the sparks of innovation come up with exciting use-cases while core contributors concentrate on the business of delivering core protocol enhancements
Q: On which CEXs will $AI3 be listed? Will it also be available on any DEX? [enlidev]
A: We have NDAs with the exchanges we are working with which means that we are unable to name them at the moment. You will not have to wait too long until they make themselves known and we will follow with our own announcements of course. And yes, we are also working on having DEX access too.
Q: How many tokens will be distributed in the market [Anonymous]
A: Short answer on current circulating supply is ~10.85%. This is made up of:
- ~6.57% testnet rewards (0.3% also reserved for Game of Domains)
- ~1.6% mainnet rewards
- 2.0% market liquidity
- ~0.68% foundation operating fund
- Total: ~10.85%
Full details of token supply and distribution are available on the Subspace Foundation website. Speaking of which, the 5% Subspace Foundation near-term treasury is unlocked but is earmarked for ecosystem bootstrapping initiatives yet to be decided by the foundation.
Q: Can you provide an update on the status of the cross-chain bridge to Ethereum Mainnet? Very excited for DeFi integrations with AI3. [Anonymous]
A: Yes, the plan is to support Ethereum and BSC as quickly as possible after Auto EVM is deployed. We are also working with the Hyperlane team on Solana integration. There is a deployment process to be followed once we have the domain available which consists of core contract deployment and then route setup. Both of which take time. We anticipate availability 5-10 days after Auto EVM availability.
Q: Most of the Ambassadors and Lead Ambassadors funds have a withdrawal lockout, can we put these funds in staking for the duration of the lockout? [spirittt]
A: No, staking locked funds is not currently possible.
Thanks for all the great questions. Some submitted were answered in earlier segments but, as always, feel free to follow up in the usual places if you’d like more information.
What You Can Do Now
- Watch the Launch Party call to get the full download
- Join the Spark & Seed campaign
- Enter the Node Atlas Challenge
- Test the BSC Bridge
- Submit a Grant Application
- Join the Forum, Discord, and follow us on X
- Help us amplify this milestone - repost, share, and bring others into the movement
Thank You!
To everyone who joined the call - thank you. Whether you’re a longtime farmer, a domain operator, a builder, a partner or simply curious about what we’re building: you are part of this.
As Todd highlighted, we couldn’t have reached this milestone without your belief, feedback, and participation.
This is just the beginning.
Transfers are live. The economy is awake. The future is in your hands.
Let’s build it - together.