DATA Foundation Tops 100 Million Network Registrations, Launches Upbit Trading Event

The DATA Foundation, an AI training data infrastructure provider formerly known as Story, is launching the Big DATA Challenge trading event on Upbit after the DATA network surpassed 100 million cumulative data registrations.

The four-day event will run from July 24 through July 27 on South Korean digital-asset exchange Upbit, the foundation said on July 24.

The Big DATA Challenge will be held on Upbit’s official event page. Participants can complete three missions: deposit at least 500 DATA, reach cumulative trading volume of at least 100,000 won in Upbit’s KRW market, and take learning quizzes on July 24 and July 27. Participants who complete each mission will receive a random-box reward.

A separate top trader event with a total prize pool of 150,000 DATA will run alongside it. Prizes will be awarded to the top 20 traders by DATA/KRW trading volume in Upbit’s KRW market during the event period.

The DATA Foundation has rebranded IP, the native token of the former Story project, as DATA. Its blockchain infrastructure, the DATA network, supports the full process for real-world data used in AI training, from collection and provenance verification to licensing and settlement.

Last month, the foundation integrated Kled, a marketplace for user-consented AI training data contributions, into the DATA network and officially launched Trace, a public audit layer.

All data registered through Trace creates a blockchain-based permanent record that allows frontier AI labs to verify within seconds the provenance of training data, the related rights and whether contributors were compensated. Network fees generated in that process are paid in DATA.

The DATA network is currently adding about 3 million to 5 million new data registrations a day. As registrations increase, network usage and fees rise as well.

Kled has registered more than 1 billion files on the DATA network, and more than 900 million additional data entries are awaiting registration, according to the foundation. The recent surge in registrations has lifted daily chain fees by more than 200 times versus recent weeks. Based on DeFiLlama data, the DATA network has entered the top 20 chains by fee generation.

“The number of data registrations is a key indicator that directly shows whether the DATA network is being used for its intended purpose,” DATA Foundation Chief Executive Officer Andrea Muttoni said. “We are still in the early stages of growth. As data supply and related applications expand, AI training data with clear licensing and rights structures will continue to accumulate.”

The DATA trading event will be held only on Upbit. It is available only to users in eligible jurisdictions, and U.S. persons and residents of regions sanctioned by the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control are not eligible to participate.