Api3 (API3)USD

API3 is a blockchain oracle project that connects smart contracts to real-world API data through first-party data feeds, called dAPIs, supplied directly by the API providers themselves. It uses Airnode, a lightweight middleware that lets data providers run their own oracle nodes without relying on third-party intermediaries. Burak Benligiray, Saša Milić, and Heikki Vänttinen created the project around 2020, as listed in the original whitepaper. The API3 token launched via a public distribution on the Mesa DEX between 30 November and 14 December 2020, offering 20 million tokens, which was 20 percent of the initial supply. API3 is governed by a DAO, with token holders voting on protocol decisions. The project does not operate its own layer-one consensus chain. The native token is used for staking, DAO governance voting, and as collateral backing an on-chain insurance mechanism that covers users against oracle failures. Stakers earn rewards while bearing that risk. The initial total supply was 100 million API3, but the token follows an inflationary model through staking rewards with no fixed maximum supply. Total supply had grown to roughly 175 to 180 million tokens by mid-2026. The project's design keeps data sourcing as close to the original provider as possible, removing the third-party oracle node operators that other oracle systems depend on.