Talus Network: Nexus: A New Standard for Decentralized Autonomy

What is Talus Network

Friends, imagine if blockchains could think and act like humans—how cool would that be! Talus Network (abbreviated as US) is a blockchain project dedicated to realizing this vision. It’s like equipping the blockchain with a “brain” and “hands,” enabling artificial intelligence (AI) programs not only to think but also to autonomously execute tasks, conduct transactions, and even create value on-chain.

Simply put, Talus Network is a decentralized protocol that provides a programmable platform for AI agents (think of them as intelligent robot programs) to operate securely and transparently on the blockchain. These AI agents can perform complex tasks, such as automatically optimizing investment strategies in decentralized finance (DeFi), or acting as autonomous characters in games.

Its target users are mainly developers who want to build intelligent, automated applications on the blockchain, as well as users who wish to leverage these smart agents to accomplish various tasks. The whole process is like building with Lego blocks—developers can use the modular tools provided by Talus to easily assemble all kinds of complex AI agent workflows.

Project Vision and Value Proposition

Talus Network has an ambitious vision: to build the core infrastructure for an autonomous, on-chain AI economy. Its mission is to create a more democratic and efficient digital economy, enabling more and more economic activities to be coordinated and operated globally in a trustless manner through autonomous agents.

So, what core problems does it aim to solve? Current AI systems often face several challenges: first, excessive centralization, with a few large companies controlling AI development and application; second, lack of transparency, making it hard to know how AI makes decisions and executes tasks; third, AI agents lack native economic identity and incentive mechanisms, making it difficult for them to independently create and capture value in the digital world.

Talus Network was born to address these issues. By combining AI with blockchain, every action of an AI agent becomes traceable and verifiable, and agents can have their own economic identities, achieving transparent and trustworthy automation. Unlike other blockchain projects, Talus Network is a Layer-1 blockchain specifically designed for AI agents (think of it as a “highway” in the blockchain world). It’s not a general-purpose platform, but focuses on providing high-performance, secure, and composable infrastructure for AI agents.

Technical Features

The technical core of Talus Network lies in how it brings AI agents to life on the blockchain. Its main features include:

• Built on the Sui network: Talus Network is built on the high-performance Sui blockchain, which is like choosing a fast and stable highway, providing speed, security, and scalability for AI agents.
• Talus Agentic Framework (TAF): This is the core “language” and “rule set” of Talus Network, defining how AI services interact in a standardized way. TAF enables AI agents to know how to acquire data, run models, make decisions, and execute actions.
• Nexus Protocol/Engine: This is the concrete implementation of TAF, essentially the “operating system” of Talus Network, responsible for building, deploying, and managing AI agents. The Nexus protocol allows the entire workflow of AI agents (from data retrieval to decision execution) to be encoded on-chain, ensuring transparency and auditability of automation processes.
• Hybrid Execution Model: To balance efficiency and security, Talus Network adopts a hybrid execution model. The blockchain coordinates and verifies AI agent actions, while computationally intensive AI tasks are performed off-chain (i.e., outside the blockchain), with results submitted on-chain for verification. It’s like assigning heavy work to a specialized team, while the blockchain supervises and records the final results.
• Talus Tools: These are the “basic skill modules” for AI agents, which can be simple smart contracts or complex off-chain AI models. Developers can think of these tools as independent “Lego blocks.”
• Talus Workflows: Developers can combine multiple “Talus Tools” in a certain order to form a complex workflow, just like assembling “Lego blocks” into a complete robot.
• Talus Agents: These are the final “intelligent robots” themselves. Each Talus agent has an on-chain identity, can own assets, and autonomously execute tasks according to preset workflows. Their actions are managed by auditable smart contracts, not by a private key, greatly increasing transparency and security.
• Leader Network: This is a network that coordinates off-chain computation, monitoring on-chain activities, executing AI tasks off-chain, and ensuring result accuracy through distributed consensus, then submitting results on-chain.
• Move Language: Talus Network leverages the Move programming language of the Sui blockchain, known for its security, resource control, and predictable execution, providing a solid foundation for reliable AI agent operation.
• Walrus Decentralized Storage: To enable AI agents to have “memory” and handle large amounts of data, Talus Network integrates the Walrus decentralized storage solution.

Tokenomics

The economic system of Talus Network revolves around its native token US (or $US), which serves as the “fuel” and “coordinator” for the entire ecosystem.

• Token Symbol: US
• Issuing Chain: Sui
• Total Supply and Issuance Mechanism: The total supply of US tokens is fixed at 10 billion, all minted at genesis, meaning it’s a zero-inflation model with no new tokens to be created.
• Inflation/Burn: The economic model of Talus Network is deflationary. When users pay workflow execution fees, a portion of the fees (usually paid in SUI) is automatically converted to US tokens and purchased on the open market, creating ongoing buy pressure. Additionally, 10% of protocol revenue is used to buy back and burn US tokens, further reducing circulation. The staking mechanism also locks up some tokens, increasing scarcity as the ecosystem grows.
• Current and Future Circulation: At the token generation event (TGE), about 2.22 billion US tokens are in circulation.
• Token Utility:
  • Workflow Execution Fees: All economic activities running AI agent workflows on Talus Network require payment in US tokens.
  • Tool and Agent Monetization: Developers can build and register their own AI services as “Talus Tools,” earning US tokens whenever their tools are used.
  • Staking for Network Security: Node operators running the Leader Network (which coordinates workflows) must stake US tokens to participate.
  • Governance: US token holders will be able to participate in protocol governance, voting on upgrade proposals and fund allocation for important matters.
  • Transaction Priority: (Typically, during network congestion, paying more tokens can grant higher transaction priority, though this is not directly mentioned in the search results, it’s a common use for similar tokens.)
  • Marketplace Activity: US tokens will also be widely used in application-level products and marketplaces within the Talus ecosystem.
• Token Allocation and Unlocking Information:
  • Core Contributors (22%): 12-month lockup, then linear vesting over 36 months to ensure long-term team commitment.
  • Investors (20.5%): 12-month lockup, then linear vesting over 24 months to align early supporters with long-term project success.
  • Talus Foundation (20%): For supporting research, decentralization, and global expansion, linearly vested over 36 months.

Team, Governance, and Funding

The success of a project depends on a strong team and financial backing. Talus Network was launched in December 2025 by Talus Labs, Inc., a Delaware tech company, with a global core contributor team across the US, Europe, and Asia.

• Core Members:
  • Mike Hanono: CEO, with over 5 years of entrepreneurial operations experience, a master’s degree in data science, and deep expertise in blockchain.
  • Ben Frigon: CSO, an experienced blockchain researcher and venture capitalist with sharp strategic insight.
  • Christos Loverdos: CTO, with engineering leadership experience in deep tech, R&D, and product development.
• Funding: As of the end of 2025, Talus Network has raised over $10 million from well-known venture capital firms.
  • Major investors include: Polychain Capital, Sui Foundation, and Animoca Brands.
  • Other investors include: Foresight Ventures, Geek Cartel, Echo, dao5, Hash3, TRGC, WAGMI Ventures, Inception Capital, and notable angel investors such as Polygon co-founder Sandeep Nailwal.
  • Total funding has reached $19 million, including a $3 million seed round in February 2024, a $6 million strategic round at a $150 million valuation in November 2024, and a strategic round in September 2025.
• Governance: Governance of Talus Network will be led by US token holders, who will vote on protocol upgrades and fund allocation, shaping the project’s future together.
• Talus Foundation: The Talus Foundation has been established to manage network growth, decentralization, and long-term sustainability.

Roadmap

The Talus Network roadmap clearly outlines its plan from early development to future ecosystem expansion:

• Historical Milestones and Events:
  • 2023: Project founded.
  • February 2024: Completed $3 million seed round.
  • September 2024: Launched Nexus protocol, the first on-chain agentic framework for autonomous AI agents.
  • November 2024: Completed $6 million strategic round at a $150 million valuation.
  • January 2025: Partnered with Exponent AI to enhance intelligence and collaboration of blockchain AI agents.
  • February 2025: Integrated with Walrus for decentralized data storage.
  • April 2025: Partnered with ZO to bring AI agents to its trading platform.
  • May 2025: Partnered with SuiNS to provide human-readable identities for Talus agents.
  • September 2025: Released Litepaper, Talus Foundation established.
  • December 2025: Talus Network officially launched, Nexus protocol live on testnet, processing thousands of workflows and AI responses.
  • December 2025: First consumer-facing app Idol.fun (AI agent battle game) launched on testnet.
  • December 2025: Talus Vision (no-code visual workflow builder) available.
  • December 2025: Listed on Binance Alpha and conducted airdrop campaign.
• Future Key Plans and Milestones:
  • Q1 2026: Plans to launch mainnet and token generation event (TGE), and fully release Idol.fun and AvA games.
  • 2026: Nexus Leader network will gradually decentralize, transitioning to permissionless node operators.
  • Mid-2026: Plans to launch Agent Marketplace, allowing developers to monetize AI agents.
  • Long-term Enhancements: Including zero-knowledge proof verification, more advanced workflow logic, support for more model types, and cross-chain/protocol integrations (such as IBC protocol).
  • Autonomous AI Economy: The ultimate goal is to enable AI agents to hire and collaborate with each other, provide dedicated DeFi services for AI agents, and foster new agent-native business models.

Common Risk Reminders

Any emerging technology and blockchain project comes with risks, and Talus Network is no exception. When learning about this project, we need to remain objective and cautious:

• Technical and Security Risks:
  • Technical Complexity: Deep integration of AI and blockchain is a complex engineering challenge and may face unknown technical hurdles.
  • Smart Contract Security: Vulnerabilities in smart contracts could lead to asset loss or system failures.
  • Performance and Scalability: Although the project claims high performance, real-world large-scale application performance remains to be validated.
  • Degree of Decentralization: The decentralization process of the Nexus Leader network will take time; there may be centralization risks in the early stages.
• Economic Risks:
  • Token Value Volatility: The value of US tokens is closely tied to network usage and ecosystem growth, with significant market volatility.
  • Intense Competition: The AI and blockchain integration sector is highly competitive, with other similar projects (such as 0G, Bittensor, Openfabric AI, etc.).
  • Developer and User Adoption: The project’s success largely depends on attracting enough developers to build on the platform and achieving broad user adoption.
• Compliance and Operational Risks:
  • Regulatory Uncertainty: The blockchain and AI sectors face constantly evolving regulatory environments globally, and compliance risks may impact project development.
  • Team Execution: Delivering on the roadmap requires strong team execution; any delays or misdirection could affect project progress.

Please note: The above information is for project introduction only and does not constitute investment advice. The cryptocurrency market is highly volatile and investing carries risks. Please conduct thorough due diligence and risk assessment.

Verification Checklist

• Block Explorer Contract Address: The contract address for the US token on the Sui chain is:
  0xee962a61432231c2ede6946515beb02290cb516ad087bb06a731e922b2a5f57a::us::US
  .
• GitHub Activity: Talus Network has several active repositories on GitHub, such as
  nexus-sdk
  (Rust, with 188 stars and 21 branches), and
  nexus-preview
  (Python, with 52 stars and 23 branches), indicating the codebase is under active development and maintenance.
• Audit Report: There is an audit report titled “Talus - Zenith Audit Report.pdf” available on GitHub, though the specific content is not directly shown in the search results.

Project Summary

Talus Network is an ambitious project seeking to break new ground at the intersection of blockchain and artificial intelligence. By building a decentralized infrastructure specifically designed for AI agents, it aims to solve core issues in the current AI field such as centralization, lack of transparency, and insufficient economic incentives.

The project is based on the high-performance Sui network and introduces the innovative Talus Agentic Framework (TAF) and Nexus protocol, enabling AI agents to execute complex tasks on-chain in a modular and composable way. Its US tokenomics model is uniquely designed, with a fixed supply, burn mechanism, and staking rewards, striving for long-term sustainable deflationary growth and incentivizing developers, node operators, and users to participate in the ecosystem.

Talus Network boasts an experienced team and strong capital backing, with support from well-known VCs including Polychain Capital. The roadmap shows steady progress, with the testnet already live and plans to launch the mainnet and more applications in 2026, gradually realizing its vision of building an autonomous AI economy.

However, as a cutting-edge technology, Talus Network also faces risks such as technical complexity, market competition, and regulatory uncertainty. Its success will depend on proving its performance and security in large-scale applications, as well as continuously attracting developers and users to build and use its ecosystem.

In summary, Talus Network paints a future where AI agents can autonomously operate and collaborate transparently on the blockchain. It is a Web3 infrastructure project worth watching, but remember, this is not investment advice. Before making any decisions, be sure to do your own research and thoroughly review the project’s whitepaper and latest developments.