11. How Valu captures Value
The Market is Massive, and the Time is Right
As laid out in The State of the Economy, and How to Redress the Balance, we believe Valu can enable individuals to:
- benefit directly from the monetisation of their data
- capture some of the value currently held in the market cap of the companies doing the monetising
Each year, companies spend more than $2,100 per U.S. household in advertising—much of it aimed at retaining customers they already have. While advertising inefficiency is well-documented—with studies estimating that up to 48% of ad spend is wasted due to poor targeting and irrelevant placement1—this figure focuses only on the portion of spend that actually works.
Multiply that effective spend by the 131 million households in the United States, and you arrive at a staggering market footprint: over $275 billion annually. In essence, this is what companies are investing just to keep their place in the consumer's mind - a figure that rivals the GDP of many countries and underscores how fragile brand loyalty has become in an oversaturated attention economy.
The combined ad revenue for Alphabet, Meta, Amazon, Microsoft and Apple is approximately $477–535 bn per year. Let's assume the delta represents the rest of the world.
AI is already coming for people's jobs, the pressure is on to find new economic models and community has always been at the heart of commerce.
Valu Foundation: the Governance Backbone
The Valu Foundation is being established as a Swiss-based public-good entity to govern, fund, and scale the Valu ecosystem. Inspired by precedents like the Ethereum Foundation, its purpose is to formalise the rights, responsibilities, and relationships of all ecosystem participants while advancing user ownership, privacy, and community-driven value creation.
Governance & Transition
The Foundation will become the direct employer of the Valu application team. After a four-year initial phase, control will transition to coin holders via governance voting - establishing a path to community-led oversight.
Core Responsibilities
- Raise Capital: to support the $VALU token launch
- Grow User Base: Promote self-sovereign identity and data ownership.
- Invest in Infrastructure: Support and launch mini-apps, brand spaces, and community networks.
- Drive Innovation: Launch tools like digital product passports for immersive commerce.
- Create Jobs: Enable individuals to monetise data and services via cashback and engagement rewards.
- Partner with Brands and Builders: Establish Valu as the preferred platform for ethical, data-driven customer interaction.
Valu Platform and Protocol: Infrastructure for a User-Owned Digital Economy
Built atop the Verus blockchain, Valu powers a decentralised, multi-chain network designed to bridge the fiat and crypto worlds. Its goal is to enable a "Community Economy"—a system where users and communities control, protect, and monetise their digital identity, attention, and data.
Example Protocol Fees
| Action | Unit | Price (TBC) |
|---|---|---|
| Addr <-> Addr | $VALU | 0.0001 |
| Basket <-> Reserve | Transfer amount | 0.025% |
| Reserve <-> Reserve | Transfer amount | 0.050% |
| ID no ref | $VALU | 50 |
| ID 1.ref, not yours | $VALU | 40 |
| ID 1.ref, yours | $VALU | 30 |
Valu Platform Additional Revenue Streams
1. Direct Data Monetisation
Valu enables brands to pay individuals and communities directly—via “paid messaging”—for engaging with privacy-protected, verified data, bypassing traditional ad platforms. Aggregated community data yields collective bargaining power and significant brand value.
2. Branded Currencies & Community Economies
Communities and brands can launch their own self-sovereign tokens, functioning as fungible loyalty currencies with real economic utility. These are backed by reserves and accrue value through usage, fees, and platform incentives.
3.Marketplace Enablement
The protocol powers a multi-sided application layer, enabling users to offer creative services, host events, build stores, and earn affiliate rewards. New verticals—like digital product passports—drive B2B revenue by offering immersive brand and commerce experiences.
4. AI Agents (“Valu Gurus”)
Human-aligned AI agents act on behalf of users to maximize value—managing refunds, loyalty, and opportunities. Their activity drives ecosystem usage and transaction volume, a key monetization lever for the protocol.