On April 23, AI-powered travel platform Staynex listed its ecosystem token $STAY on KuCoin, setting it apart from narrative-driven launches by entering with real operating metrics: 2.65 million hotels, $600,000 in confirmed recurring revenue, over 40 ecosystem partners, 65,000 users, and a live AI travel product. In a crypto market increasingly demanding substance, this "business-first, token-second" approach draws attention.
AI Travel Wingman and Ocean Club Membership
The core product is AI Travel Wingman, a tool delivering personalized itineraries, real-time price comparison, and direct travel discovery, endorsed by football legend Patrice Evra. CEO Yuen Wong stated: "We are not launching a loyalty point. We are launching a capital-aware membership for travellers who refuse to be exit liquidity." Through the Ocean Club tiered system, users access higher staking APY, up to 25% travel discounts, and co-investment rights in resort properties. Importantly, membership status is retained during token drawdowns—a resilience uncommon in token-based loyalty models.
$STAY Tokenomics: Low Float, No VC Discount
Built on the BNB Smart Chain, $STAY launches at $0.00035 USDT with an initial market cap of $1.05 million. Only 3% of total supply circulates at TGE, with no VC discount—everyone enters at the same price. Team tokens are locked for 12 months, reducing insider sell pressure and fostering fair distribution.
Shield Protocol: Quarterly Buyback and Burn
Staynex introduces an on-chain value-support mechanism: Shield Protocol. Each quarter, 20% of net platform revenue is used to buy $STAY from the open market; 50% is burned permanently and 50% added to liquidity. The first buyback is scheduled for July 2026, announced seven days in advance and executed fully on-chain. This gives market participants a concrete link between platform economics and token support.
Strategic Acquisition of Sleap.io
One week before TGE, Staynex fully acquired Swiss Web3 hotel booking platform Sleap.io, bringing live product infrastructure, partnerships including Gate Travel and Coinbase, five industry awards, and a season win on Killer Whales (available on Apple TV and Amazon Prime Video). The team integration grew Staynex to 25 people, boosting delivery capacity. CEO Yuen Wong commented: "We didn't just acquire a brand, we acquired a high-performance team that has already scaled at the highest level."
Industry Heavyweight Backing
Staynex is chaired by Jeff Hoffman, co-founder of Priceline.com/Booking.com. He framed the opportunity as structural: "The next winners won't just list hotels. They'll build ecosystems that cut friction and give value back to the traveler. That's structural change, not a feature." Such endorsement from a legacy travel giant adds social proof to a launch already supported by product, revenue, and live users.
$STAY is now trading on KuCoin as of April 23, 2026, at 20:00 HKT / 14:00 CET.