$STAY Goes Live on KuCoin as  Staynex Brings a Revenue-Backed  AI Travel Ecosystem On-Chain 

Staynex, the AI-powered travel  platform combining hotel booking, Web3 rewards, and tokenized membership, today  announced that $STAY is now live on KuCoin. Unlike many token launches built around  future promises, Staynex enters the market with a live operating business already in place:  2.65 million hotels onboarded, AI-powered smart planning, $600,000 in recurring revenue,  more than 40 ecosystem partners, and a community of 65,000 users. 

For crypto markets increasingly focused on substance over narrative, that distinction  matters. $STAY is not launching as a concept token; it is launching as the access layer to a  live travel ecosystem already serving users, already generating revenue, and already  building retention through product utility. That positions Staynex differently from earlier Web3  travel projects that reached the market before proving demand. 

At the center of that ecosystem is AI Travel Wingman, Staynex’s live AI-powered travel  planning product, designed to deliver personalized itineraries, real-time price comparison,  and more direct travel discovery. The product is endorsed and voiced by football legend  Patrice Evra, extending the platform’s consumer reach while reinforcing Staynex’s bet that  travel booking can become more efficient, more transparent, and less dependent on the  margin-heavy layers that define traditional online travel agencies. 

“We are not launching a loyalty point. We are launching a capital-aware  membership for travellers who refuse to be exit liquidity.” — Yuen Wong, CEO &  Co-Founder, Staynex  

What makes $STAY especially relevant to crypto-native buyers is that its token utility is tied  to membership, retention, and platform economics rather than pure speculation. Through  Ocean Club, Staynex’s tiered membership system, users can unlock ecosystem benefits 

including higher staking APY, travel discounts of up to 25%, and exclusive co-investment  rights in resort properties. Importantly, the model is designed so users do not automatically  lose earned membership status during token drawdowns, creating a more resilient value  proposition than many token-based loyalty systems that weaken precisely when market  conditions turn negative. 

That utility layer is paired with a launch structure designed to appeal to a market that has  become highly sensitive to unfair token distribution. $STAY launches on BNB Smart Chain at  $0.00035 USDT, with an initial market capitalization of $1.05 million and only 3% of total  supply circulating at TGE. There is no VC discount, meaning all participants enter at the  same price, while team tokens are locked for 12 months. For traders and long-term  ecosystem participants alike, that creates a cleaner alignment story than launches burdened  by aggressive insider pricing or short vesting windows. 

Staynex has also built in an explicit value-support mechanism through its Shield Protocol.  Each quarter, 20% of net platform revenue is allocated to buying $STAY on the open market,  with 50% burned permanently and 50% added to liquidity. The first buyback is scheduled for  July 2026 and is described as fully on-chain and announced seven days in advance. In a  sector where many projects talk about alignment in abstract terms, this gives the market a  concrete framework linking platform activity to token support and liquidity depth. 

Just one week before TGE, Staynex strengthened its execution story further through the full  acquisition of Sleap.io, the Swiss Web3 hotel booking platform. According to the release,  Sleap brought live product infrastructure, hospitality operating experience, partnerships  including Gate Travel and Coinbase, five industry awards, and visibility from Killer Whales  (available on both Apple TV and Amazon Prime Video), where it won the season. With the  Sleap team joining Staynex, the company expanded to 25 people, increasing its delivery  capacity and institutional credibility ahead of launch. 

“We didn’t just acquire a brand, we acquired a high-performance team that has  already scaled at the highest level and can now accelerate our growth plans.” — Yuen Wong, CEO & Co-Founder, Staynex  

Staynex also benefits from strong leadership signaling. The company is chaired by Jeff  Hoffman, co-founder of Priceline.com / Booking.com, who frames the opportunity as  structural rather than thematic: travel is a massive market where direct relationships, faster  settlement, and better-aligned loyalty design can materially improve both margins and user  experience. For crypto media, that adds an important layer of social proof to a launch  already supported by product, revenue, and a live user base. 

“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.” — Jeff  Hoffman 

In practical terms, this is why $STAY stands out: buyers are not being asked to fund an idea  and hope execution follows. They are buying into a tokenized access layer for an ecosystem  that already has hotels, users, revenue, partnerships, a live AI product, a completed 

acquisition, and an on-chain buyback-and-burn framework. In a crowded market, that  combination gives $STAY a clearer “why now” than most new token launches. 

$STAY goes live on KuCoin today — April 23, 2026 — at 20:00 HKT | 14:00 CET.  

$STAY Token Snapshot 

• Ticker: $STAY 

• Chain: BNB Smart Chain (gas <$0.01, 3-second finality) 

• Launch price: $0.00035 USDT 

• Initial market cap: $1.05M 

• Circulating supply at TGE: Only 3% (no VC discount – everyone enters at the same  price) 

• Team lock: 12 months 

About Staynex 

Staynex is a Hong Kong-founded social travel platform combining AI-powered booking,  Web3 token rewards, and its Ocean Club membership model. Chaired by Priceline /  Booking.com co-founder Jeff Hoffman, backed by more than 40 ecosystem partners  including Tencent Web3 and Anantara, and strengthened through the acquisition of Sleap.io,  Staynex is live, revenue-generating, and now tokenized through $STAY. 

Platform: app.staynex.vip

AI Travel: ai.staynex.vip 

$STAY and Tokenomics: staynex.vip/stay-token

The post $STAY Goes Live on KuCoin as  Staynex Brings a Revenue-Backed  AI Travel Ecosystem On-Chain  appeared first on BeInCrypto.