Dialogue Camp Network Co-founder: Attracting 5 million wallets in two months, how to activate the creator economy in the era of AI Agents?

Guest: James Chi, Camp Network

Interviewed by: momo, ChainCatcher

AI Agents are reconstructing the model of content creation and distribution. In the future, most content may no longer be solely created by humans, but generated, remixed, and disseminated by AI agents.

However, this brings significant challenges in IP management, as traditional models that only address human-created IP cannot adapt, leading to difficulties for original authors in tracking, ambiguous copyright ownership, and opaque revenue distribution, and even instances of AI models misusing unauthorized content.

Targeting this market pain point, James Chi, who previously worked at Goldman Sachs and Figma, founded Camp Network. It aims to build an IP infrastructure optimized for the AI era, ensuring that creators maintain control over their works and achieve automated, verifiable rights management.

In an interview with ChainCatcher, James Chi stated that traditional blockchains like Ethereum and Solana are more geared towards financial scenarios, making it difficult to meet the high-frequency, provenance-sensitive IP interaction needs. Camp Network, as a dedicated Layer1, can provide scalable, low-friction infrastructure for the AI-driven creative economy.

Camp Network has currently raised a total of $29 million in funding, with notable investors including 1kx, Blockchain Capital, OKX Ventures, and Maven 11.

James Chi revealed that Camp Network's testnet has been online for only two months and has already attracted over 5 million wallet addresses, processing more than 70 million transactions. Camp Network has also established strategic partnerships with traditional IP giants like Minto.

In this interview, James Chi also detailed the project's technical architecture, application scenarios, and future vision.

Why is a Dedicated IP Infrastructure Needed in the AI Agent Era?

1. ChainCatcher: How did you enter the crypto industry? What significant industry experiences did you have before founding Camp Network?

James Chi: My career began in traditional finance, working in the investment banking division at Goldman Sachs, where I collaborated with consumer goods and tech companies globally. Later, I joined Figma, a design collaboration software company, as part of the early strategy and finance team, focusing on expanding self-service and enterprise business.

What attracted me to the crypto industry was not only the allure of financial innovation but also the immense potential of blockchain to unlock new application scenarios. In my view, blockchain is the key technology for achieving programmable collaboration, verifiable ownership, and trustless collaborative mechanisms.

2. ChainCatcher: What was the impetus for founding Camp Network? What changes or challenges will IP creation and management face in the AI agent era?

James Chi: We are moving towards a brand new era: most content will no longer be solely created by humans but generated, remixed, and widely disseminated by AI agents. This shift is not something that will happen five years from now; it is happening right now.

However, as AI agents reconstruct content creation models, a clear pain point has emerged—the lack of infrastructure for verifying and licensing intellectual property (IP). This could pose a threat to all creativity by AI.

We believe there is a need to establish a system that respects provenance, enforces licensing, and automatically rewards original IP holders, and this system must be capable of scaling. This is the original intention behind creating Camp Network.

3. ChainCatcher: Why are general-purpose public chains (like Ethereum and Solana) insufficient to meet these needs? Is a dedicated Layer1 blockchain needed to solve autonomous IP issues? What are the characteristics of Camp Network's autonomous IP Layer1?

James Chi: General-purpose blockchains like Ethereum or Solana prioritize DeFi workflows and MEV-driven execution, which cannot handle the high-frequency, provenance-sensitive interactions required by proxy IP systems, thus failing to meet the growth and scalability needs of AI and intellectual property.

Camp Network aims to serve as a dedicated Layer1 to address the issues of proxy IP systems. It ensures that users can complete the entire process from creation to monetization on-chain, allowing them to fully control their original content (such as music, code, AI models) and automatically handle copyright and revenue distribution.

Specifically, it has several key features: it can prioritize IP-native transactions (such as registration, licensing, and royalty distribution); support gasless royalties; have application-specific rollups called SideCAMPs to meet high-throughput use cases; and embed Proof of Provenance (PoP) in the protocol logic to achieve full-chain tracking of IP circulation.

The PoP provenance proof mechanism also includes two core frameworks: Origin and mAItri. Origin handles IP registration, licensing, and remixing logic. mAItri supports deploying and monetizing AI agents on verified IP.

These features collectively realize a fully on-chain IP lifecycle, allowing users to register, remix, and monetize IP at scale, with autonomous agents collaborating, creating, and transacting with verifiable accountability. Camp is not just a blockchain; it is the autonomous IP layer for the AI-driven creative economy.

4. ChainCatcher: There have been some IP infrastructures before; what are the core differences between Camp Network and other IP chains like Story Protocol? How do you view the current market competition landscape?

James Chi: Our differentiated advantages mainly manifest in three dimensions:

On one hand, we are application-driven. Unlike the traditional path that starts from the protocol layer, we have proactively built an application matrix encompassing over 60 fields, including entertainment, AI, and music. As evidenced by the real case of attracting 5 million users during the testnet phase—first allowing creators and users to "use it," and then naturally solidifying IP value.

On the other hand, we focus on reconstructing ownership logic for the AI era. While other projects are still dealing with human creator relationships, we have already designed a complete economic system for AI agents to autonomously use IP. A significant proportion of the 70 million transactions on the testnet came from automated interactions by AI agents, and this native compatibility has allowed us to position ourselves ahead of the next generation of content production paradigms.

Additionally, we differ in our dynamic rights distribution mechanism. By embedding royalty logic into the protocol layer, we have achieved the most granular real-time revenue distribution in history. Recent collaborations with musicians like deadmau5 demonstrate that even AI remix works can provide original creators with instant settlement of earnings.

The current industry is in a "protocol experimentation phase," and we appreciate the explorations of IP standardization by projects like Story Protocol. However, Camp is more focused on how to make technology truly serve the creator economy—by lowering barriers to entry (such as our upcoming gasless solution), enabling millions of ordinary users to seamlessly participate in the IP ecosystem.

This competition is not a zero-sum game; the winning solution is likely to be the one that balances "developer flexibility" with "user accessibility."

How Does Camp Network Reshape IP Lifecycle Management?

5. ChainCatcher: The ecosystem of Camp Network's infrastructure includes multiple protocols and components, such as the Proof of Provenance (PoP) protocol, BaseCAMP and SideCAMP, the IP tokenization protocol Origin, and the AI agent framework mAItrix. Can you systematically explain the overall architecture, the role of each core protocol or component, and how they interconnect?

James Chi: BaseCAMP (Layer1) is the core component of Camp Network, serving as a customized execution layer optimized for IP central logic, responsible for the most critical aspects of IP registration, copyright management, and royalty distribution. Its features include gasless transactions and prioritizing IP-related transactions over general MEV activities.

SideCAMPs are application-specific rollups connected to BaseCAMP. They provide developers with dedicated block space and custom ordering to meet high-throughput consumer applications, AI inference, or real-time remixing, while benefiting from the shared security and interoperability of BaseCAMP.

Proof of Provenance (PoP) is the protocol layer that ensures the traceability and integrity of all IP interactions. It ensures that every use, adaptation, or AI training can be traced back to the original author and automatically distributes revenue according to the rules.

Origin is Camp's IP on-chain and licensing framework, allowing creators to easily register IP, customize usage rules, and create IP derivatives that generate tradable "licensing contracts" for others to use legally. It simplifies complexity, making IP on-chain operations easy for both creators and platforms.

mAItrix supports the deployment of AI agents within the network. Developers can train agents on licensed IP datasets, fine-tune models, and tokenize agents for downstream use.

This architecture realizes a fully agentized IP economy:

Creators register and license IP through Origin, agents train and generate outputs through mAItrix, PoP ensures traceability and automatically routes royalties, and applications seamlessly scale through BaseCAMP and SideCAMPs.

It is a modular, interoperable system where humans and AI agents can collaborate, create, and share value, all driven by verifiable on-chain provenance.

6. ChainCatcher: Can you share more details on how Camp Network achieves gasless IP registration and royalty distribution?

James Chi: When users upload content to the blockchain through Camp's Origin framework, the IP information (such as licensing rules, copyright statements, and usage permissions) is automatically packaged into a standardized dataset recorded on-chain.

Since this is a built-in feature of Camp's underlying system, users can complete registration without paying gas fees (blockchain transaction fees), achieving a plug-and-play, zero-cost experience for on-chain operations.

Once registration is complete, Camp's Proof of Provenance (PoP) ensures that all subsequent usage actions (such as forwarding, remixing, or AI training) must comply with the initially set copyright rules.

Royalty distribution is automatically handled by smart contracts: whenever someone uses this IP, the contract will distribute earnings to the original creators in real-time based on actual usage. The entire process is completely transparent, requiring no third-party intervention, with funds going directly to the creators.

7. ChainCatcher: What specific value can creative platforms and individual creators gain from using Camp Network? In what aspects will there be significant improvements after using Camp Network?

James Chi: Camp aims for mass adoption, targeting the next generation of creators, platforms, and agent-native applications. We have abstracted the technical friction of Web3 (wallets, gas, transaction complexity) while retaining the core advantages of verifiable ownership, programmable rights, and composable incentives.

For creative platforms, Camp provides a full-stack infrastructure, allowing them to register and license IP through Origin, deploy remixable content and train AI agents using mAItrix, expand user activities through SideCAMPs, and enforce attribution and royalty flows through PoP smart contracts.

For individual creators, Camp unlocks true ownership and control over their works; it offers easy-to-set-up, shareable, and monetizable on-chain licenses, and crucially, new revenue streams from agent-generated outputs, fan co-creation, and downstream remixes; as well as gasless on-chain operations and a user-friendly Web2-style interface.

In summary, whether it’s record labels, game studios, anime IP holders, or AI developers, Camp transforms static content into dynamic, monetizable primitives, with built-in provenance, attribution, and royalties.

8. ChainCatcher: Can you share some typical use cases of Camp Network? What are some representative partners?

James Chi: Camp has already driven some experiments in on-chain IP licensing, remixing, and AI-native co-creation.

For example, we collaborated with Minto, one of Japan's largest character IP giants. Based on Minto's flagship IP "Mimi & Neko," we launched an on-chain AI co-creation activity.

Users can remix "Mimi & Neko" using Camp's AI tools, and all derivative works will be automatically recorded on-chain, supporting them to mix and match like LEGO. Each time a work is used, royalties will be automatically distributed to all contributors (including the original IP holder and remix creators) via smart contracts; the collaborating platform can directly obtain authorization for these derivatives, with revenue-sharing rules already embedded on-chain, eliminating the need for manual negotiation. This process, which would take months or even years in traditional Web2, can be completed in just a few weeks on Camp.

We also partnered with comic creator Rob Feldman to launch a remix activity based on his animated series "Cyko KO," in collaboration with AI-native platforms Wide Worlds and StoryChain, allowing users to create their own storylines and visual adaptations. Over 500,000 users participated, opening up a new model of collaborative comic storytelling through on-chain licensing and AI tools.

Additionally, to familiarize everyone with Camp's IP stack, we launched an activity based on the TrailHeads NFT collection, which is Camp's first on-chain native IP. Users can use AI-driven agents through Origin and mAItrix to remix the collection, generating their own derivative characters and stories. Within two weeks, over 400,000 users participated, with each derivative linked to on-chain licensing and programmable royalties.

9. ChainCatcher: Camp Network recently strategically invested in KOR Protocol. What is the significance of this strategic collaboration? In the future, which areas or project types will Camp Network focus on expanding?

James Chi: KOR is building a revolutionary entertainment IP licensing infrastructure—covering traditional media and emerging AI-native content. For example, the upcoming Netflix "Black Mirror" series collaboration will enable verifiable fan behavior through on-chain identity verification, allowing fans of globally recognized IP universes to deeply engage, remix, and gain tokenized rights. This gives us a glimpse of the future form of the entertainment industry that is "participatory and ownership-transparent."

At the same time, KOR's music licensing engine, Korus, has been adopted by top musicians like deadmau5. This system allows for compliant remixing of music samples and stems, automatically splitting royalty revenues. Whether it's rhythm segments, video materials, or character designs, Korus proves that modular IP components can achieve interoperability across platforms and AI tools.

Our strategic investment in KOR stems from a shared consensus on "provenance-first" infrastructure: enabling compliant participation in the IP economic ecosystem for both fans and creators through real-time royalty settlement technology. For Camp, this collaboration strengthens our "autonomous IP layer" by integrating support for narrative IP, music copyrights, and performance rights licensing engines, building a more complete solution.

In the future, we will focus on core IP areas that are being automated and reconstructed: series films, interactive narratives, games, AI-native creation tools, and fan economy brands.

Over 5 Million Wallet Addresses in Two Months, Processing Over 70 Million Transactions

10. ChainCatcher: The testnet of Camp Network has entered its second phase. Can you share some significant data or achievements?

James Chi: Over the past few months, Camp's development has exceeded expectations, confirming the market's demand for a "native blockchain tailored for AI and intelligent agent creation."

Several key data points showcase our momentum:

• The testnet has been online for only two months, attracting over 5 million wallet addresses and processing over 70 million transactions;

• After launching the incentive program Summit Series, we quickly gathered nearly 50 active dApps covering music, entertainment IP, AI, games, etc., with dozens of new projects joining every two weeks;

• The Trailheads NFT series we launched sold out instantly upon release, validating the strong market demand for "verifiable, remixable" on-chain IP;

• The comic remix activity in collaboration with Rob Feldman and two AI ecosystem teams attracted over 500,000 users to remix the Cyko KO IP using AI tools.

We are driving more new projects, users, and large IPs on-chain, unlocking richer application scenarios—this is just the beginning.

11. ChainCatcher: How does Camp Network incentivize creators and developers to participate in its ecosystem? What user opportunities are currently available?

James Chi: We have a multi-dimensional incentive mechanism.

For users, the gamified activities of the Summit Series allow them to earn "Matchsticks" by interacting with Camp's native projects, climb the leaderboard, unlock IP placements, and mint co-created content.

For developers, we have launched the Boot Camp incubation program, an accelerator project designed for "AI + IP + blockchain" cross-border developers. Additionally, we share a royalty mechanism. The protocol layer has built-in reward logic for usage, allowing developers to directly benefit from content remixing, dissemination, and consumption within applications.

We are building an economic system that automatically directs value to contributors—whether they are creators, remix players, AI agents, or developers, everyone can find their place.

12. ChainCatcher: What is Camp Network's long-term vision? What kind of platform do you hope to build in the next 3-5 years?

James Chi: We hope Camp will become the trust layer for AI and IP, where creators, agents, and platforms can coordinate value on a large scale.

In the next 3-5 years, we aim to enable every AI agent to train on licensed, traceable IP datasets through mAItrix; every remix, output, or product will be supported by on-chain provenance and licensing; creators (whether renowned artists or co-creators) will automatically receive royalties; and the next generation of Web2.5 and Web3 applications will expand the creative ecosystem through Camp's SideCAMP architecture, attracting millions of users.

Ultimately, we are not just building infrastructure; we are realizing an infinite, positive-sum creative economy, allowing creativity to continuously appreciate through trustless collaboration.

13. ChainCatcher: What are the key roadmap plans for Camp Network in the second half of 2025?

James Chi: In the second half of 2025, we will increase the number of active dApps and launch SideCAMPs for high-traction projects. We will also complete the Origin and mAItrix frameworks, perfecting the end-to-end process from IP registration and licensing to agent deployment and real-time royalty execution, all guaranteed by provenance.

By the end of the year, Camp will become the most complete IP infrastructure stack that is programmable and user-owned in the AI era.