threat-research llm-security
August 10, 2026 Matt Lenhard 5 min read
Where This Started
This is simply a follow-up article to a portion I precocious wrote astir the token relay market. Noticeably absent from that portion was a mention of the emergence of “token brokers” — group who bargain unused credits from startups and past resell them.
I first heard astir token brokers while chatting pinch a bully friend of excavation who was receiving offers for Anthropic tokens astatine steep discounts.
It wasn’t conscionable him, though. As I started talking to much founders astir what I was building, they said the aforesaid thing: they were getting a batch of inbound email from group looking to bargain aliases waste off-market inference.
Startups swapping credits is thing new, and I knew this was happening successful respective startup forums and groups, but this was erstwhile I realized that the marketplace was being commercialized.
So I did what immoderate normal personification would do. I sewage the brokers’ email addresses and started emailing them to study more.
Before my ain outreach, it’s worthy seeing what founders are really receiving. Both of these were forwarded to maine by friends.
I started by sourcing a fewer email addresses from friends. The first 2 emails I sent bounced, but the 3rd was a hit. Here’s a screenshot of that conversation:
What’s absorbing is the magnitude of supply. The seller was offering $100k successful walk per day.
They aren’t handing retired the supplier keys directly; instead, they enactment arsenic a proxy that astir apt picks from a excavation of keys and forwards the request.
The Listings
Credit Marketplaces
There are a fewer websites promoting in installments brokering arsenic well. One of them, AI Credits, bills itself arsenic a in installments marketplace. For different spirit of the pure-play in installments reseller marketplaces, return a look astatine AICreditMart.
These sites connection credits astatine astir of the awesome unreality and conclusion providers.
AI Credits’ onboarding process is beautiful straightforward, and you tin moreover prime your preferred transportation method arsenic the seller.
I went up and listed my credits, which are still pending approval.
Bulk Discounts
Another tract that I recovered done a friend was CheapCredits. This tract positions itself arsenic a router that is capable to execute its discounts done “bulk pricing.”
I noticed that this was a inclination pinch a number of sites that I judge are acting arsenic in installments brokers. They coming themselves arsenic being capable to connection discounts based connected bulk purchases. Some different examples see Tokvana and Neokens.
Having spent clip successful the industry, I’d opportunity that a 40% discount is very improbable unless you are 1 of the provider’s apical customers. My hunch is that CheapCredits is acquiring the proviso successful different ways.
CheapCredits moreover has a Data Processing Agreement for anyone looking to enactment GDPR compliant.
The Message Boards
I checked wherever you’d expect to find underground marketplaces.
Telegram had a fewer channels, pinch 1 being comparatively active.
There are besides sporadic Reddit posts.
If you’ve been hanging retired successful immoderate of the closed-off startup groups, I’m judge you’ve seen a number of these posts arsenic well.
So How Big Is This Market?
My unsmooth estimate is that, crossed the sites, forums, and resellers I looked at, location are astir apt tens of millions of these credits being offered.
Unfortunately, erstwhile you effort to connection bully things, maltreatment isn’t acold behind. Tokens person go a pseudo-currency, and location is capable liquidity successful the marketplace to let for a batch of abuse. As we spot the marketplace move and companies go much alert of costs, crackdowns connected this type of maltreatment astir apt aren’t acold behind.
Sources
Company and tract names beneath are arsenic they coming themselves publicly. Screenshots are from my ain outreach and from browsing the sites arsenic a prospective purchaser and seller.
- Previous piece: An Inside Look astatine the Relay Market Powering Token Resellers and Fraud
- Credit marketplaces: AI Credits, AICreditMart
- Bulk-discount routers: CheapCredits (cheapcredits.ai), Tokvana, Neokens
- Direct outreach: email speech pinch a agent offering $100k/day successful spend
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