Persistence (XPRT)

Overview

Persistence is a blockchain project with a native token called XPRT. The token runs on Persistence Core-1, a network built with Cosmos technology. Holders use XPRT to pay network fees, stake with validators, and vote on proposals about how the chain operates. The network remains active for staking and governance, though the team has placed it in maintenance mode as it shifts its main business focus toward artificial intelligence services. (blog.persistence.one)

Understanding Persistence means looking at both its blockchain and the products built around it. The project began with ideas for bringing traditional financial activity on-chain. It later focused on liquid staking and Bitcoin-related swaps. Those phases shaped the technology still associated with Persistence, but several products have since been wound down or selected for deprecation. XPRT’s clearest continuing roles are tied to the Core-1 chain itself. (blog.persistence.one)

History & Team

From finance to blockchain infrastructure

The idea behind Persistence dates to 2018. Co-founders Tushar Aggarwal and Deepanshu Tripathi began building the project in early 2019, and Persistence came out of stealth on January 3, 2020. Aggarwal led the business as CEO, while Tripathi served as CTO. The team’s early work included tools for commodity trading and plans to connect traditional finance with decentralized finance, or DeFi. (blog.persistence.one)

Persistence raised private funding in 2020. Backers named by the project include Arrington XRP Capital, LuneX Ventures, IOSG Ventures, Woodstock Fund, NGC Ventures, and AU21 Capital. XPRT launched in 2021. In later years, the team built a liquid-staking ecosystem, followed by products aimed at moving Bitcoin-related assets between blockchains. (blog.persistence.one)

The project changed direction again in 2026. Jeroen Develter had taken over as CEO after Aggarwal stepped down. In June 2026, Develter announced a shift toward AI services for businesses, beginning with AUDIT.one. The announcement also set out plans to maintain Core-1 for staking and governance while reducing the team’s work on its decentralized exchanges and earlier interoperability product. (blog.persistence.one)

Technology & How It Works

A chain secured by staked XPRT

Persistence Core-1 uses delegated proof of stake. Validators run computers that check transactions and help add new blocks to the chain. XPRT holders can delegate tokens to a validator, adding to the amount of XPRT that supports that validator’s work. In return, stakers can receive XPRT rewards. The chain uses a Tendermint-based consensus system, which allows validators to agree on the order of transactions. (docs.persistence.one)

Core-1 was designed to work with other Cosmos networks through inter-blockchain communication, commonly called IBC. IBC lets compatible chains transfer assets and information between one another. Persistence also supports CosmWasm smart contracts, which developers can use to build applications on the chain. These features helped support its earlier liquid-staking and exchange products. (docs.persistence.one)

How the product focus changed

Liquid staking was once central to Persistence. In a typical staking setup, tokens are locked while they help secure a network. A liquid-staking protocol instead issues a token representing the staked position. That token can then be used in other applications. pSTAKE issued assets such as stkATOM and stkOSMO on Persistence, and later offered a liquid-staked form of XPRT called stkXPRT. pSTAKE subsequently wound down its legacy liquid-staking products, while directing XPRT holders toward staking on Core-1. (blog.persistence.one)

The team also built an intent-based interoperability product. With an intent, a user describes the result they want—such as receiving an asset on another chain—while a solver works out how to complete it. Persistence tested this approach for cross-chain swaps. The team announced in June 2026 that it would deprecate the Persistence V2 interoperability project and continue developing BridgeKitty, a separate service that compares routes from multiple cross-chain providers. (docs.persistence.one)

Tokenomics & Utility

Supply and distribution

Persistence created 100 million XPRT at the start of the network, with allocations scheduled for release over time. The original plan assigned 25.6% to marketing and growth, 19.4% to ecosystem development, 16% to the team, and 14% to seed and private sales. Two further 10% allocations went to validator incentives and to validators and strategic sales. Advisors received 4%, and the public sale received 1%. These figures describe the original distribution plan, rather than the amount of XPRT in circulation today. (blog.persistence.one)

New XPRT is also issued through network inflation, which helps fund staking rewards. The rules have changed through governance. For example, a scheduled reduction took effect in March 2025, after which voters approved a proposal restoring the permitted inflation range to 6.25%–12.5%. This illustrates an important part of XPRT’s economic model: holders can influence network settings through proposals rather than relying only on the launch plan. (blog.persistence.one)

XPRT pays for transactions on Core-1 and supports validator staking and on-chain voting. Historically, the community also used governance to guide ecosystem spending and application development. The team’s June 2026 plan kept staking and governance in place, but did not establish a new financial claim on its AI business for token holders. (blog.persistence.one)

Ecosystem & Use Cases

What Persistence has supported

Persistence has hosted several kinds of blockchain activity. Its pSTAKE integration brought liquid-staked assets to the chain. Dexter, later branded Persistence DEX, offered swaps and pools for assets in that ecosystem. Core-1 also supported transfers between Cosmos chains and allowed applications to be built with smart contracts. Together, these products showed how staking, asset transfers, and DeFi could work on a single network. (blog.persistence.one)

Its Bitcoin-focused work came later. Persistence developed exchange interfaces and tested swaps between assets on different networks. An interoperability test campaign recorded more than 18,000 participants and roughly 418,000 orders; those were testnet results, not a measure of routine use. By June 2026, the team had chosen to deprecate the DEXs on Core-1 and Babylon, as well as Persistence V2. (blog.persistence.one)

BridgeKitty remains part of the team’s product plans. It began as a tool through which AI agents could find cross-chain routes and developed into an interface for comparing quotes from several providers. Separately, the AI-services plan centers on business audits, implementation help, and possible future self-service products. The team has described ways community members might contribute expertise, while Core-1 continues its established staking and governance functions. (blog.persistence.one)

Advantages & Challenges

Persistence has an established blockchain, a native staking token, and a record of community votes that changed network policy. Its Cosmos design allows it to connect with compatible chains, while XPRT gives holders a direct role in securing and governing Core-1. The project’s history also shows that its team has built several different kinds of products, from liquid staking to cross-chain tools. (blog.persistence.one)

The main challenge is defining how those pieces fit together after the change in direction. Earlier staking products were wound down, and the team selected its DEXs and Persistence V2 for deprecation. Its June 2026 announcement said the interoperability product had not gained enough traction. Core-1 remains in maintenance mode with a smaller planned validator footprint. The team’s AI-services work may create new ways for community members to participate, but XPRT’s established functions remain staking, fees, and governance. (blog.pstake.finance)

Where to Buy & Wallets

XPRT is available on KuCoin and Gate, and Persistence’s documentation also identifies routes through Osmosis and Swapfast by Leap. KuCoin describes an XPRT spot market, while Persistence lists the exchanges among ways to acquire the token. Platform access and supported purchase methods vary by location. (kucoin.com)

Keplr, Leap, and Cosmostation support XPRT activity on Persistence. A wallet connected to Core-1 lets a holder send tokens, delegate them to a validator, and take part in governance. XPRT also exists on some other chains through cross-chain transfers, so the network selected for a withdrawal needs to match the receiving wallet’s network. (docs.persistence.one)

Regulatory & Compliance

Rules for crypto services depend on where a service operates and which activities it offers. In the European Union, the Markets in Crypto-Assets regulation, known as MiCA, sets authorization requirements for businesses providing covered crypto-asset services. Access to Persistence’s own interfaces has also varied by jurisdiction: the project’s documentation says its hosted wallet and bridge interfaces were geofenced in the United States and United Kingdom after March 1, 2024. The documentation distinguishes those hosted interfaces from activity on the blockchain itself. (esma.europa.eu)

Persistence’s published token materials do not give XPRT a halal or haram classification. A Shariah assessment would consider how the token is used, including staking rewards and any related financial services. The project describes XPRT’s established roles in technical terms—network security, transaction fees, and governance—rather than presenting a project-wide religious determination. (persistence.one)

Future Outlook

Persistence’s stated plan is to keep Core-1 operating for staking and governance while concentrating team resources on AI services and BridgeKitty. AUDIT.one begins with paid reviews of how businesses could use AI, followed by possible implementation and ongoing support. The team has said it may build new on-chain functions when they meet a clear need, rather than adding uses for XPRT simply to expand its role. (blog.persistence.one)

That approach leaves two connected questions for the project: how the maintained blockchain will serve its holders over time, and how closely the team’s newer products will connect to it. The firmest basis for understanding XPRT today is its existing place in Core-1’s operation. Future applications would depend on what the team builds and what the community approves. (blog.persistence.one)

Summary

Persistence has moved through several phases, from finance infrastructure to liquid staking, Bitcoin interoperability, and AI-focused services. XPRT remains the token of its Cosmos-based Core-1 chain, where it supports fees, staking, and governance. The project’s current direction keeps that chain running while narrowing its earlier DeFi work and developing products outside the chain. (blog.persistence.one)