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

With 2.65 million hotels, $600,000 in recurring revenue, 40+ ecosystem partners, 65,000 users, and a live AI travel product already in market, Staynex is bringing a fundamentally different kind of travel token to public trading: one built on usage, retention, and disciplined token design. 

SINGAPORE and HONG KONG and ZUG, Switzerland, April 23, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- 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

Trade: KuCoin 

Media contact: [e-mail]

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