Back in 2018, Effect AI launched its original token, EFX, on the NEO blockchain with big promises: a decentralized way for anyone to earn crypto by helping train AI models. People thought they were getting in early on the next big thing in AI and crypto. But today, EFX doesn’t exist anymore - not as an active token, anyway. It’s been replaced. If you’re looking up EFX right now, you’re probably confused by old forum posts, outdated wallet balances, or a crypto tracker showing a dead coin. Here’s the real story.

EFX Was the Original Token - But It’s Dead Now

Effect AI started as a platform to connect humans with AI training needs. Think of it like Amazon Mechanical Turk, but for AI data. You’d label images, review text, or write prompts - simple tasks that help improve how AI understands the world. In return, you got paid in EFX tokens. The project raised over $4 million in its 2018 token sale, with a total supply of 650 million EFX. It was built on NEO, which was popular at the time for low fees and fast transactions.

But by 2023, the team made a major decision: they were moving everything to Solana. Why? Because Solana offered faster transactions, lower fees, and better scalability. The old NEO network was slowing down. EFX transactions cost up to $0.15 each. On Solana? Around $0.00025. That’s a 600x improvement. So they created a new token: EFFECT.

The migration wasn’t optional. If you held EFX, you had to swap it for EFFECT before the deadline. By June 2024, 87.3% of EFX holders had completed the switch. The rest? Their tokens became worthless. Today, EFX is listed on some old exchanges as a relic - but it has zero trading volume, no liquidity, and no support. If you still have EFX in your wallet, it’s just digital dust.

What Is EFFECT Now? The Living Token

Effect AI didn’t disappear - it evolved. The new token, EFFECT, runs on Solana and is the only active currency in the ecosystem. As of November 2025, there are 330 million EFFECT tokens in circulation, with a max supply of 520 million. The market cap sits around $1.81 million, and the price hovers near $0.00236. That’s down from its peak, but not unusual for a niche DePIN (Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Network) project.

Here’s how it works: You sign up on Effect.ai, connect a Solana wallet (like Phantom or Backpack), and start doing Human Intelligence Tasks (HITs). These include labeling cat photos, verifying AI-generated text, or even writing prompts for chatbots. Each task pays a few cents in EFFECT. You don’t need coding skills - just a browser and patience.

On average, users complete 15,000 tasks per day. Each one takes about 47 seconds. Top earners report making $1,200+ over six months by focusing on higher-paying prompt engineering jobs. The platform is especially popular in the Philippines, India, and Nigeria, where users treat it as a side income stream.

How to Get Started with EFFECT Today

If you want to earn with Effect AI now, here’s your step-by-step guide:

1. Get a Solana wallet: Download Phantom or Backpack from their official sites. Never use third-party links.
2. Buy SOL: Use an exchange like Binance or Kraken, then send SOL to your wallet.
3. Swap for EFFECT: Go to Raydium or Jupiter DEX. Trade SOL for EFFECT. The minimum trade is usually 0.1 SOL.
4. Visit Effect.ai: Connect your wallet. Complete the onboarding quiz (takes 20-30 minutes).
5. Start doing tasks: Look for “Beginner” tasks first. They’re easier and unlock access to better-paying jobs.
6. Stake (optional): Once you have 100 EFFECT, you can stake them for 8.2% APY. But you must stay online - if your device disconnects, you lose rewards.

Don’t try to swap old EFX tokens anymore. The migration portal closed in 2024. If you didn’t switch, you missed the window.

What You Can and Can’t Do With EFFECT

Effect AI isn’t a blockchain for building apps. It’s not a smart contract platform like Ethereum. It’s a very specific tool: human-powered AI training data.

What it’s good for:

• Low-cost, high-volume data labeling for AI companies
• Real-time feedback loops for AI models (like correcting chatbot responses)
• Side income for people in developing countries with internet access
• Testing AI accuracy - 92.7% of image labeling tasks are verified as correct by human reviewers

What it’s NOT good for:

• Investing for quick gains - liquidity is extremely low. $24,000 in daily volume against a $1.8 million market cap means big price swings.
• Trading - most exchanges don’t list EFFECT. You need to use Solana DEXs.
• Building AI models - you can’t train your own GPT here. You only provide data.
• Enterprise use - only 23 companies officially use it, mostly small AI startups.

Compared to giants like Scale AI or Appen, Effect AI is tiny. But it’s cheaper. A single labeling task costs $0.042 here - versus $0.067 on Amazon Mechanical Turk. That’s why some AI researchers use it for pilot testing.

Why People Love and Hate Effect AI

Reddit and Trustpilot reviews paint a mixed picture.

Positive feedback:

• “I made $0.10 in 45 minutes - not life-changing, but free money.” - u/DataLabelerPro
• “No hardware needed. Works on my old phone.” - Trustpilot user
• “The tutorials are clear. I learned how to write better prompts.” - CryptoSlate reviewer

Negative feedback:

• “Tasks disappear after 20 minutes. Always waiting.” - 73% of negative reviews
• “Wallet connection broke twice. Lost 17 EFFECT during a network glitch.” - u/SolanaStaker
• “Payouts take 3-4 hours. Why so slow?” - Reddit thread

Support response time averages 14.7 hours. The Discord and Telegram groups are more helpful than official support. If you’re stuck, ask in the community - not the ticket system.

Is Effect AI Worth It in 2025?

Here’s the truth: Effect AI isn’t a crypto gem. It’s not going to 100x. But it’s not a scam either.

It’s a real platform solving a real problem: AI needs human input. Every chatbot you use, every image generator, every voice assistant - they all learned from data labeled by people like you.

Effect AI gives you a way to get paid for that work. If you’re looking for passive income, this isn’t it. If you’re looking for a side hustle you can do while watching TV? Maybe.

For investors? Only if you believe in decentralized AI infrastructure. The market for AI data labeling is worth $1.2 billion and growing fast. Effect AI holds just 0.87% of it - but it’s growing. If they land a big enterprise client in 2026, the price could jump.

But right now? It’s risky. The top 10 wallets hold nearly 59% of all EFFECT tokens. That’s a red flag. If one of them sells, the price could crash.

And if Solana goes down? So does Effect AI. It’s built on one blockchain - no backup.

What’s Next for Effect AI?

The team is pushing hard. In November 2025, they launched Effect Agent Studio - a tool that lets users build and sell custom AI agents. Over 2,100 were created in the first three days. That’s new. That’s interesting.

Coming in 2026:

• Integration with Ethereum L2 networks
• Launch of an AI model marketplace
• Partnerships with 12 more AI startups

If they pull this off, EFFECT could become the go-to token for decentralized AI workers. But if they fail to attract developers or keep task supply steady? The project could fade into obscurity - just like EFX did.

Bottom line: Don’t buy EFFECT hoping to get rich. Buy it if you want to earn crypto by helping AI learn. And forget EFX - it’s gone.