Token brokers fuel a secondary market for discounted AI API credits
Discourse · Hacker News · stat: Credits Vectoral details the rise of "token brokers" who exploit startup cloud credits to resell LLM access at steep discounts. These intermediaries buy up promotional…
Discourse · Hacker News · stat: Credits
Vectoral details the rise of "token brokers" who exploit startup cloud credits to resell LLM access at steep discounts. These intermediaries buy up promotional API credits—often granted to early-stage startups by major cloud providers—and resell them to developers looking to bypass standard rate limits on OpenAI and Anthropic APIs.
Startup credit programs are fueling an unintended shadow economy Founders can drastically cut early LLM costs through secondary brokers, but risk sudden service termination if providers crack down on credit abuse.
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