The AI Credit Resale Economy: Brokers Moving $100k/Day in Unused API Credits at 30–80% Off List, With $200,000 in OpenAI Credits on a Single Listing
Vectoral's Matt Lenhard documents a secondary market where startups monetize expiring API credits rather than eating them — individual brokers advertising $100k in spend per day, discounts of 30–80% off list, one marketplace listing carrying $200,000 in OpenAI and $10,000 in Anthropic credits, and CheapCredits offering a flat 40% across all models. Named channels include marketplaces AI Credits and AICreditMart, bulk-discount routers CheapCredits, Tokvana and Neokens, distributed via Telegram, r/saasforsale and r/indiehackers; total float is estimated in the 'tens of millions'. The post broke into wide visibility on Aug 16 (301 points on Hacker News). Lenhard's warning is the operative part for anyone tempted by the arbitrage: 'tokens have become a pseudo-currency' whose liquidity invites abuse, and 'crackdowns on this type of abuse probably aren't far behind.'
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