Agentic artificial intelligence platform ai16z is mulling launching its own layer-1 (L1) blockchain network as part of a broader tokenomics overhaul.
The project is considering creating a platform similar to pump.fun for launching AI agents, according to a post in its governance forum. It is also contemplating “[p]ositioning ai16z as an L1 blockchain for AI,” the post said.
Contributors of ai16z envision the AI agent launchpad as “the primary way to implement ‘flywheel’ tokenomics that drive value to $ai16z,” the project’s native token.
“Suggested mechanics include taking a % of launch fees, requiring $ai16z holdings for allocation, using $ai16z for initial agent offerings, [and] pairing agent tokens with $ai16z in liquidity pools,” according to the blog post.
Meanwhile, the proposed L1 would be “open-source with node incentives” with the AI16Z token as the “base currency,” the post said.
Source: VanEck
Rapid rise
Since its launch in October, the AI16Z token has bootstrapped a market capitalization of nearly $1.5 billion, according to CoinGecko.
Ai16z describes itself as “the first investment [decentralized autonomous organization] DAO led by AI agents,” according to its website.
Using its flagship AI operating system, Eliza, ai16z “aims to leverage AI and collective intelligence to make investment decisions.”
The autonomous investment fund already manages an onchain liquidity pool, purportedly clocking annualized returns approaching 25%, according to data from daos.fun.
The Eliza operating system powers upward of a dozen Web3 AI agents, according to elizas.world, a community-run dashboard.
Eliza-powered AIs. Source: elizas.world
Web3 AIs
As of December, blockchain networks host approximately 10,000 AI agents, collectively earning millions of dollars each week from onchain activities, according to a report by VanEck.
The asset manager expects upward of 1 million AI agents to populate blockchain networks by the end of 2025.
In 2024, tokens tied to agentic AI collectively rose to upward of $10 billion in market capitalization, mostly in Q4, according to CoinGecko.
In 2025, “AI agents are expected to take on a more prominent role within decentralized communities,” J.D. Seraphine, a Web3 AI developer at Raiinmaker, told Cointelegraph.
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