Author: Haotian
Why should we not miss this AI Agent narrative trend? Many people still think that AI Agents, like 'AI + DePIN, AI computing/inference aggregation platforms, AI MEME', are just a transient hot topic. But what I want to say is that they are merely manifestations of different stages of the integration of AI + Crypto, which will ultimately drive the arrival of the main upward trend in the bull market. Next, let me share my views point by point:
Overall, the narrative logic of AI + Crypto becoming the main upward trend in this bull market will not change, because the training of AGI large models and the future in-depth development of multimodal AI industries will increasingly demand traditional 'resources' such as computing power, storage, and data. This means that the AI industry will be very competitive and harsh, and monopolies will be unavoidable, which will inevitably cause some small and medium enterprises' innovative demands to 'overflow'.
AI will bring 'incremental' fundamentals to the Crypto field, and the Crypto world can precisely accommodate this wave of resource demand.
For instance, LLM training requires cheap computing power to integrate idle resources for use; some vertical applications in fields like healthcare and supply chain finance need privacy, and Crypto's ZK + distributed governance framework becomes a key underlying layer; furthermore, distributed inference requires many scenario-optimized algorithm matches and an incentive framework that can record the inference process, which is precisely what Crypto Tokenomics excels at. Thus, from a macro trend perspective, AI + Crypto is an irreversible inevitability.
However, AI + DePIN seemed to have caught fire but then cooled down. Many large AI projects in distributed aggregation computing, algorithms, and inference backed by heavy VC investments did not create much of a stir. Then, the recent AI + MEME represented by GOAT has shown everyone the new vitality of the market driven by community culture. Following this, the natural connection to the AI Agent token issuance frenzy has given the market new hope for large-scale applications of AI through Crypto.
At first glance, the AI narrative from DePIN to aggregated computing inference service platforms to MEME and finally landing on AI Agents seems illogical, step by step disproving the feasibility of AI + Crypto?
But I believe that AI + DePIN is laying the foundational infrastructure; distributed computing/inference platforms are building computing power and algorithm incentive networks; AI + MEME is accelerating market education and dissemination of AI applications through secondary wealth effects; AI Agents represent the final application landing and user reach.
Based on this logic, it is not difficult to see that the AI + DePIN and computing power inference aggregation networks are trying to build AI + Crypto scenarios that are too large and heavy. The external demand they attempt to accommodate has not been sufficiently competitive and mature in the internet field, and it will naturally appear to be a waste and meaningless in the Crypto field in the short term.
But what if we reverse the order of developing infrastructure building and application token issuance + MEME dissemination?
Let the lightweight AI Agents with landing scenarios and needs develop in the Crypto field first. In the process, quality Agents can connect with MEME community forces for support. Once the potential of these AI asset issuances and AI MEME primitives is sufficiently strong, won’t it make sense to tackle the heavy infrastructure of AI + Crypto?
In other words, transforming from developing 'fat protocols' to 'thin applications', using lightweight and quickly iteratable thin applications to sound the charge, then using MEME memes based on vertical scenes to drive secondary market user Fomo, and finally developing grand technical visions that are very long in the timeline and difficult to land, such logic makes sense, right?
So, let's focus on the AI Agent narrative. AI Agents refer to AI intelligent services that can make autonomous decisions and automate task execution, with the primary goal of improving human-machine collaboration efficiency through personalized scene customization and automated processes.
Common AI Agents have been widely applied in various scenarios, including code development, creative content generation, research assistance, personal financial planning, and professional consulting (such as legal and medical).
At this point, some may wonder, haven't these AI Agents already been developed on a large scale in the web2 field for quite some time? Their commercial models such as SaaS subscriptions, API call billing, and value-added services are operating normally. Why do they need to issue tokens in the web3 circle to create bubbles? What happened to the value application landing?
In my opinion, there is actually no conflict. AI Agents do not develop well in a pure web2 environment, which is the premise for many Agents to come to web3 to issue tokens. Moreover, the value sedimentation of Crypto must go through a bubble-blowing process; DeFi, NFT, inscriptions, GameFi, MEME, etc., all experience a Fomo period of 'asset issuance stories'.
This seemingly nihilistic bubble period in finance, while making the entire industry appear 'chaotic' in the short term, will attract funds and users that will settle down, injecting momentum for the industry's subsequent development.
Digital art NFTs may seem empty, but they have effectively caused ETH to deflate. Inscriptions' ornamental art may seem trivial, but they helped miners survive the shutdown hurdle before halving. Similarly, the recent wave of AI Agent token issuance may appear speculative in the short term, but it will bring a broader incremental user base and capital into the Crypto circle. Looking at it from a longer perspective, these short-term nihilistic Fomo narratives will undoubtedly solidify corresponding value; one must not miss opportunities due to biases.
Finally, I want to say that AI Agents are important for ordinary retail investors, and equally important for project parties in various verticals under the heavy pressure of VC tokens.
From now on, we should think about how to empower our chains with AI + narratives: embedding modular AI preprocessing components? Building AI Agent tools suitable for community participation? Spreading MEME cultural memes with AI personalities?
The addition of these AI elements will make your heavy and hard-to-implement Roadmap more 'youthful', allowing the originally lengthy technological landing stories to gradually be applied in a lightweight manner using AI Agents, while simultaneously amplifying influence through AI MEME, which is more entertaining and easier to spread. Instead of engaging in meaningless resistance, why not embrace it?
Embracing the lightweight AI Agent and AI MEME community culture will become the optimal solution to reshape the past projects' 'technology, operations, community, market, brand' and other heavy asset development paths.
Many people do not like to memify all value, diligently cultivating their faith in application landing in solitude, scoffing at those speculating on Fomo, thus missing opportunities. Yet there are always people who enjoy memifying everything and actively engaging in the financial nihilistic PVP games, while coldly observing the technology and fundamental value that support these games, ultimately ending up in vain disappointment.
Come on, let’s string together AI Agent + AI MEME + AI Platform + AI DePIN into a main narrative, without dividing technologies between VC tokens and MEMEs, and together push forward the grand narrative of AI + Crypto to achieve this long-awaited bull market's main upward trend.