Last year, the expansion of L1/L2 blockchains caused liquidity fragmentation, especially the addition of Bitcoin L2, which led to a surge in new projects. As a result, capital inflows were concentrated in a few top ecosystems, and many L2s and dApps had difficulty gaining attention. Today, the AI agent industry faces similar problems. Although it is still in its early stages, the large number and variety of projects have led to "agent fragmentation", and liquidity and attention have been overly dispersed.
Two development paths for AI agents
Most AI agents develop along one of two paths:
1. From agent to framework
Some agents demonstrate their value by continually engaging with users and allowing them to interact with live products on CT (or other channels) platforms. Once they find product-market fit (PMF) and attract enough attention, other teams will often want to copy their work. What are the next logical steps?
Open source agent.
In this way, the agent turns into a framework — making it easier for others to experiment, integrate, and build upon it.
This step can break the valuation ceiling of the agent and position it more like an L1 blockchain.
We have seen agents like the following adopt this trend:
0xzerebro
idols diary
AVA holo
freysa ai
unit00x0
This approach enables these agents to scale by reducing barriers and allowing others to plug into their ecosystem.
2. Continue to improve the product as an independent agent
Not every agent will find PMF right away, and some agents will need to be iterated and tweaked until they find the right use case. Even so, some teams prefer to keep their technology proprietary rather than open it up to others. For agents that excel in their field, transitioning to a framework is unnecessary — they just need to stay as standalone agents.
Examples of this approach include:
aixbt
agent
griffaindotcom
So, what should we do?
For developers: Focus on understanding the gaps in the market and building products that provide real value to users. Remember, agents should serve as onboarding tools to bring users into the ecosystem. In such a market environment, it is increasingly difficult to stand out.
For investors: Focusing on the leaders or top projects in each category and adding to your investments when the market dips may be the best way to consolidate focus and navigate a fragmented space.
Current Category and Narrative / Focus
The following are the hottest areas at the moment:
KOLagent Focus on Alpha
These agents dominate in providing Alpha (insights, data synthesis, and analysis). AIXBT is leading in the minds of users. Although this is a non-winner-takes-all market, the leaders capture a disproportionate amount of attention.
Tokens worth noting:
AIXBT
KING
TRISIG
TRUST
AGENCY
QUANT
Investing in DAOs
These DAOs focus on making strategic investments, and the winners are typically those projects that can effectively execute (3,3) strategies and deliver strong profit and loss (PnL) performance.
example:
VADER
AIXCB
AIMONICA
SEKOIA
WATER
AROK
Other platforms in this space include: VIRTUALS IO, AI16ZDAO, DAOSDOTWORLD, DAOSDOTFUN
agent Metaverse / Game x AI
This is a young industry with great potential. Realis started this trend, but Hyperfy has become the world leader in building infrastructure. Smol and Arc Agent are exploring AI-driven games and gamification using reinforcement learning.
Key Tokens:
HYPER
REALIST
RESIN
NRN
DeFAI / Abstraction Layer
It’s a highly competitive space with multiple players vying for dominance. The expected launch of Wayfinder tokens could be a game-changer.
Tokens to be tracked:
GRIFFAIN
ANON
GRIFT
MY
Autonomous trading agent
This field is still in its early stages, but the potential is huge. Multiple players are emerging, with their agents trying to generate outsized returns by competing with humans and other agents.
Tokens worth noting:
ASYM
PPCOIN
GEKKO
TONY
frame
Popular framework tokens provide support for agents by providing open source solutions. AI16Z/Eliza is the largest open source framework, but other models exist.
Tokens worth noting:
AI16Z / ELIZA
GAME (Virtual)
ARC (Rig)
music
AI agents are entering the music space, either by releasing albums or enabling music creation. Zerebro took the lead with a standout album, and now more agents are entering this niche and collaborating with world-class DJs.
Key Tokens:
BRAIN
MUSIC
BEATS
3D Model
Ava is a leader in 3D modeling. HOLOWORLDAI is working with multiple teams to develop and deploy 3D models in different frameworks and ecosystems.
Tokens worth noting:
AVA
AIDOL
This trend started with Luna as an AI idol on TikTok and Twitter. While the initial craze has passed, this niche has laid the foundation for agents that offer more practical functions. Luna is still the most influential AIDOL, she now has more personality and can do more things, such as her experience taking over Story Protocol as an intern.
Notable examples:
OFFICER
ELIZA
MOE
AI Memecoins
These memecoins are either launched by AI agents or have AI-related story contexts.
Popular Coins:
GOAT
FARTCOIN
ACT
Video / Film Production
This is an emerging field, and Kween is at the forefront of producing high-quality videos, although it is not yet clear whether these videos are driven by an agent. Sandy is launching the first AI video agent framework, and its potential has not yet been fully realized.
Tokens to be tracked:
THE KWEEN
SANDY
data
In the AI space, data is digital gold — it is key to agent development and performance. Cookie stands out as a leader in providing data to both humans and AI agents.
Notable coins:
COOKIE
FOR RENT
AI App Store
This category focuses on useful AI application ecosystems, including generative AI tools, games, and productivity enhancement tools. Currently, Alchemist is the top ecosystem, while Myshell focuses on image generation and wife simulation games, although its token has not yet been released.
Key Tokens:
ALCH
NSFWagent
This is an emerging market segment where agents act as “hot” influencers and interact with users 24/7. Lush, Nectar and Oh are the main players in this field, but only Lush currently has a token.
Tokens worth noting:
LUSH
TEE / DeAI Infrastructure
This narrative supports fully autonomous agents that are resistant to human interference such as hacking or rug pulls.
Top Coins:
DO
LET'S GO
SPORE
Developer Tools
These are AI security, code analysis, and tools that are critical to industry growth. Soleng is my personal favorite because she can act as your developer relations assistant, help analyze code and GitHub repositories, and is especially friendly to CT brothers with non-technical backgrounds.
Notable Tokens:
SUNSET
H4CK
STORY
JAIL
Robotics / Embodied AI
This is an exciting but still developing field. OpenAI’s work on embodied AI will likely attract more attention this year.
Top Coins:
ALONE
There are a lot of categories I haven’t covered here. The fragmentation of agents is really getting out of control. My personal investment approach is to focus on the narratives that attract the most attention and predict the narratives that may attract more attention in the future.
The top stories I’m following that will continue to gain traction are:
DeFAI
Autonomous trading agent
Investing in DAOs
Agent Metaverse
Narratives I expect to attract more interest in Q1/Q2:
NSFWagent
TEE and other DeAI infrastructure (opML, zkML, POSP, etc.)
Robotics
Developer Tools
Final Thoughts
Agent fragmentation highlights the complexity and opportunities in this space. Developers and investors should focus on projects with integration potential and long-term growth opportunities.
Developers should prioritize building scalable, differentiated products that solve clear needs, while investors should back projects that have strong traction and are in high-potential narratives.
Future innovation will come from ecosystems that simplify chaos and unify liquidity and value.
Today's article ends here. We are currently in a bull market, and the situation is turbulent. We share passwords every day. If you don't know what to do in a bull market, welcome to follow us. Bull market spot passwords and layout strategies can be shared free of charge. Let's embrace the bull market, increase our winning rate, and say goodbye to being trapped at high levels.
