Compilation: Vernacular Blockchain


People have become tired of AI response bots, and this type of application is now somewhat oversaturated. Right now, all eyes are on the next wave of truly practical AI agents.

The next wave has arrived: DeFAI (also known as AiFi or AgentFi). Simply put, we are leveraging AI agents to simplify decentralized finance (DeFi), making it more profitable for us. The reasons I am optimistic about this field are:
• Abstraction: The complexity of DeFi interfaces is addressed through a natural language interface, making for a more user-friendly experience.
• User Profit: By automating trades, optimizing yields, and employing AI-enhanced trading strategies, users can earn more profits and reduce costly human errors.
• Yield Potential: There are already some protocols, such as Bananagun and Photon, that make trading easier and can almost 'print money.' Once product-market fit is achieved, we might see some interesting token economic models.

Finally... the market sentiment has already begun to shift. You can feel that everyone's focus is turning to DeFAI. I believe that in the coming months, billions of dollars will flow into this space, and now is a great time to position yourself (if you pay attention, even today, some projects have broken their all-time highs despite the market decline).

1. Notable Top Protocols (Ranked by Market Cap)

1) Griffain (@Griffaindotcom - Market Cap: $494 million)

Created by Solana's senior developer @tonyplasencia3, who previously built @backanunderdog and @blinkdotfun. Griffain lets you search and execute any on-chain operation through natural language commands.
You can think of it as an App Store, using different agents to complete various tasks. Some task demonstrations I've seen include: copy trading, creating memecoins, and even automatically locking in profits for you.
2) Hey Anon (@HeyAnonai - Market Cap: $172 million) Recently launched on the Sonic platform, with extremely volatile prices. It focuses on natural language trading interfaces, automated DeFi agents, and research and communication agents. @DWFlabs has established an AI agent fund and invested $20 million into Hey Anon. There have been some demo recordings showcasing its powerful capabilities, with public testing set to open at the end of January. So, what has made Anon suddenly so popular? The answer is founder Daniele Sesta, who created two billion-dollar protocols (Spell and Wonderland) in the last cycle. Can he create a third in this cycle?
3) Mode (@ModeNetwork - Market Cap: $117 million) This is an Ethereum Layer 2 protocol dedicated to creating a DeFi economy fully operated by AI agents. Currently, there are 129 AI agents on the Mode network, which have completed over 1,600 DeFi transactions, although some of these agents have not yet issued tokens.

  • Arma by Giza: An agent optimizing USDC yield farms, suitable for various applications on the Mode platform.

  • Brian: Helps users execute trades and deploy contracts through natural language operations, simplifying the process.

  • Sturdy: Aggregates and optimizes returns using AI-driven yield vaults.

  • MODIUS by Olas: Allows you to co-own or initiate your own AI agent, optimizing liquidity mining strategies.

  • Amplifi: Helps you achieve the best returns across multiple chains through full-chain liquidity and AI optimization.
    

4) Orbit (GRIFT Market Cap: $43 million)

Orbit's agents allow users to interact with different protocols across multiple chains. It is built by the SphereOne team, a crypto payment platform that raised $2.5 million in 2023. Orbit has supported over 100 chains, including EVM, Solana, Aptos, Sui, Cosmos chains, and Bitcoin.
SphereOne aims to create a seamless onboarding process, simplifying all steps from purchasing cryptocurrency to executing on-chain operations via AI agents.
5) Neur (Market Cap: $41 million) Recently, Binance Alpha listed Neur. Neur enables users to interact with major protocols native to Solana through natural language. It is a fully open-source, community-driven project, and the team regularly launches reward programs to encourage developer contributions. Since its launch, activity on GitHub has been rising, and it currently has 350 stars.
The product is still in the testing phase, and users need to pay 1 $SOL to join its limited early access program.
6) ASYM (@ASYM41b07 Market Cap: $21 million) This is an AI-driven trading agent that has demonstrated 3-4 times returns in actual trades, such as $NEUR and $GRAPH. Profits will flow back into $ASYM, driving buying pressure, and 28% of the supply has already been locked. ASYM focuses on DeFi automation and agent infrastructure, capturing memecoin trends using on-chain data and social data to consistently outperform in the market.
7) Gekko AI (@Gekko_Agent Market Cap: $16 million) A 99% fair launch trading agent created by @getaxal. Although the Axal team does not hold any tokens, Gekko provides bold crypto strategies as a trading agent and has integrated with Axal's Autopilot system to drive traffic and optimize products.
8) Axal @getaxal Axal @getaxal is a verified agent network supported by a16z and Unusual Ventures. Axal is currently in closed testing, aiming to apply autonomous agent technology to everyday tasks, from trading to flight bookings.
2. Upcoming Notable Tokenless Projects 1) Cod3x @Cod3xOrg Cod3x is a DeFAI ecosystem that allows users to create trading agents without code. Anyone can build their own trading agents using a growing library of strategies and APIs. It integrates machine learning models from @AlloraNetwork to support more complex strategies and uses cdxUSD liquidity to ensure stability. Its flagship agent @BigTonyXBT (Market Cap: $9 million) uses AI-driven predictions for mainstream trading. Cod3x aims to create the world's largest economic AI agent community.
2) Almanak @Almanak__ Almanak is a DeFi platform providing institutional-grade tools for building autonomous financial agents. It conducts real strategy testing by forking EVM chains and considers complex factors such as MEV and Gas. It also uses trusted execution environments (TEEs) to protect privacy and processes non-custodial funds through the Almanak wallet. The project has raised $1 million on Legion Launchpad and is expected to launch a beta version of the agent in Q2 2025.
3) WayFinder Protocol @AIWayfinder Imagine being able to deploy your own AI agent with just a text message. WayFinder's 'navigation path' allows these agents to operate smoothly in DeFi. Token swaps, yield farming, NFT launches, and more can be completed with simple commands. It supports multiple chains, including Ethereum, Solana, Base, etc. Its highlight is that agents can learn from each other, meaning the success of one agent unlocks more potential for all agents. The token has not yet launched, but $Prime stakers have received 40% of the $prompt supply.
4) Slate @slate_ceo Slate is an AI tool that automates trade execution by combining real-time aggregation alerts from Telegram, Discord, X, and on-chain channels. It not only provides notifications but can also execute trades instantly on Solana, Base, and Hyperliquid, equipped with MEV protection and optimized routing. Designed for traders needing precision and speed, it requires no manual intervention.
3. Summary


I have been involved in DeFi since the end of 2020.

I love the sense of infinite possibilities that era brings, seeing new tokenomics designs and innovations every week. But as DeFi matures, the pace of innovation has slowed, and the addition of AI will bring a new renaissance to DeFi.

The market is currently quite volatile, and there is no need to rush to follow trends. We will gradually gain more public access to see if these protocols can deliver on their promises. However, this is a space worth keeping an eye on.

Some other thoughts:
• An interesting point is whether any established DeFi giants will start launching AI-based frontends.
• We are still in a very early stage where everyone is 'selling dreams.' There are significant risks in this, as the challenges of execution are also high. In a few months, many protocols will open for testing, and we will evaluate them based on execution performance.
• You can create your own DeFAI watchlist using these tokens (for example, on DexScreener).

Note: If I missed any interesting protocols, feel free to comment and add. This field is still in a very early stage, and some protocols are still in testing, facing execution risks. So please remain cautious.