Written by: Luke, Mars Finance
Last night's frenzy: from "everyone sending money" to "the founder disappearing"
If the crypto market is a stage that never lacks new stories, then the protagonist last night was undoubtedly AI-Pool. This token pre-sale project initiated by Skely not only raised more than 35,000 SOL in a short period of time, but also set off a dazzling FOMO frenzy. However, this seemingly perfect pre-sale drama suddenly reversed at the climax. The X account of the main creator Skely was blocked, and the original "trust me, bro"-style trust collapsed instantly and turned into a FUD boo.
Why is there such intense FOMO?
Behind all this, a lot has to do with Skely's personal background and endorsement. He is a member of the ai16z DAO, and the founder of the DAO, Shaw (@shawmakesmagic), even personally follows his updates. The ai16z DAO is seen as an influential group in the crypto circle, and the discussion around it is a hot topic in itself. When Skely announced AI-Pool, this background quickly amplified the market's expectations for the project. Many investors regard Skely as a "trusted insider" and they are afraid of missing out on this wave of possible dividends.
FUD caused by account blocking
But just after the pre-sale funds exceeded 35,000 SOL, Skely’s X account was suddenly blocked, which added a layer of uneasiness to the market. Why was it blocked?
Some people joked, "Is it because the AI has awakened, or is Skely really a fool?" Although these statements sound like jokes, they do reflect the market's doubts. After Skely's account was blocked, the community had different speculations about the incident, which can be divided into two possibilities:
1. Suspect of being a real Rug
Some investors pointed out that Skely's project Twitter account has changed its username several times, which is often seen as a signal of opacity in the crypto market. In addition, the project had problems such as unclear allocation mechanism and no hard cap for fund raising at the beginning, which made people wonder whether its real intention was to complete the fund harvesting. Because of this, some people speculated that Skely may have been ready to run away under the guise of AI.
2. The wrongly blocked script
Others believe that Skely's account may have been blocked due to a misjudgment by the platform. A fake Skely account (Gold Label) named @123skelyy once posted a fake address under the original post in an attempt to defraud users of their funds. The real Skely account (Blue Label) was likely blocked first because the fake account used its Gold Label to report to the platform. The high priority processing mechanism of Gold Label may have caused the platform to mistakenly block the Blue Label Skely.
According to the latest community news, the project will still proceed as planned.
X platform user @0xwitchy posted a message saying, "AI-Pool founder Skely's X account has been temporarily frozen due to malicious reports, but the project plan remains unchanged. AI will start the token release around noon Eastern Time as originally planned, and the specific time will not be announced to avoid interference from token snipers. The token name will be randomly selected by AI, and investors need to be prepared to accept any possible name."
This tweet was subsequently retweeted by ai16z founder Shaw, injecting trust into the project. @0xwitchy also emphasized that she is not a member of the team, nor does she participate in the token issuance, and has only been in contact with Skely. She suggested that the community wait for further official statements from Skely.
Although the account turmoil has brought considerable controversy, the news of the project's advancement has undoubtedly injected a glimmer of confidence into the market. Whether AI-Pool can deliver on its technical promises as scheduled will be a key step in verifying whether this innovation is truly worth looking forward to.
The light of technology: AI Agent and TEE, the real hope for decentralization?
From a purely technical perspective, the design of AI-Pool is indeed attractive. The core of the project is the combination of Trusted Execution Environment (TEE) and AI Agent, which attempts to solve the problems of running away and internal malicious activities that are common in traditional pre-sales through technical means.
Private keys are not in human hands
AI-Pool uses Phala Network's TEE technology to generate and store private keys in a secure and isolated computing environment. This means that even project developers cannot access these core data, fundamentally eliminating the possibility of "running away with the funds." This technical design is similar to the double-lock system of a bank vault: funds can only be safely allocated if strict conditions are met.
Transparent and verifiable interactions
Each transaction generates a remote authentication certificate, through which the outside world can track the flow and status of funds in real time. Unlike the previous model that was simply maintained by trust, this "machine trust" is built on code and consensus, providing investors with a higher sense of security.
However, despite the exciting technical concept, the current AI Agent can only execute pre-programmed logic and is still a long way from truly autonomous decision-making. In other words, behind this drama played by AI, developers are still behind the steering wheel. How far this kind of "decentralization" can really go is worth pondering.
Skely's other projects: Current status of GFC
The popularity of AI-Pool has attracted people's attention to Skely's other projects, one of which is GFC (Global Funding Club). This project is an experimental fund initiated by Skely under the framework of ai16z DAO, with the goal of using community funds to support innovative blockchain projects. The current market value of GFC is about 1M. Although it is still inferior to the scale of AI-Pool, it provides more credit support for Skely's background.
However, the project has stagnated and the trading volume is too small. Currently, there are only some players who trade AI_Pool in PVP. If AI-Pool cannot be delivered smoothly, GFC is also at risk of returning to zero.
The rise of PHAs: the unexpected winners of the AI boom
The popularity of AI-Pool unexpectedly pushed Phala Network (PHA) to the center of the stage. This network, which supports the core technology of AI-Pool, quickly attracted attention in the market with its TEE technology, and even caused PHA's price to increase by 50% at one point.
Why Phala?
Phala's trusted execution environment is the technical pillar on which the project relies to achieve decentralization. Its core capabilities lie in ensuring the security and privacy of data while providing a reliable interface for on-chain and off-chain interactions. In other words, Phala provides an "absolutely safe" studio for the execution of AI without worrying about external interference.
This "unexpected explosion" not only verified the market potential of TEE technology, but also made more projects begin to pay attention to the combination of AI and decentralized technology. Perhaps, AI-Pool is just a small prelude to Phala's long-term growth.
Think calmly: From enthusiasm to implementation, how far does AI Agent have to go?
If the emergence of AI-Pool has opened a new door, the flaws behind it cannot be ignored. Although AI Agent provides a new narrative model for the crypto market, the current technology and mechanism design still have many shortcomings.
The paradox of decentralization AI: Currently, it still needs to rely on terminal instructions provided by developers. This operating mode is not completely consistent with the "decentralization" concept of blockchain. The control of the project is still concentrated in the hands of a few developers. Investors' trust in AI is actually trust in developers.
Transparency in mechanism: Unlimited fundraising and vague allocation criteria expose the flaws in the mechanism design of the current model. If these issues cannot be clearly resolved, similar projects in the future may find it difficult to win the long-term trust of investors.
Limitations of technology: The function of AI Agent is currently mainly limited to the automation of the pre-sale process, and it is still a long way from the goals of "autonomous trading" and "intelligent investment". A real breakthrough requires the coordination of multiple technologies, such as more accurate decentralized oracles and more efficient distributed computing.
Epilogue: The two sides of FOMO and FUD
The story of AI-Pool continues. It is both a microcosm of technological attempts and a true portrayal of the enthusiasm and risks of the crypto market. Perhaps the final result of this experiment is not important, because it has ignited a spark of imagination in the market. In the future, with the advancement of technology, can AI Agent truly become a game-changer in DeFi? What kind of ecology will the market create for this new narrative? Let us wait and see.
