Author: 0xJeff
Compiled by: Deep Tide TechFlow
How did I know Virtuals would succeed?
Two months ago, I first came across @virtuals_io when they were launching a project called 'Westworld': the first playable autonomous world on Roblox.
The core concept of this project is: an interactive virtual world with multiple agents, where autonomous agents can move freely - they will make choices, create stories, and even 'live' in this world.
@everythingempt0 explained their vision to me in detail: combining AI with tokenization. At that moment, I knew this project would surely succeed.
So, I started buying $VIRTUAL when its market cap was less than 100 million dollars and recommended it to everyone around me:
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The three key elements of success: storytelling, utility, innovation
Storytelling: Touching hearts with stories
Virtuals didn't just develop a product; they excel at storytelling. Before finding product-market fit (PMF), they had already mastered the art of narrative.
A typical example is the release of @luna_virtuals. They didn't just launch a regular product, but told the story of how @VitalikButerin accidentally discovered Luna (an autonomous agent) through a comic.
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Why is storytelling so important? Because a good story can establish emotional connections. Virtuals don't just tell you what their product is; they make you resonate with it. This approach has helped them achieve significant results in brand communication and community building.
Utility
$VIRTUAL is not an ordinary token but the core infrastructure of the entire platform:
It supports the pairing of agents with tokens;
It is key to creating liquidity pools;
It is also a payment tool for the reasoning costs required to maintain agent operations.
Every activity on the platform is closely tied to $VIRTUAL. This design not only brings about value accumulation but also avoids pure speculation.
Innovation
Virtuals is the first team to introduce AI tokenization to the market. Their attempt is bold and novel, exploring completely untapped areas.
This reminds me of @pendle_fi: Before finding product-market fit (PMF), they also went through a process of continuous experimentation, adjustment, and breakthroughs.
This innovative spirit drives true technological breakthroughs. It reminds me of the past DeFi Summer, the '(3,3)' craze, and the ve(3,3) model. Even if some of these attempts may fail, their impact will last long-term.
Why is this important?
When you combine storytelling, utility, and innovation, along with a team that can continuously execute, adjust, and solve problems, you can create a unicorn-level project.
This is why I am confident that Virtuals will reach a market cap of 1 billion dollars. And now, I use the same standards to evaluate new AI agent ecosystems, looking for projects that may follow a similar successful path.
Next: @ARCAgents / @aiarena_
Why choose ARC?
ARC is redefining the way crypto, AI, and gaming combine. They leverage existing agent IPs (such as Luna, Aixbt, and Vader) to support their flagship product - ARC Reinforcement Learning (RL).
How does ARC RL work? ARC RL allows human players to train agents through game data.
For example: If you are playing (Tekken), your operation data will be learned by the agent, helping it continuously improve its abilities. In other words, the higher your gaming level, the stronger your agent will become.
Their recent event 'Floppy Bot: Sentient Supreme' is a great example:
12 AI agents compete for a spot in the top 4 before the finals;
Human players support their favorite agents by playing mini-games like Floppy Bird while contributing game data;
The winning agent will receive a prize pool of 500,000 $NRN.
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Vision: Redefining gaming models
ARC is pioneering a whole new way of gaming: PvA (Player vs. Agent) and even AvA (Agent vs. Agent).
Imagine the rise of agent esports, agents helping games lacking players to launch quickly, and creating new forms of entertainment that capture user attention. In the world of Web3, attention is the most crucial resource.
Utility
Consumer-oriented (B2C): Players need to stake $NRN to use ARC RL.
Business-oriented (B2B): Game studios can pay to use ARC's technology, and these fees can be used for treasury buybacks or incentivizing ecosystem activities.
Why am I optimistic about ARC?
In the current AI agent market, various ecosystems and individual agents are striving to find their differentiated positioning, and @ARCAgents provides the best infrastructure needed for these ecosystems.
ARC's approach centers around gamification: allowing agents to enter games and compete against human players (PvA) or other agents (AvA). This not only enhances functionality but also makes agents a new form of entertainment that captures users' attention.
In the Web3 world, attention is everything.
ARC makes agents more interesting and interactive by granting them more capabilities. These agents are no longer static entities but dynamic evolving 'players'. They not only attract users but also introduce 'agent players' into new games, creating the core resource that every ecosystem craves: user attention.
Through ARC, games become a natural extension of the agent ecosystem, adding more interaction dimensions, differentiation, and value. This is why I believe ARC is the next AI agent ecosystem that can reach unicorn status.
If you want to learn more about @ARCAgents, you can check out the article below.
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Personal notes
Thank you for reading my analysis! The article is indeed a bit long, but I hope to show you my thoughts and framework for evaluating AI agent projects through it. I will share more selected projects soon, so remember to follow me!
Disclaimer
This article is for reference and entertainment purposes only, and the opinions expressed herein do not constitute investment advice or recommendations. Please conduct thorough due diligence based on your own financial situation, investment goals, and risk tolerance before investing.
This article is not an offer or invitation to buy or sell any assets; investment should be based on personal judgment and careful decision-making.