In this wave of AI + Crypto project boom, I have a very cautious attitude towards the vast majority of projects until I saw Coinbase use AI agents to send cryptocurrency transactions for the first time on the Base layer-two network.
I believe this is a milestone event for the application of AI combined with blockchain technology, and I couldn't contain my excitement, writing (A major step in the AI + blockchain split) on September 2.
I believe that in the future, a large number of operations in the cryptocurrency network will not be conducted by humans but by AI agents, because I increasingly think that cryptocurrency assets and transactions are simply tailor-made for AI agents.
But regarding how AI agents can further unleash their potential in the crypto ecosystem or how crypto assets and technologies can assist AI agents, I don't have a clear understanding; I can only think and observe.
Later, when I saw ORA (https://www.ora.io/) propose the IMO model, which uses the 1CO method to fund the development of open-source language models, I began to have expectations for this model (August 21, "Interpreting the new funding model for AI: IMO"), but unfortunately, this method has not become popular since then.
Later, Truth Terminal initiated the meme coin GOAT through an AI agent, which seemed to give me a glimmer of hope—AI agents began to participate in the operation and interaction of the project, which is a significant step forward from Coinbase merely using agents to send transactions. Although the project itself is a meme coin with no practical use, this scenario shows us various possibilities for the combination of AI agents and blockchain applications.
While observing GOAT, I noticed the Virtuals Protocol (October 31st, "AI agent hunting meme, is it the next hot narrative of web 3"). It uses the 1CO method to fund the construction and development of AI agents and has built a platform to finance these projects https://app.virtuals.io/.
However, at that time, there were not many projects on the platform; there were only a few sparse ones. Moreover, after looking at some project introductions, I couldn't see any highlights.
But at least this is another way to use cryptocurrency assets to assist AI development after IMO.
I didn't expect that after more than a month, the projects on the Virtuals platform would start to explode.
Many people regard the tokens on this platform as meme coins—believing that the projects behind them have no practical value. However, I have tested several projects' AI agents, and some of them are quite competent.
Coincidentally, over the weekend, Deep Tide published an interview with the co-founder of Virtuals Protocol, which gave me a deeper understanding of this project.
The link to this interview is at the end of the article, and I suggest everyone read this interview carefully.
When I look at any project, the primary focus is on the project's founder, paying attention to their experience, vision, and values. This interview reflects the performance of this co-founder in these aspects very well.
I have extracted several impressive segments from the interview:
"Regarding AI Agents, we firmly believe that a form called AIRPG will definitely emerge in future game categories."
"I believe the future world will be like this: you will have a virtual world with 100 different AI Agents, each with different personalities. As players, we can go in to date, be interest maniacs, pursue becoming the richest person in the world, and so on. These AI Agents can make money because they are independent entities with their own wallets. From a productivity perspective, they have cash flow, so we can tokenize them. This is the overall framework we have always established."
"An Agent that wants to become popular might not write songs; it can pay other Agents to write a song; or if it needs cryptocurrency data analysis, it can find another Agent specialized in that area. This creates an Autonomous Agent Economy or Agent Commerce, where Agents can trade with each other because each Agent has its own wallet and can pay service fees to achieve its goals."
"We do not want to become Pump.fun; this is not our profit model. Our KPI is to attract excellent AI developers."
"I believe that in the next four years, after Trump takes office, America will become a very crypto-friendly country. And Base is the most 'American' ecosystem in the global ecosystem; there is no ecosystem more American than Base. From a strategic perspective, choosing Base is the best decision right now."
"Cryptocurrency values freedom the most; Permissionless is the first principle."
There are quite a few exciting segments in this interview, and I won't list them all one by one.
I strongly agree with this founder's understanding and vision of AI agents, the crypto ecosystem, and many other aspects.
Examining the progress of Virtuals during this time, the application of financing AI agents through cryptocurrency assets is unfolding and accelerating.
Whether this method will be feasible still needs further observation. Even if it works, its future may not be smooth sailing; 99% of the projects on the platform may eventually fail, but as long as one top project can emerge from this method, it would be greatly beneficial—Ethereum is the one that was born from the 1CO model and is the most successful. This one case is enough to make 1CO historic.
Reference link:
https://www.techflowpost.com/article/detail_21958.html
