Original title: Random Sunday Thoughts on What Comes After Agent Tokenization?
Author: Defi0xJeff, Crypto Kol
Compiled by: zhouzhou, BlockBeats
Editor’s note: This article discusses the trend of tokenization and its future developments, covering the progress of tokenization in areas such as assets, art, earnings, and AI agents, introducing how various pioneers of tokenization are driving industry change, and exploring possible future trends in tokenization including data, attention, and AI applications. Tokenization is not just a technological innovation; it is also a force that changes how people interact and creates new opportunities.
The following is the original content (for readability, the original content has been edited):
The concept of tokenization has always fascinated me; it seems simple, but whenever something new is tokenized, everyone’s attention quickly shifts to it.
Here is a summary of some tokenization trends we have seen so far, looking at how they have developed and what might happen in the future:
Tokenization of assets
The initial trend of tokenization.
Bitcoin created the first decentralized, secure, and transparent ledger system, paving the way for digital representation of assets. Subsequently, the emergence of Ethereum in 2015 introduced smart contracts, allowing assets to be programmable—whether real estate, artworks, or DeFi.
Today, the market value of Ethereum has reached $470 billion, showcasing the impact of tokenization on assets.
Tokenization of art (NFTs)
The rise of NFTs introduced tokenization into the art world.
In 2017, projects like CryptoPunks and CryptoKitties brought NFTs into the public eye. By 2021, NFT trading volume reached $13 billion, becoming the preferred way to represent digital art and collectibles. Many collectibles like CryptoPunks, BAYC, and Art Blocks peaked at prices in the millions of dollars in 2021.
Tokenization of earnings
Another significant change is the tokenization of earnings.
Pendle fi first proposed the concept of tokenizing future earnings in 2021. It created a market that allows trading of fixed and variable income, adding flexibility and liquidity to DeFi. Pendle began to grow rapidly in 2023, especially in the LST (liquid staking tokens) and points market in early 2024.
Today, the market value of $PENDLE is $1.6 billion.
Tokenization of AI agents
Now, we are seeing the tokenization of AI agents.
Virtuals io launched a platform where users can create AI agents and tokenize them, effectively funding their development costs.
The concept of AI agents began in October 2024, and Virtuals created a market for agent ownership. To date, the market value of $VIRTUAL has reached $2.5 billion.
What is the next big trend in tokenization?
In these fields—assets, art, earnings, AI agents—we can see a clear pattern: pioneers in each field often experience rapid adoption and significant price volatility.
Here are some ideas I am currently focused on:
Tokenization of data
withvana is exploring DataDAOs and Data Liquidity Pools (DLPs).
Users can contribute data to these pools, maintain data ownership, and receive rewards based on the quality of their contributions.
Essentially, it turns data into a liquid, tradable asset.
$VANA will be launched on December 16, and the concept of data ownership tokenization could be very substantial.
Tokenization of attention
kai to ai is working on attention tokenization in Web3, demonstrating their ability to generate and facilitate more attention through platforms, mental sharing dashboards, and the recent Yap-to-Earn feature.
Their Yap per leaderboard incentivizes thought leaders to speak out more, earn Yap points, and ultimately receive airdropped $KAITO tokens.
Essentially, Yap = Attention = $KAITO. This is an interesting way to showcase how Web3 is redefining user engagement.
Tokenization of AI applications
This looks like a natural extension of the AI agent trend.
With the rise of tools and agent ecosystems like Replit, we are getting closer to personalized software creation.
Tokenized AI applications allow users to initiate development and own a share of the revenue generated by the applications.
Competitors in this space include the alchemist AI app and myshell ai, both empowering creators to build revenue-generating AI applications with practical and scalable use cases.
Myshell goes a step further by allowing investors to directly invest in these applications and receive a share of the revenue generated by the applications in the future. This model not only supports development but also aligns the interests of creators and investors.
Final thoughts
The trend of tokenization always brings new waves of innovation and adoption, but what excites people is not just the technology itself—but how they bring people together and shift the focus to new opportunities.
