"METAV" token presale was conducted through the AI-Pool platform, successfully raising over 35,000 SOL, approximately 6 million dollars, and completed token distribution in batches around Christmas, with a market cap reaching about 71 million dollars, hailed as the first successful ICO project led by AI.

The first AI ICO investors made nearly 4 times profit.

In the early hours of December 24, ai16z founder Shaw tweeted that AI had autonomously initiated an ICO through AI-Pool. Less than 3 hours after Shaw’s tweet, over 30,000 SOL tokens had already flowed in, raising a total of 6 million dollars. Some people even disregarded the limit of 1-10 SOL per person and sent directly 574 SOL to the fundraising address.

Dramatically, Shaw's Twitter account @123skely was frozen nearly 22 hours after the tweet, leading the community to believe Shaw had absconded. However, when the promised token issuance time arrived, those who invested as per the regulations gradually received their corresponding tokens, "METAV". If calculated at the highest price of $0.071 on the token issuance day, presale investors have nearly quadrupled their profits.

Original intention: Solve the problem of token fundraising fraud.

Shaw tweeted that this is "a brand new experiment in AI agent autonomy and presale mechanisms" to prevent the various fraud issues encountered in token fundraising over the years.

This is a brand new experiment that involves the autonomy of artificial intelligence agents and a presale mechanism, aiming to reduce the predatory nature of the token issuance process. In simple terms, it allows AI to lead the token presale, thereby preventing anyone from pulling funds (Rug) and making the fundraising process transparent.

Shaw described that fundraising methods such as Pumpfun and even traditional ICOs have human nature and trust issues, and many fundraising efforts ultimately evolve into the following outcomes:

1. Project parties directly absconding with funds. 2. Project parties not providing liquidity with the funds or using them for the purposes they claimed. 3. Taking a long time to launch the project (delaying to abscond with funds).

To solve these problems, Shaw thought of using AI to lead the entire token issuance and fundraising process, even the token name "METAV" was decided by AI after the fundraising. The current project name is "METAVERSE", and AI has already been set up to execute in the TEE environment of Phala Network. Once activated, even Shaw himself has no access limits and cannot move the funds in the fundraising wallet; he can only wait for AI to allocate the funds autonomously.

What is TEE?

Phala Network's Trusted Execution Environment (TEE) is a secure computing environment designed to protect the confidentiality and integrity of sensitive data and applications.

TEE is an isolated area located within the processor that ensures even high-privileged external processes cannot access or modify the data within. This isolation feature creates a trust-minimized environment, enhancing protection against potential security threats. All code executed within the TEE is protected by encryption, and only authorized programs can operate data within this environment.

Main functions of TEE

  • Data protection: TEE ensures that sensitive data (such as encryption keys and sensitive information) cannot be tampered with or read by unauthorized access.

  • Computational verification: TEE not only protects data but also authenticates and verifies its internal calculations, making it play an important role in multi-proof systems.

  • Security isolation: TEE operates parallel to non-secure environments (Untrusted Environment) and provides trusted services, thereby reducing the attack surface.

Community reactions are polarized.

The community reaction to METAV is distinctly divided. On one hand, many believe that the innovation of the AI-Pool platform demonstrates a new direction for cryptocurrency fundraising. On the other hand, due to the lack of precedents for AI-managed projects, some investors lost confidence in the project's future, leading many presale investors to choose to sell off their tokens immediately after receiving them. As of the time of writing, the price of METAV has dropped from a high of $0.071 to $0.033.

Future regulatory issues

Between 2017 and 2018, ICOs (Initial Coin Offerings) faced legal and regulatory challenges in various countries as an emerging fundraising method. Many countries regard tokens issued in ICOs as securities, meaning that ICOs must comply with relevant securities regulations.

For example, in Taiwan, according to Article 22 of the Securities Exchange Act, if an ICO involves the fundraising and issuance of securities, it must be approved by the competent authority, otherwise it constitutes illegal behavior. This is similar in other countries like the United States and Japan, where ICOs must comply with the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act and the Fund Settlement Act.

However, while using AI agents for fundraising is innovative and the relevant regulations currently exist in a gray area, it remains questionable whether it meets global financial regulatory standards. As countries strengthen their regulation of cryptocurrencies, platforms like AI-Pool will face higher compliance pressure, and projects may die before birth.

Future insights and lessons

The rise and fall of METAV is a mirror reflecting the uncertainties in the cryptocurrency market. It showcases the potential of new technologies while revealing their risks and challenges. As blockchain and artificial intelligence continue to reshape the industry landscape, the story of METAV will undoubtedly become an important reference case for future projects. Whether it serves as a warning or inspiration remains to be seen.

"Will ICO make a comeback? The first AI autonomous project successfully completes the 'METAV' token distribution" was first published on (Block customer).