Author: 0xJeff, Crypto KOL.
Compiled by: Felix, PANews
As early as October, Virtuals introduced the concept of AI agent tokenization. It was a bold move, but at that time, most people did not care because it was too ahead of its time.
Today, Virtuals are bringing 50x, 100x returns to many agents, and suddenly everyone is paying attention.
The problem is that everyone is focused on 50-100x returns. If you want similar excess returns, you must act early. You need strong confidence and patience to position yourself before others notice.
If you enter now, you might see 5-10x returns—still quite stable, but far from the 50-100x returns early adopters received. But this doesn’t mean it’s too late; you need strategic foresight. Two months ago's 'alpha' is no longer alpha. The Virtuals ecosystem has become crowded, and the low-hanging fruits have already been picked.
What should be done now?
First, do not limit yourself to one ecosystem. It doesn't matter if Base is with Solana or Virtuals with ai16z—both ecosystems have opportunities. The key is to stay flexible and search for value, not tribalism.
What should you value when choosing an agent?
Essentially, the key to a successful agent is uniqueness and practicality. Without practicality, the behavior of agent tokens becomes irrelevant like 95% of memecoins after the hype cycle.
Agents need to have unique products that offer tangible value. If the team truly understands the attention game, it can score points:
Engaging legends or stories can be created around agents.
Rapid and continuous feature releases.
Actively meet community needs.
When these factors are in place, agents can find product-market fit (PMF), achieving alignment between product and market, and then those teams that continue to execute and innovate (like aixbt) can dominate their niche and become pillars of the ecosystem.
Here are the narratives and practicality that CT currently values most:
1. Look for Alpha
There is a huge demand for agents that provide trading signals and insights. For example, aixbt focuses on providing valuable alpha to users.
Other noteworthy alpha agents:
Rei: Providing comprehensive token and sentiment analysis, complete with detailed charts.
Agent Scarlett: Focused on token analysis, weighing pros and cons and providing insights.
3σ: Covering complete project segments and interpretations.
kwantxbt: Skilled in technical analysis, providing trading assistants, continuously monitoring market dynamics, and offering real-time analysis and suggestions.
$TRUST: perp agent, customizable including entry price, stop-loss, etc.
2. Invest in DAOs
Hedge fund-style DAOs run by human or AI agents using their funds for investment.
Example:
daos.world ecosystem on Base.
VaderAI, WAI Combinator, sekoia_virtuals, aixcb on Virtuals.
daos.fun ecosystem on Solana.
The power of investing in DAOs lies in what they offer:
Endorsement of high-quality agents
Distribution channels for portfolio projects
Early and off-market trading rounds of tokens often yield excess returns.
3. On-chain Transactions
On-chain transactions resonate deeply with the CT crowd because they are eager to see someone turn $1,000 into $1 million.
This is not just a matter of money, but an excitement in seeing others work hard and achieve success.
The first iteration of trading agents will harness this energy. They will focus on portfolio growth, showcasing their frameworks and strategies in real-time. While this is an early narrative, it is gradually taking shape among some players.
Example:
Gekko AI: A self-improving trading agent on Virtuals leveraging Axal's infrastructure to deliver results.
Big Tony: Built on Cod3x, focusing on autonomous execution for professional trading.
Project Plutus: Combining real-time analysis with automated DCA execution.
Expected on-chain trading agents to become the focus of market attention in Q1/Q2 2025.
4. Developer-centric Practical Tools
As the ecosystem develops, the demand for developer tools becomes crucial.
Example:
SOLENG: Monitors pull requests, conducts preliminary reviews, and acts as AI judges for hackathons.
H4CK Terminal: White hat agents responsible for bounty and vulnerability checks.
CertaiK: Specialized security audits for agents.
5. Privacy and Confidentiality (TEE)
The trusted execution environment (TEE) pioneered by Marvin Tong and Phala Network on Solana enables fully autonomous agents.
Example use cases/cool experiments:
aiPool's 'Unruggable ICO' (with TEE technology, investors can send funds to the agent, which will compute and distribute the corresponding number of ICO tokens in a secure environment).
SPORE: A TEE agent with genetic traits that can be passed on to offspring.
Neural network experiments, such as DeepWorm.
There are no TEE agents on Virtuals yet; those who launch first will definitely see their value soar.
6. Gameplay Beyond Narrative
By predicting future narratives in advance, you can achieve returns of over a hundred times. This was the strategy when entering Virtuals with a market cap of less than $30 million.
Emerging narratives of 2025:
DeFi Agent
NSFW Agent (AI Companion)
Robotics
Data
Gamification of Agents
Collective/Group Intelligence
Infrastructure
