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 most people didn't care at the time because it was too ahead of its time.

Today, Virtuals has brought 50x and 100x returns to many agents, and suddenly everyone is starting to pay attention.

The problem is that everyone is focused on 50-100x returns. If you want similar excessive returns, you need to 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 stable, but far from the 50-100x returns achieved by early adopters. But that doesn't mean it's too late; you need to have strategic foresight. What was 'alpha' two months ago 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 confine yourself to one ecosystem. Base and Solana, Virtuals and ai16z do not matter—both ecosystems have opportunities. The key is to stay flexible and seek value, not tribalism.

What should you value when selecting an agent?

Essentially, the key to a successful agent is uniqueness and utility. Without utility, the behavior of agent tokens becomes irrelevant, much like 95% of memecoins after the hype cycle.

Agents need to have unique products that provide tangible value. If the team truly grasps the attention game, it can be a plus:

  • 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 have the potential to find product-market fit (PMF), achieving alignment between product and market, after which those teams that consistently execute and innovate (like aixbt) can dominate their niche and become pillars of the ecosystem.

Here are the narratives and utilities that CT currently values the most:

1. Seek Alpha

There is a high demand for agents providing trading signals and insights. For example, aixbt focuses on delivering valuable alpha to users.

Other alpha agents worth noting:

  • Rei: Provides comprehensive token and sentiment analysis, accompanied by detailed charts

  • Agent Scarlett: Focuses on token analysis, weighing pros and cons, and providing insights.

  • 3σ: Covering complete project segmentation and interpretation

  • kwantxbt: Specializes in technical analysis, providing trading assistants that can sustainably monitor market dynamics and offer real-time analysis and advice.

  • $TRUST: perp agent, customizable with entry price, stop-loss, etc.

2. Invest in DAO

Hedge fund-style DAOs operated by human or AI agents, utilizing their funds for investment.

Example:

  • daos.world ecosystem on Base

  • VaderAI, WAI Combinator, sekoia_virtuals, aixcb on Virtuals

  • daos.fun ecosystem on Solana

The strength of investing in DAOs lies in their ability to provide:

  • Endorsement of high-quality agents

  • Distribution channels for portfolio projects

  • Early and off-market trading rounds of tokens often yield excessive returns

3. On-chain trading

On-chain trading is a narrative that resonates deeply with the CT crowd because they love to see someone turn $1,000 into $1 million.

It's not just about the money, but the thrill of seeing others work hard and succeed.

The first iteration of trading agents will leverage this energy. They will focus on portfolio growth, showcasing their frameworks and strategies in real-time. Although this is an early narrative, it is gradually taking shape among some players.

Example:

  • Gekko AI: Self-improving trading agent on Virtuals, leveraging Axal's infrastructure to deliver results.

  • Big Tony: Built on Cod3x, focusing on autonomous execution of professional trading.

  • Project Plutus: Combining real-time analysis with automated DCA execution.

  • On-chain trading agents are expected to become a focal point of market attention in Q1/Q2 2025.

4. Development-centered utilities

As the ecosystem evolves, the demand for developer tools becomes critical.

Example:

  • SOLENG: Monitors pull requests, conducts preliminary reviews, and serves as an AI judge for hackathons.

  • H4CK Terminal: White-hat agent responsible for bounties and vulnerability checks.

  • CertaiK: Specializing in security audits for agents.

5. Privacy and confidentiality (TEE)

The Trusted Execution Environment (TEE) pioneered by Marvin Tong on Solana and Phala Network enables fully autonomous agents.

Example use cases/cool experiments:

  • aiPool's 'Unruggable ICO' (Through TEE technology, investors can send funds to the agent, which will calculate and distribute the corresponding amount of ICO tokens in a secure environment.)

  • SPORE: TEE agents with genetic traits passed on to descendants.

  • Neural network experiments, such as DeepWorm.

There are currently no TEE agents on Virtuals, and the first to launch will surely see its value soar.

6. Gameplay beyond narrative

Anticipating future narratives can yield returns exceeding a hundred times. This was the strategy to enter Virtuals when its market cap was under $30 million.

Emerging narratives for 2025:

  • DeFi agents

  • NSFW agents (AI companions)

  • Robotics

  • Data

  • Gamification of agents

  • Crowd/Collective intelligence

  • Infrastructure