Author: William M. Peaster, Bankless; Translated by: Deng Tong, Jinse Finance
The Base NFT scene is still very open. Now is the best time for NFT collectibles to rise and become the L2 dominant profile picture (PFP) project.
What is the most promising collectible in the next six months? In my opinion, it is Onchain Gaias.
Onchain Gaias is more than just your average PFP project — it already has a cult following, and it’s growing at the intersection of AI, gaming, and Farcaster in a way that’s never been seen before in crypto.
With the series' art reveal just around the corner, and as work on its AI continues to progress, now is a good time to take a closer look at these super PFPs.
Here’s everything you need to know about these promising Base NFTs!
What is Onchain Gaias?
Onchain Gaias, led by Ciniz and artist Anton Marrast, launched in March 2024 via Warpcast, issuing 5,556 free passes dubbed “Degen’s Golden Tickets.”
These passes will be redeemable for Onchain Gaias PFP at a 1:1 ratio upon completion of the upcoming artwork.
Initially, people were mainly excited about the prospect of a new top-tier Base series, and anticipation quickly grew as creators began teasing the game's development in advance.
A month after launch, Gaias’ floor price peaked at 1.25 ETH after the team released its initial whitepaper, confirming the gaming plans and an ambitious decentralized AI training system centered around gaming.
After a pre-launch lull and a small NFT bull run on Base this spring, the series has cooled somewhat. Still, it is by far the most traded of all NFT series on Base, facilitating 4,000 ETH worth of trades, and the volume is still increasing, making it one of the most traded projects on L2.
How Onchain Gaias works
While Onchain Gaias’ development is still in its early stages, the project has already released two white papers that spell out its future plans.
The first white paper, published in April 2024, introduced the basic concepts of Onchain Gaias and outlined the core vision and mechanisms of the project, centered on the General Artificial Intelligence Agent (GAIA) and its role in decentralized AI development.
In short, the white paper proposes a network that can train AI models through games, using blockchain technology for transparency and security. It also outlines the basics of a modular game engine system and an AI model marketplace.
A second white paper, published in May 2024, builds on these initial concepts and introduces more detailed plans and innovations, such as the Onchain Universal Intelligent Network and the Armory Marketplace (Intelligence as a Service) and Foundry Marketplace (Transfer Learning as a Service) platforms.
The second white paper also explains the incentive and governance scheme, and makes it clear that only Onchain Gaias NFT holders will be able to create and profit from cloned AI agents in this new ecosystem.
What is the first Onchain Gaias game?
Currently, the Onchain Gaias team is in the initial “try and see” phase of its gaming ecosystem. To this end, it has launched its first initial training game in Henlo Kart.
Henlo Kart, fully deployed in Farcaster Frame on Warpcast, is a racing game designed to train primitive AI agents on-chain through user interactions.
In short, players bet, gain experience points (XP), and level up, all of which contribute to the potential of the AI agent. In addition, players will receive a currently undisclosed allocation of tokens in future releases.
As the Onchain Gaias team continues to iterate, more optimized versions of Henlo Kart are expected to be released, as well as more complex and community-built games, further expanding the functionality and possibilities of GAIA.
What to watch out for in the future?
Onchain Gaias is a unique project at this point, but it has also only just begun to delve into its ambitious development plans, so the project still has a lot of work to do to realize its full vision.
That being said, there are some big open issues worth keeping an eye on in the future if you’re interested in following the team’s progress. The 10 main issues that come to mind right now are:
How will the community and market react to the final art display of Onchain Gaias PFP?
How effective will Henlo Kart and subsequent games be in engaging players and training AI agents?
What other projects might integrate GAIA once there are many well-trained and more sophisticated agents?
Is the upcoming unnamed token a hint at a new fungible utility token for the wider Onchain Gaias ecosystem?
How will any added token economics impact player engagement, agent training, and overall market dynamics?
How will the continued advancement of Farcaster’s tools impact the overall growth and innovation of the platform?
Are the incentives in the program sufficient to sustain long-term participation?
How will the Armory and Foundry markets evolve, and which types of AI models will gain the most attention?
As Onchain Gaias’ on-chain infrastructure needs increase, will it release its own L3 on top of Base?
Can Onchain Gaias match or exceed the training efficiency and intelligence level of well-known AI agents in the public domain?
Why Onchain Gaias is important
Onchain Gaias has the potential to become the most dominant PFP project on Base in the foreseeable future, but its prospects are greater than the average PFP project. The fusion of AI, Farcaster, and gaming creates a unique value proposition that goes beyond ordinary digital collectibles.
Long story short, by allowing everyday users to participate in AI training through fun games, Onchain Gaias is not only building a digital art collection, but also fostering a community-driven platform that could have a significant impact on the intersection of AI and blockchain technology. If you’re looking for Base projects to explore, this should definitely be one of your shortlist!
