Throughout the weekend, I was searching online for information about AI agents and found a very valuable article as well as an interesting case study.
Before sharing this article and case study, let me first introduce two phenomena on the Virtuals platform.
In previous articles, I have mentioned the Virtuals AI agent platform several times.
This platform has a strong empowering action for tokens in the financial sector - it requires that all AI agent tokens issued on the platform must be exchanged and purchased using the platform token (VIRTUAL). So the platform token has become the entry point for these AI agent tokens.
In addition, some projects on the Virtuals platform have imitated the gameplay of Bitcoin ecosystem token airdrops: they give airdrops to diamond-handed veteran players - holders of VIRTUAL tokens receive airdrops, and holders of LUNA tokens receive double airdrops...
To my knowledge, three projects (MUSIC, PH, AIYP) have done this, and I believe that future imitators will only become more numerous.
Now let me share the article mentioned above (the link is attached at the end).
After reading this article, I regret that I did not discover it earlier, otherwise my understanding of AI agents would be deeper and more refined today.
This article has many brilliant points, one of which can enrich our imagination about the potential real-world applications of AI agents. The original words (and translation) of the article are as follows:
"
This model is very suitable for NFT brands that already have a community, and @yugacohler from Coinbase has given his own suggestion:
NFT brands should launch their own AI agents on @virtuals_io, interact with their communities and distribute their own tokens
There should be a CryptoPunk agent
There should be a Pudgy Penguin agent
and
There should be a Remilio Milady agent
"
Putting aside the speaker's intention to promote the platform, just looking at this idea, the future use cases of AI agents will be extremely broad and they may become an essential part of project operations.
Seeing this passage, I was reminded of the view I shared in previous articles when Ethereum's layer-2 scaling solutions started to gain traction:
I believe that more and more projects (especially those zombie projects) will try to boost their popularity and revive their projects by launching their own layer-2 solutions. Later, Magic started to launch its own layer-2, BAYC started to launch its own layer-2 Apechain, and even Uniswap launched its own Unichain.
And now, AI agents are starting to heat up. Is it possible that these zombie projects will try to launch their own AI agent tokens to gather attention and attract more capital, riding on this new trend?
I believe this is very likely. And there is an ongoing event in the NFT ecosystem that makes me even more convinced of this.
When it comes to the NFT ecosystem, besides CryptoPunks, the first brand that most of us can think of is BAYC. But now this position has been surpassed by Pudgy Penguins. As of the time of writing, the floor price of Pudgy Penguins has already exceeded 34 ETH, while BAYC is less than 20 ETH.
This overtaking has happened in the recent period, and I believe a direct factor triggering this overtaking is token issuance.
Facing such momentum from competitors, if BAYC wants to regain its former position, apart from better planning for long-term development, I don't see any good short-term solutions.
If I have to say, there is only one: issuing tokens.
But the problem is, BAYC has already issued Ape in the previous round, so what else can they issue now?
Not only have they issued tokens, they have also built their own layer-2 expansion ApeChain, so it seems they have exhausted all the means available.
Of course, there are recent rumors that BAYC is raising $500 million from a16z. But such positive news is only beneficial in the long run, and its short-term stimulating and boosting effect on the project is very limited.
However, if we think about the thriving AI agents, the way forward becomes clear.
If BAYC borrows the AI agent trend to issue another round of AI agent tokens, allocating a portion to airdrop to their NFT and Ape token holders, and another portion for public fundraising, its momentum and token price may well surge in the short term.
And issuing AI agents is not just about token issuance, it is also a need for project operations.
Moreover, AI agents are also a focus and area of optimism for BAYC's old partner a16z.
This kind of win-win situation that satisfies both investor and community preferences is the best outcome.
Of course, this is purely my speculation, and whether things will develop this way, let's wait and see.
