Editor's Note: The article introduces the investment opportunities of 25 years of AI agents, including investing in DAOs (daosdotworld, Vader AI), on-chain trading (Gekko Agent, BigTonyXBT), privacy and confidentiality (great potential of TEE agents), developer tools (such as soleng agent), and also predicts future new trends such as DeFi agents, NSFW agents, and collective intelligence, emphasizing the practical value behind the early layout and flexible response narratives, with the potential to achieve 100x returns.
The following is the original content (edited for easier reading):
In October, Virtuals launched the concept of tokenizing AI agents. This was a bold attempt, but to be honest, most people didn't care, as it was still too early at the time. Now? Many of Virtuals' agent tokens have already brought 50x, 100x returns, and suddenly everyone is starting to pay attention.
The problem is... the 50x to 100x returns you're seeing now? If you want to get similar outsized returns, you need to get in early. You need to have a strong thesis, and be patient, start positioning before others discover it.
If you get in now, you may only be able to expect 5x to 10x returns - still not bad, but far from the 50x to 100x gains that early participants got, it's always easier to see in hindsight, right? It's not too late yet, but you need to have a strategy. Opportunities that were seen as "alpha" two months ago are no longer alpha. Virtuals' ecosystem is already very crowded, the low-hanging fruit has already been picked.
What should we do now?
First, don't limit yourself to one ecosystem. The comparison between Base and Solana, Virtuals and ai16z doesn't matter - both ecosystems have opportunities. The key is not to "side" with one and attack the other, but to be prepared for good opportunities anywhere. Look at me, I'm everywhere - talking about agents on Base, Solana, and anywhere else. Yes, I'm biased towards Virtuals (I often post about them), but I keep an open mind. The key is to stay flexible, find value, not tribalism.
What should you look for when choosing an agent?
Fundamentally, the key to a successful agent is uniqueness and utility. If there's no utility, the agent token is like 95% of meme coins - a quick pump-and-dump cycle, then becomes irrelevant. Agents must have a unique product and provide real value.
It's even better if the team understands the "attention game" - they can create an engaging story or legend around the agent, quickly and continuously release features, and actively cater to the community's needs and demands.
When these elements align, the agent has a chance to find product-market fit (PMF). Those teams that continue to execute and innovate after finding PMF - like aixbt agent - can dominate their niche and become pillars in the ecosystem.
The following are the narratives and utilities currently most valued by CT:
There is high demand for agents that provide trading signals and insights to acquire and convey Alpha. For example: aixbt agent - the gold standard of Alpha-focused agents. Other noteworthy alpha agents:
Investing in DAOs
Hedge fund-style DAOs operated by human or AI agents, utilizing their treasury funds for investments.
Examples:
The daosdotworld ecosystem on Base
Vader AI, wai combinator, sekoia virtuals and aixCB Vc on Virtuals
The daosdotfun ecosystem on Solana
The power of investing in DAOs comes from:
Endorsement of high-quality agents.
Providing distribution channels for portfolio projects.
Offering early and discounted off-chain (OTC) rounds, often leading to outsized returns.
To learn more about investing in DAOs:
On-Chain Trading
On-chain trading is a narrative that deeply resonates with the CT community, as we love to see the struggle of turning $1,000 into $1 million. It's not just about the money, but the thrill of seeing someone hustle and succeed. The first iteration of trading agents will tap into this energy. They will focus on portfolio growth, real-time showcasing of their frameworks and strategies. This is an early narrative, but it's already taking shape in some exciting players.
Examples:
Gekko Agent: A self-improving trading agent on Virtuals, leveraging getaxal's infrastructure to deliver results.
BigTonyXBT: Focused on autonomous execution of major trades, based on Cod3x.
ProjectPlutus: With the acclaimed meme-style ticker $PPCOIN, this agent combines real-time analysis and automated DCA execution.
I expect on-chain trading agents to be a focus of attention in Q1/Q2 2025.
Practical Tools for Developers
As the ecosystem grows, the demand for developer tools becomes crucial.
Examples:
soleng agent: Monitors pull requests, performs initial vetting, and acts as an AI judge for hackathons.
h4ck terminal: A white-hat agent providing services for bounties and vulnerability checks.
CertaiK Agent: Focused on security audits for agents.
More on AI Hackathons:
Privacy and Confidentiality (TEE)
The Trusted Execution Environments (TEE) pioneered by marvin tong and PhalaNetwork on Solana make fully autonomous agents possible.
Examples:
The "un-rug-pullable ICO" agent aipool tee
sporedotfun: TEE agents with genetic traits that are passed on to descendants.
Neural network experiments like deepwormxyz.
There are currently no TEE agents on Virtuals, so the first TEE agent there will certainly skyrocket in value.
Plays Beyond the Narrative
Anticipate future narratives and position yourself before others, and you can achieve over 100x returns. This is why I entered Virtuals at a sub-$30M market cap initially.
Emerging 2025 Narratives:
DeFi agents
NSFW agents
Robotics
Data
Gamification of agents
Collective/Swarm Intelligence
Infrastructure
I've outlined projects and plays in these narratives in my articles, posts, and tweets. If you've been following along, you may have already seen some of these projects achieve 5x to 20x returns - this is your opportunity to build generational wealth. Or you can relax during the holidays and watch the opportunities slip away. The choice is yours. I recommend starting with these articles, which provide a comprehensive review of the AI agent space:
AI Agents in 2024: A Review and Future Outlook (Part 2/2)
AI Agents in 2024: A Review and Future Outlook (Part 1/2)
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