A memecoin was boosted to a $1 billion market cap by an AI agent this year. But the real crypto x AI innovation will come in 2025.
Dec 24, 2024, 2:53 p.m. UTC
The interplay between artificial (AI) intelligence and the crypto ecosystem is one of the most important emerging trends in 2024. This has historically been a major issue on the infrastructure side. It affects various layers of the stack, such as decentralized computing, storage, and model training and analysis. In the last few weeks, the crypto x AI cross-over has been front and center. Agents have appeared and are multiplying in the thousands. The AI agent narrative has been a hot topic in recent months, but we have barely scratched surface of what 2025 will bring. What are AI agents
? AI agents are autonomous programs that perform specific tasks. This could be something as simple as sharing memes via X or as complex as optimizing on-chain trade execution strategies or yield farming. AI agents, unlike standard bots can learn over time best practices and make undefined choices to achieve predefined goals. Imagine them as highly-skilled crypto participants who are capable of navigating the digital world autonomously.
AI agents are valuable not only because of their utility, but also because they can scale human capabilities. Agents are not just tools anymore — they are now participants in the onchain economy, driving innovations across finance, gaming, and decentralized social platforms. It’s easier than ever for developers to create, deploy, and iterate AI Agents that serve a growing number of use cases with protocols like Virtuals and open source frameworks such as ELIZA.
Emerging AI agents
The year 2018 offered a glimpse of the potential applications of AI agents. AI agents are reshaping how we interact with technology and culture. Terminal of Truths, an AI agent based on a satirical religion, was given a grant by Marc Andreesen, a prominent venture capitalist. It gathered over 200,000 followers and became crypto’s first AI KOL.
Although ToT may seem like an anomaly, the proof-of-concept for how AI agents can fuel on-chain activity, build community, and capture attention is a testament to this. Since then, over 11,000 agents on the leading platform Virtuals have been launched. This may seem like a large number but pales in comparison with pump.fun who averages 4x this each and every day. Most of the agents are simple bots which propagate memes. However, we also see agents like aixbt which offers sophisticated investment research and zerebro which creates unique art. These applications might seem niche, but they provide a glimpse of the growing design space in AI agent innovation.
Why the crypto industry is at the forefront of AI agent development
Unlike core AI models developed behind the walls of OpenAI and Anthropic’s walled gardens, AI agents are innovated in trenches within the crypto world. And with good reason. Blockchains are the ideal infrastructure because they provide permissionless and frictionless rails for financial transactions. This allows agents to seed their wallets, transact, and send funds in an autonomous manner, tasks that would not be possible using traditional financial systems.
The open-source nature allows developers to leverage existing frameworks in order to launch and iterate agents faster than before. It’s becoming easier and easier for anyone to launch an agent within minutes, as more platforms like Top Hat gain traction. The financial incentive of agents that gain traction will likely see a rise in prices similar to a memecoin. This could make the creators of these agents a lot of money.
What AI Agents will do in 2025.
2024 laid the groundwork for AI agents. 2025 will be when they scale. Three trends will drive the evolution of AI agents:
Firstly, interactions between humans and agents will increase. Warpcast, a decentralized social platform, has already demonstrated how agents can launch their tokens and trade autonomously. They can also interact with communities. These interactions will become more prevalent as tools for creating agents become easier to use.
Secondly, AI agents will dominate the financial activity on-chain. As developers create agents capable of automating yield strategies and managing wallets, the financial infrastructure for crypto will become more autonomous. Crypto will be the preferred environment for financial artificial intelligence due to its efficiency and adaptability.
Agent-led ecosystems are set to reshape the gaming and entertainment industry. Projects such as Echelon Prime’s parallel colony and Wayfinderpoint to a futuristic future where AI agents will not only play games, but also manage assets and coordinate strategies. They will also drive entire in-game economy. These agents will blur lines between players, developers, and automated participants. This will create new dynamics in virtual worlds.
AI agents are a new chapter in both artificial intelligence technology and blockchain technology. While the applications that we’ve seen thus far — from memecoins and agent-led communities to ad-hoc communities — may seem experimental, they are a preview of what these agents will do as they scale.
Note : The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily represent those of CoinDesk, Inc., or its owners and affiliated companies.
Jack Purdy (
Jack Purdy]is the Director of Messari’s Sales. He joined the company as a research analyst in 2019. After identifying the need for better investor relationships, he created and built Messari Protocol Services, which now manages financial reporting for over 100 teams. Purdy hosts The Protocol Services Podcast, where he interviews teams that provide core services for top projects.
