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2024 was the year where after decades of independent evolution, the convergence of AI and blockchain technology finally took shape, driven more by necessity than by opportunity.
The combined MCap of leading AI based projects surged ~ 350% from $16 Bn to $70 Bn in 2024 primarily driven by increased adoption of projects such as Render, Fetch.ai, Bittensor and more.
Key Developments
Rise of AI Agents
One of the major trends of 2024 was the emergence of AI agents and their diverse use cases within the Web3 ecosystem. For instance, AI agents can be deployed to analyze market trends, predict price movements, and even automate trading strategies in DeFi protocols. The rise of AI agents in crypto was exemplified by the explosive success of Terminal of Truths (ToT) and its $GOAT memecoin, which skyrocketed to a Mcap exceeding $800 Mn.
Total Agents Deployed and Revenue (Virtuals.io)
The impact of AI agents in the Web3 world was witnessed with the rapid growth of Virtuals.io, a protocol which simplifies AI agent deployment by offering a “plug-and-play” solution for developers while allowing users to monetize and co-own AI agents. The protocol’s Mcap surged to ~ $1.95 Bn, as it earned a cumulative revenue of ~ $45 Mn with ~ 550 agents deployed within 4 months of its launch.
AI DAOs
AI-powered DAOs emerged as another revolutionary trend, combining decentralized governance with autonomous decision-making.
MCap of $ai16z
The ai16Z DAO was one standout player in this domain. It essentially functions like a hedge fund, where members invest via tokens, and an AI agent, “Marc AIndreessen,” autonomously manages investments to grow the fund. Unlike traditional VCs, anyone can participate, bypassing accreditation requirements. Using the open-source “Eliza” framework, AI Marc makes independent decisions, disrupting both the DAO and venture capital models. Within a couple of months of its launch, the protocol’s token has already surged to a Mcap of ~ $800 Mn.
Node Sales
Another narrative that took the industry by storm was “Node Sales”. Many projects conducted their node sales and raised millions. For instance, Aethir raised $135 Mn for building a decentralized cloud infrastructure, and Sophon raised ~ $60 Mn for creating a user-friendly environment for content creation, & distribution.
Continued Investor Interest
AI based projects continued to attract funding in 2024 and netted ~ $525 Mn with most of them being in the pre-seed or seed stage and largely focused on infrastructure. For instance, Sentient raised ~ $85 Mn, Vana raised ~ $25 Mn and Prodia raised ~ $15 Mn.
Outlook for 2025
The integration of AI agents in Web3 is likely to emerge as one the trending narratives of 2025 as AI agents become more capable and proficient in executing complex tasks such as managing crypto wallets, signing keys, and assets independently, enabling roles like verifying nodes in decentralized infrastructure (DePIN), and more.
We are likely to see a boom of decentralized autonomous chatbots (DACs), operating in Trusted Execution Environments (TEEs) to prove their autonomy without human control. Running on permissionless networks coordinated by consensus protocols, DACs have the potential to become groundbreaking entities, even achieving billion-dollar valuations, though regulatory frameworks will need to evolve to address emerging risks.
The potential universe of AI agents interacting with crypto is infinite. For instance, VanEck predicts the number of AI agents operational within the Web3 ecosystem to reach over 1 Mn by 2025 from 10K.
Why Check Out Our Full Report?
Our comprehensive report, “Crypto Outlook 2025”, provides an in-depth analysis of the evolving crypto landscape. It features deep insights into key verticals, & emerging narratives, along with expert opinion on different sectors.
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