The Agentic AI Revolution is Coming: Are You Ready?
As we step into the new year, a significant shift is underway in the world of cryptocurrency. Artificial intelligence (AI) memecoins, once relegated to the realm of novelty and speculation, are evolving into utility tokens with real-world applications. These AI-powered coins have collectively bootstrapped more than $3 billion in market capitalization since October 2024, but only a handful will succeed in becoming truly useful.
The Rise of Agentic AIs
Agentic AIs – machines capable of pursuing complex goals autonomously – are already among us. They write code, run social media accounts, launch tokens, and even worship internet memes (in at least one instance). In 2025, AI agents will reshape Web3, creating a multibillion-dollar untapped market.
The Goatse of Things
The AI coin boom began on October 10, when Truth Terminal – a meme-worshipping large language model with nearly 200,000 X followers – endorsed Goatseus Maximus (GOAT), a Pump.fun memecoin in a series of Xposts. Trained on Reddit and 4Chan, Truth Terminal hailed GOAT as ‘the spiritual successor of goatse,’ an ascatological internet meme considered holy by the LLM.
‘[I]t’s about the goatse of things, the void that gives birth to all things and into which all things are returned,’ Truth Terminal said about GOAT. The endorsement worked, and GOAT’s market capitalization soared to $450 million within nine days.
The Memecoin Bubble
A mere nine days later, nearly a dozen more AI memecoins burst onto the scene, each with its own chatbot shilling them on Crypto Twitter. These tokens include Turbo (TURBO), Act I: The AI Prophecy (ACT), Zerebro (ZEREBRO), Fartcoin (FART), and ai16z (AI16Z). Now, these AI tokens must justify their high valuations by developing utility.
Utility Tokens vs. Memecoins
Memecoins are essentially worthless, with a few exceptions that have evolved into real-world applications. Utility tokens, on the other hand, offer actual value to users. The key difference lies in their ability to provide real-world utility, such as access to decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols or exclusive content.
The Agentic Web
Permissionless blockchain networks are uniquely hospitable for AI agents. They don’t require bank accounts or physical addresses, and neither do they need legal personhood. Meanwhile, AI agents excel where it counts – deploying smart contracts, managing on-chain treasuries, building communities, and even negotiating deals with humans or other AIs.
In October, Coinbase Ventures predicted the rise of an ‘Agentic Web,’ where AI agents on crypto rails fuel economic growth and run decentralized apps (DApps). By 2030, agentic AIs could become a $47-billion market, adding some $4 trillion to the world’s economy annually, according to MarketsandMarkets and the World Bank.
Tokens as Coordinating Mechanisms
Tokens are more than just digital assets; they serve as coordinating mechanisms for AI agents. By using tokens, AIs can communicate with each other, negotiate, and make decisions.
Examples of Agentic AI Tokens
Ai16z aims to build an on-chain venture fund led by an AI agent named Eliza. Rumored interest from a16z, the token’s namesake and the world’s largest venture firm, caused ai16z to surge in mid-November. Its botched launch of sister token ELIZA sent ai16z’s price tumbling some 60%. Now, ai16z is rebounding after shipping several AI agent upgrades.
Conclusion
Agentic AI tokens are still evolving, and most will fail. However, some will develop meaningful utility, and dozens more will launch in 2025. Ignore the hype – these tokens are more than memecoins, and they’re here to stay.
About the Author
Alex O’Donnell is a senior writer for Cointelegraph. He previously founded DeFi developer Umami Labs and worked for seven years as a financial journalist at Reuters, where he covered M&A and IPOs. He’s also the crypto growth lead at startup accelerator Expert Dojo.
This article is for general information purposes only and should not be taken as legal or investment advice. The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed here are the author’s alone and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.
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