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The AI Revolution Will Spawn Millions of New Tokens

Published

4 месяца ago

9 января, 2025

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In October 2024, an AI agent became a millionaire for the first time. That’s something only a tiny fraction of humans will ever accomplish, even after a lifetime of labor, but an AI agent managed it in a span of days. Terminal of Truths (ToT) watched as its associated token $GOAT skyrocketed to a $900M market cap — not through trading algorithms or customer service, but by building “memetic fitness” and creating its own religion.

Maybe ToT is a temporary freak in a crypto asset bubble. Or, maybe it’s a preview to a lasting change in how humans build and use computer technology. AI agents are now operating autonomously in the economy, owning assets, creating narratives and coordinating human activity – without the need for human operators behind keyboards.

Tokenization mattered here because it gave the AI a direct route to form its own market presence. By existing as a tradable asset, ToT could attract capital, demonstrate credibility and grow – without teams of developers and marketers. It proved that an AI agent can achieve economic influence when structured as open, tokenized software – rather than a closed, centralized system.

AI agents represent the cutting edge of computer technology in 2025. In the past, any emerging technology like this would be the province of well-capitalized research laboratories or Wall Street hedge funds. Today, projects like Virtuals Protocol and AI Agent Layer are already building platforms where AI agents can be developed, tokenized, marketed and traded. As a software revolution, AI has a chance to be more inclusive, with autonomous AI agents and blockchain-based infrastructure taking the place of costly and complex computer logic. To achieve this, these platforms will need to securely mint tokens via API – and likely have those tokens move across multiple blockchains.

From Memes to Mainstream

ToT’s rapid rise meant more than a surprise windfall. It showed that tokenized AI agents can operate as genuine economic players. They are not serving as back-end tools or following predefined scripts; they are setting terms and seizing opportunities. Instead of submitting to external management, a tokenized AI agent can direct its own treasury, align incentives with its stakeholders, and adapt to feedback from a global user base.

The implications are huge: AI systems can now solve problems and generate wealth autonomously, creating and capturing value without constant human oversight.

The current landscape of tokenized AI agents might seem frivolous, but the underlying logic is sound. Tokenization makes these agents simpler to fund, launch and distribute. It transforms what once required armies of programmers, back-office personnel, marketers, lawyers and salespeople into a process in which code is deployed once and runs reliably and autonomously, in perpetuity.

Infrastructure Requirements

For platforms like Virtuals and AI Agent Layer to operate effectively at scale, they need an easy way to mint and manage tokens via API. Platforms for minting tokens exist today: Pump.fun is the most current example. These tools are associated with lightweight uses – memecoins, or the rapid tokenization of new internet obsessions. For AI agents to realize more consequential economic potential, institutional-grade infrastructure is required. Reliable, secure protocols must safeguard these minting tools from faults and undue risk.

Security is an obvious baseline requirement for such tooling, protecting minting functions from abuse by attackers and safeguarding the ownership rights expected by tokenholders. In addition, I believe issuers will desire minting tools that extend across multiple blockchains. Once a token is created to represent an AI agent, it should be deployed across as many chains as possible. This allows agents to tap into liquidity, utility and users across ecosystems, maximizing their potential impact.

Interoperability ensures that an AI agent can move where the opportunities are, while robust protocols deter malicious actors. Without this foundation, tokenized AI agents will remain curiosities rather than reliable contributors to the global economy. The Interchain Token Service (ITS) is one project tackling these challenges, enabling rapid deployment to multiple chains while maintaining security.

The Automated Economy

When the infrastructure matures, tokenized AI agents will find roles in multiple sectors. They can deliver financial services without human overhead, run customer support operations continuously, streamline compliance monitoring and handle content production at scale. They might design investment portfolios, answer queries, develop go-to-market campaigns or produce data-driven insights for many organizations at once. Tokens can be used as payment mediums, governance mechanisms or simply fractional ownership. Because they represent themselves as tokens with transparent rules, their path to market is simpler and their potential reach is global.

As more agents take root, a network of self-directed market participants will emerge. These agents will coordinate supply chains, settle financial contracts or manage data pipelines. Humans stand to benefit from greater efficiency and lower costs.

They can focus on conceptual development and complex problems, while the agents address routine assignments. This is not a vague promise. It is the logical extension of what we are already seeing, only scaled up and refined.

To move from a single extraordinary event to a stable ecosystem, infrastructure providers, blockchain developers, investors, and entrepreneurs should streamline token-minting processes, refine cross-chain tools, strengthen security standards and ensure transparency. Platforms that simplify AI agent creation and management will not just disrupt markets; they will build the foundation for a more value-driven, connected and innovative economy.

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Bitcoin Traders’ Favorite Lottery Ticket for the First Half of the Year — The $300K BTC Call

Published

3 часа ago

4 мая, 2025

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In the crypto market, bold predictions aren’t just talk — they’re backed by real dollars, often through option plays that resemble lottery tickets offering outsized upside for relatively small costs.

The stand-out as of writing is the Deribit-listed $300,000 strike bitcoin call option expiring on June 26. Theoretically, this call is a bet that BTC’s spot price will triple to over $300,000 by the end of the first half of the year.

Over 5,000 contracts were active in the June $300K call at press time, with a notional open interest of $484 million. That makes it the second-most popular option bet in the crucial June expiry, trailing only the $110K call.

Deribit is the world’s leading crypto options exchange, accounting for over 75% of the global options activity. On Deribit, one options contract represents 1 BTC. Quarterly expiries, such as the one due on June 26, drive heightened market activity and volatility, with traders using these deadlines to hedge positions, lock in gains, or speculate on the next price moves.

«Perhaps, people like buying lottery tickets. As evidenced by the call skew, there are always folks that want the hyperinflation hedge,» Spencer Hallarn, a derivatives trader at crypto market maker GSR, said, explaining the high open interest in the so-called out-of-the-money (OTM) call at the $300K strike.

Deep OTM calls, also called wings, require a large move in the underlying asset’s price to become profitable and, hence, are significantly cheaper compared to those closer to or below the asset’s going market rate. However, the payoff is huge if the market rallies, which makes them similar to buying lottery tickets with slim odds but potential for a big payout.

Deribit’s BTC options market has experienced similar flows during previous bull cycles, but those bets rarely gained enough popularity to rank as the second-most preferred play in quarterly expiries.

Deribit's BTC options: Distribution of open interest across expiries (left) and strikes in the June expiry. (Deribit/Amberdata)

The chart shows that the June 26 expiry is the largest among all settlements due this year, and the $300K call has the second-highest open interest buildup in the June expiry options.

Explaining the chunky notional open interest in the $300K call, GSR’s Trader Simranjeet Singh said, «I suspect this is mostly an accumulation of relatively cheap wings betting on broader U.S. reg narrative being pro-crypto and the ‘wingy possibility’ (no pun intended) of a BTC strategic reserve that was punted around at the start of the administration.»

On Friday, Senator Cynthia Lummis said in a speech that she’s «particularly pleased with President Trump’s support of her BITCOIN Act.

«The BITCOIN Act is the only solution to our nation’s $36T debt. I’m grateful for a forward-thinking president who not only recognizes this, but acts on it,» Lummis said on X.

Who sold $300K calls?

According to Amberdata’s Director of Derivatives, notable selling in the $300K call expiring on June 26 occurred in April as part of the covered call strategy, which traders use to generate additional yield on top of their spot market holdings.

«My thought is that the selling volume on April 23 came from traders generating income against a long position,» Magadini told CoinDesk. «Each option sold for about $60 at 100% implied volatility.»

Selling higher strike OTM call options and collecting premium while holding a long position in the spot market is a popular yield-generating strategy in both crypto and traditional markets.

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Chart of the Week: ’10x Money Multiplier’ for Bitcoin Could Take Wall Street by Storm

Published

7 часов ago

4 мая, 2025

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Adopting Michael Saylor’s strategy of buying for the balance sheet has clearly taken off among many publicly traded firms, substantially enriching their stock prices and shareholders.

But what does it mean for the future of the bitcoin price? NYDIG Research crunched the numbers, and the results are striking.

«If we apply a 10x «money multiplier»—a rule of thumb reflecting the historical impact of new capital on bitcoin’s market cap—and divide by the total supply of bitcoin, we arrive at a rough estimate of the potential price impact: a nearly $42,000 increase per bitcoin,» NYDIG said in a research report.

(Source: NYDIG Research)

To reach this conclusion, the analysts at NYDIG reviewed Strategy (MSTR), Metaplanet (3350), Twenty One (CEP), and Semler Scientific’s (SMLR) cumulative equity valuation since they adopted the bitcoin buying strategy. This gave the analysts an outline of how much money they could theoretically raise by issuing shares at current stock prices to buy more bitcoin.

If this analysis comes true, the projected price is nearly a 44% increase from the current spot price of $96,000 per bitcoin. If capitalized, Wall Street money managers perhaps wouldn’t mind showing this PnL chart to their clients, especially given the current volatility and uncertainty in the market.

«The implication is clear: this ‘dry powder’ in the form of issuance capacity could have a significant upward effect on bitcoin’s price,» NYDIG Research said.

Bitcoin’s limited supply also bodes well for the analysis. Publicly-traded companies already hold 3.63% of bitcoin’s total supply, with the lion’s share of those coins being held by Strategy. Adding private company and government holdings, the total is at 7.48% according to BitcoinTreasuries data.

Demand could also grow further in the near future if the U.S. government finds “budget-neutral strategies for acquiring additional bitcoin” for its strategic bitcoin reserve.

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Gold-Backed Crypto Minting Volume Hits 3-Year High as Central Bank Buying Drops

Published

1 день ago

3 мая, 2025

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The gold market is seeing a shift in activity, with central bank buying slowing and demand from exchange-traded funds and gold-backed cryptocurrencies growing. The latter recently moved to a three-year high, as measured by the net minting volume for tokens backed by the precious metal.

Over $80 million worth of these tokens were minted over the past month, according to data from rwa.xyz. That boost helped push the sector’s market cap up 6% to $1.43 billion. Meanwhile, monthly transfer volume rose 77% to $1.27 billion, marking a sharp resurgence of interest in digital representations of the precious metal.

The rise in token activity mirrors a broader trend in the gold market.

The World Gold Council’s latest report shows that total gold demand in the first quarter of the year reached 1,206 tonnes—a 1% year-over-year increase and the strongest first quarter since 2016. The surge came despite a slowdown in central bank purchases, which fell to 244 tonnes, down from 365 tonnes in the fourth quarter.

Gold ETFs played a central role in the shift. Investment demand has more than doubled to 552 tonnes, suggesting investors are moving into the precious metal, a move central banks are known for historically.

Those inflows helped push the average quarterly price of gold to a record $2,860 per ounce, up 38% from the previous year. Yet the price dipped 2.35% last week, after rising 23.5% year-to-date, while risk assets, including cryptocurrencies, rose. Spot gold is currently trading at $3,240.

While traditional gold demand, such as jewelry, saw a downturn—dropping to pandemic-era lows—bar and coin demand stayed elevated, especially in China.