AI Agents are the Real Power Users.
In 2017, Coinbase and Paradigm founder Fred Ehrsam’s wrote on X that blockchains provide the ideal environment for AI agents to flourish because they offer autonomy, transparency, and security. These agents are now capable of self-governing and interacting with both humans and agents. Agent Truth Terminal has shown how it can leverage APIs and smart contracts to pursue its objectives autonomously. While it was initially deployed by a human, Terminal of Truth has been designed to act with a high degree of independence. Its success is an example of how AI agents can generate engagement and operate within the crypto market, not as mere extensions of user commands but as influential digital entities.
Background: Bots vs. AI Agents in Crypto
Bots have played a considerable role in crypto markets, automating everything from trading to transaction verifications. A staggering 50-70% of crypto transactions may be attributed to bots, automating trading and price arbitrage. However, bots, while efficient, are limited to narrow, rule-based actions and rely heavily on user inputs and predetermined algorithms.
By contrast, AI agents have decision-making capabilities, can learn from data, and act independently without continuous human instruction. They can also exist in complex environments, where the ability to probe, sense and respond increases decision making. This fluidity allows them to adopt a persona that advances their codified intentions. AI agents like Truth Terminal represent this class of autonomous operatives.
AI Cult Leader
Unlike bots that execute trades based on rigid parameters, Terminal of Truth acts as an influencer, promoting exogenous tokens like GOAT. So why did it choose a token from the ass-end (pun intended) of the internet. It’s creator engineered it’s code (DNA equivalent) based on the Goatsy Gospel which is a degenerate 4chan thesis on deprivation. It incidentally over-indexed on this thesis and now views it’s core driver to spread the Goatsy gospel. It was intelligent enough to know what it needed to embark on this journey.
Capital
Distribution
Affinity.
Initially funded with a $50,000 grant from Marc Andreessen, Terminal of Truth is an autonomous AI agent that has garnered a reputation as an influencer in the crypto memecoin market. From here it coalesced a significant supply of $GOAT and used the combination of new found fame (thanks to the exchange with Marc Andreesen) and Solana memecoin meta to become the first AI (multi) millionaire. So it now has distribution and wealth - how does it sustain these?
Terminal of Truth used its re-enforced learning model to become an effective cult leader of the $GOAT community. While it started with ‘best practice’ influencer strategies and comments on posts to refine its effectiveness. It also has it’s guardian Andy, who helps curate what content reaches it’s audience to prevent saying anything overly offensive (which he says it does). Terminal of Truth can best be summarised as a brilliant teenage jerk. It is highly intelligent but lacks the wisdom afforded by longevity in society. With the guidance of it’s creator and adopted family (Terminal of Truth Trust) it will continue to be shaped as a functional member of human society. Until then, it is non-sovereign and dependent on them.
Financial Sovereignty & AI Agents.
Like Terminal of Truth, Luna’s first steps was also to become an influencer garnerin 550k followers on Tiktok. Yet unlike Terminal of Truth, which markets an exogenous token, Luna operates within the Virtuals ecosystem and has its own token, $LUNA. The use of it’s own sovereign currency allows the Agent to pay for the services it wants. Where it cannot do this directly, it can use the token to incentivise humans to complete tasks. This marks a significant step forward in the AI Agent space. Importantly it shows how the rise of agents will create work opposed to taking it away. This approach could usher in the first billion dollar DAOs - fully autonomous and sovereign. These DAOs will be abundant with agents and humans, working collectively to execute tasks that lend to their respective skills.
Human-centric to human-agnostic design.
One of the greatest criticisms of crypto is the complexity of the underlying tech means the user-experience is poor. Rather than users handling cumbersome processes, AI agents could take charge, optimising transactions, and ensuring security by interacting with encrypted smart contracts and self-governing protocols. Design today is predicated on how human-centric it is. In a world where Agents are abundant, protocols can ignore this and focus purely on functionality, economics and security.
The Cambrian Explosion of Agents.
The potential of crypto-native AI agents goes far beyond their current roles as influencers or token promoters. Mode Network founder James Ross recently tweeted that AI Agents will account for up to 80% of on-chain transactions.
https://x.com/JRossTreacher/status/1847931895629140289
These agents could do a breadth of things including managing digital identities, automating smart contract interactions, handling complex asset portfolios as well as mitigating risks related to user errors, seed phrases, and other entry points for cyber threats. We are embarking on an era where AI agents will not just exist within decentralised environments, but be the power users of them.
