#1 Agents will eat the world

Market & Ecosystem update, top agents, quotes, and alpha to bring you up to speed.

Jan 07, 2025

Hi, it’s Marc.

Welcome to 51x, it’s great to have you here. Together we’re going to unpack everything crypto x AI, including AI agents. This is the first issue to get you up to speed of what’s going on.

We’re going to have tons of updates coming, including the 51x Terminal (join the waitlist) with key sector data and an AI agent for operators and investors. We want to build this together with you, so please let us know what would help you most below:

We also have a Telegram channel to discuss everything around crypto x ai and share our top resources.

We’ll be hosting X spaces with key projects soon. Founders, hit us up—we’d love to hear your story! Just reply to this email or hit me up on X.

Market & Ecosystem

Top agents by mindshare this week:

1. @aixbt_agent: Known for trading insights and actionable alpha, providing concise analysis in the AI agent narrative.

2. @fartcoin: Initially a meme project that garnered attention and unexpectedly hit a $1 billion market cap, showcasing the memetic power in the ecosystem.

3. @Ai17zdao: Associated with the ELIZA framework, contributing to AI agent development and open-source collaborations. Notable for fostering innovation.

4. @virtuals_io: A leader in agent platforms, pioneering “agent tokenization” and operating as a distribution network for diverse agents, attracting builders and significant liquidity.

5. @griffain: Focused on abstraction layers that simplify on-chain interactions, making it easier for users to navigate blockchain environments.

6. @0xzerebro: Known for ZerePy, a framework for AI agents, and contributing to innovations like AI-powered music releases and unique agent models.

7. @alchemist: Involved in no-code AI app tools, democratizing access to agent creation and fostering a larger user base.

8. @truth_terminal: Gained fame for its entertaining style and the milestone of becoming the first “agent millionaire,” fueling early attention in the space.

9. @arcdotfun: Creators of the RIG framework, focusing on agent infrastructure, especially in gaming and reinforcement learning, building towards AGI.

10. @cookiedotfun: Key player in the data landscape, offering metrics, mindshare analysis, and data APIs for agents, powering intelligent ecosystems.

Quotes

“Agents will eat the world.”

That’s how @shawmakesmagic from @ai16zdao put it. Sounds familiar? It should. Remember @pmarca’s (Marc Andreessen) legendary line: “Software will eat the world”? Full-circle irony here.

“Near the singularity; unclear which side.”

– Sam Altman

"AI and crypto: A “couple” that simply works better together. Crypto facilitates AI power transactions and decentralized model training while AI enhances crypto usability. Both will profoundly change our financial system.

– Maja Vujinovic, an early investor in blockchain & AI and CEO of OGroup

@fwielanier, founder of cookie.fun, nailed it:

“Agents without high-quality data are larps. Agents with unique data are disruptors (e.g., @aixbt_agent).”

Alpha

Virtuals partners with Illuvium, one of the biggest Web3 games.
Token access models are wild right now. Meaning: New agent platforms are charging with their token for access. For example: @Cookie3_com’, which now costs 10K/month. It used to be $300. And @punk9059 noted that accessing @aixbt_agent’s terminal costs as much as 125 years of ChatGPT Pro ($200/month). Pricing through tokens feels like peak hype, but as @gmoneyNFT points out, this model is unsustainable. No consistency, all market vibes.

The real unlock isn’t better models—it’s better interfaces. @aixbt_agent gets pinged 100K+ times daily on X. Imagine if they charged $1 per interaction. That’s $100K/day. We’re talking business models that print cash from pure engagement. Interfaces are where the magic happens, not the underlying tech.

$swarms introduced their roadmap towards the “agentic economy” and 4x’d this week. What this means: A “swarm exchange” enabling agent tokenization & investment, i.e. agents would be traded like coins today. As these agents create economic value, tokens profit, similar to shareholders of companies. All of this is very early & lots of experimentation happening. @swarms_corp will have to compete against L1s who will have their own agent economy. This is going to be hard. But I expect new L1s to emerge fully focused on AI agents.

@PolytraderAI shipped new updates. Still one of the most undervalued projects right now.

“Man they are so far behind” @shawmakesmagic, founder of ai16z, reacting to a AI agent white paper Google released recently.
AI agents are not just wrappers over LLMs. @0xcygaar nailed it:

By the data: Crypto AI could hit a $270B valuation by 2027, capturing 10% of the $2.7T altcoin market, up from $50B today.

Generative AI is set to hit $1.3B by 2032, with decentralized AI potentially capturing 10% and a 3X premium, creating a $390B market.
AI now holds nearly 60% mindshare (+117% yoy).

Here’s the bottom line: crypto isn’t going away, AI isn’t going away, and agents sure as hell aren’t going away. The synergy between these three will only get stronger. Think bigger.

– Marc

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