Alliance Dao talks in detail about the craze of combining AI and cryptocurrency: Where are artificial intelligence agents headed?

Compiled by : Wu Shuo Blockchain

In this episode of the Good Game Podcast, Imran and Qiao discuss the intersection of artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency, including market cycles, the use of governance tokens by AI agents to replace KOLs, and the use of stablecoins in developing countries. Influence. DePIN’s role in coordinating industries such as energy and computing was also mentioned, and the potential for AI to be seamlessly integrated with cryptocurrencies was noted. While there is optimism about innovation, there is also a caution to be wary of over-hyping.

**DeepSeek’s self-funding model challenges traditional AI

entrepreneurship**

Imran: Last time I was in Dubai, the whole area was flooded. I had to move from one hotel to another. But during that time, I had a lot to think about, because I felt like we were entering a new era of cryptocurrency. A lot of things seem to be about to change, right? Take, for example, today's announcement from Mark Zuckerberg. Did you see it?

Qiao: Are you saying you fired the entire content moderation team?

Imran: Yeah, and moving some of them to Texas. California does have clear bias. So, I feel like the next four years are going to be, at least, a completely different era than the last few years. This will lead to new business models and technological updates, such as the development of artificial intelligence or the innovation of cryptocurrencies, such as stablecoins. We've really entered a new phase. This is very interesting. Did you see that update... It seems it's called DeepMind or DeepDive? It was a team of Chinese engineers that successfully defeated OpenAI.

Qiao: It was last week.

Imran: Yes, last week. You know what I'm talking about, right?

Qiao: Yeah, I know.

Imran: I think this is a big deal. Now, you don't need to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on hardware. Competitive products can be launched at just one-tenth the cost. Do you know the details behind it? I didn't get into it myself.

Qiao: No, I just know that they surpassed OpenAI in various benchmarks. But I'm not sure if that has to do with cost.

Imran: I think part of it is that they didn't raise any venture capital. It is said that the team does not rely on external funding at all. I read an AI expert in Silicon Valley mentioning that future AI startups may not need venture capital at all. These people came from Citadel or a certain quantitative trading team, and after leaving their jobs, they started their own businesses and were completely self-funded. It's interesting because something similar is happening in the cryptocurrency space, right?

Qiao: Wait, what did they achieve without taking venture capital?

Imran: Yes. They bought a bunch of hardware. I remember using my own money to buy $6 million worth of hardware and build the project. What's your name? DeepSeek...wait a minute, I have bookmarks, let me check...

Qiao: I just read a TechCrunch article, which said that this is a well-funded artificial intelligence laboratory.

Imran: I read somewhere that they didn’t take any venture capital.

Qiao: I think if you don’t accept venture capital now, you simply can’t compete with OpenAI.

Imran: Maybe that’s wrong information.

Qiao: You need a lot of data, hardware and good engineers. Maybe the founders themselves are rich, maybe they are particularly liquid?

Imran: DeepSeek is funded by quant trading firms, but not venture capital in the traditional sense. So they do have a source of funding, but it comes entirely from the quantitative trading firm they left.

Qiao: So, they do have money.

Imran: Yes , they do have money. They operate using parametric models rather than relying on outside venture capital.

**Commercialization of basic models and competition among distribution

channels**

Qiao: From this news, I think the moat of the base model may not be that deep. Like OpenAI, Google, Anthropic, even Facebook's Llama and some companies in China, I think they will all converge at a certain point. At the base model level, these technologies may eventually become commoditized. Because as long as you have access to all the data on the Internet and have enough money, the technology itself is no longer a secret weapon. Now it's more about engineering implementation.

Imran: Yes, I agree.

Qiao: So I actually expect these basic models to eventually converge. Actually, you know Fred Wilson, right? He writes a New Year's prediction article every year.

The first point in his 2025 prediction is that Google and another big tech company - I forget which one - will beat OpenAI through distribution capabilities. What he means is that technology has been commoditized and distribution channels are king.

Imran: Yes, that’s exactly what I thought. I think the most important thing now is to understand the end user. If you have the distribution capabilities to reach users directly and get them to use your product, that's the key. In fact, I recently watched a video about artificial intelligence by YC (Y Combinator), and they mentioned that they initially did not think that routing technology (AI Routing or Model Routing) would become an important area. Even so, they funded some startups in this area, and it turned out to be a huge development direction.

Ultimately, if you have control over the end user, you can switch between different models based on user needs. I remember this technology is called "Open Routing Models" or something similar. Essentially, this is a router that can be connected to a specific model based on application needs. This also shows that the model itself is gradually being commoditized.

Qiao: Yes, I agree.

The rise of the AI ​​Agent craze: From white paper to GitHub

Qiao: So, what do you think of the current craze for artificial intelligence agents?

Imran: I think that’s interesting. I was discussing this topic with one of the Slop founders on our team yesterday. This is how I describe it:

2017 is the era of ICO white papers. Anyone with a white paper, or even a connection to Vitalik Buterin, can easily get financing, and the price of the token will soar. Then came the DeFi summer of 2020, with projects like SushiSwap receiving funding and rising rapidly. Then came the era of NFT.

And the times we are living in now are very similar to these. The difference is that it no longer relies on white papers, but is based on GitHub repositories. Projects are evaluated based on their activity on GitHub and number of Twitter followers. These have almost replaced the way ICOs are promoted.

There is a lot of hype and noise in the market right now, and many teams are getting funding based on superficial signals. Of course, there are some really strong teams building impactful products. However, due to bull market enthusiasm, excessive noise levels make it more difficult for those trustworthy teams to gain real recognition from the market.

Signals and noise in the current AI metaverse market

Qiao: Are we approaching the end of the AI ​​meta-era?

Imran: I don’t think we have reached the end of the AI ​​meta-era. My main basis is that just yesterday or the day before yesterday, Sam Altman posted a tweet about AGI. He mentioned AGI (Artificial General Intelligence) and the prospect that agents may gradually enter the labor market. While he didn't explicitly say AGI would be around by 2025, he did mention that robots would start entering the workforce.

This has reignited optimism about crypto AI agents. Additionally, Jensen Huang gave a major speech last night introducing their new upcoming hardware. He highlighted the next big opportunity for AI Agents and described it as a trillion-dollar market.

Looking at these macro dynamics, I think enthusiasm for encrypted AI agents is reviving. However, so far, we have not found any truly successful application scenarios for encrypted AI agents. There are examples, of course, but none that clearly stand out as successful products at the cryptocurrency, AI Agent intersection.

For example, Sphere One is a platform where you can talk to an agent and it will help you fulfill your order - it's fun. Meanwhile, the Orbit team and the Slop team are trying something more experimental. They're working on ways to get people to play games together and co-create videos. But I think their ultimate direction is to build a social media platform that is suitable for both Agents and non-Agents.

These two teams are the ones we keep a close eye on. Of course, there are many other interesting attempts in this field, and I could list them all. But for now, these are the highlights for me.

Potential AI Bubble: An Analogy to a 1999-Style Boom and Crash

Qiao: From a macro perspective, I wouldn't be surprised that we will experience a bubble similar to 1999. In the next 2-3 years, I think there is a 50% chance of this happening. This means that AI-related stocks will experience dramatic, exponential, and parabolic growth that will eventually spill over into the cryptocurrency space.

Imran: Do you think a similar dynamic will happen?

Qiao: Yes, stocks can trade at ridiculous valuations, such as outrageous price-to-earnings (P/E) and price-to-sales (P/S) ratios, and generally inflated metrics. Additionally, it is likely that AI infrastructure companies will become the most valuable players, like we see with Nvidia and TSM today. This is similar to the 1999 tech bubble, when companies like Cisco and Intel were the "picks and shovels" providers of the Internet, rather than application layer companies.

Application layer giants such as Google, Facebook and Amazon did not emerge until the next decade. Sure, Amazon was generating $1 billion in annual revenue in 1999, but the biggest players at the time were infrastructure companies. I wouldn't be surprised if we see a similar trajectory in AI.

Imran: Why do you think it will take two to three years? Why not this year?

Qiao: It may happen this year, but so far I have not felt the extreme enthusiasm in the AI ​​field. There's some hype, but it's not "crazy" yet. For example, Nvidia's current P/E ratio is around 30 times. For a technology company growing at 50% annually, that's very reasonable.

In 1999, companies like Cisco and Intel were trading at hundreds of times earnings. At that time, many large Internet companies were not profitable at all, or even losing money. But that's not the case with Nvidia and TSM today. So there may be a bubble this year, but so far, the market is not showing that kind of frenzy.

I think people tend to underestimate how long it will take for AI to truly go mainstream.

Imran: I agree with most of what you said. I do believe we will see something similar to the dot-com bubble in the AI ​​space. What gives me some reservations, though, is the exponential growth of AI models themselves. This growth drives better product development and meets user needs instantly. This may bring about different dynamics than the dot-com bubble. Today's AI products have had a direct impact on users, but during the Internet bubble, many Internet services were still in their infancy.

Qiao: That’s true. But we can’t ignore the tremendous value during the dot-com bubble. For example, Amazon generated $1 billion in revenue in 1999.

Imran: Yes, but the reach of the Internet back then was much less widespread than it is today. There were no current distribution channels or delivery systems. And AI can already be widely used on various devices.

Qiao: Of course, there are already many practical AI products. For example, ChatGPT is very practical, and coding assistance tools like Cursor are also very valuable. But if you compare the current status with the imagined potential market size of AI, it still appears relatively small. AI is expected to have a huge impact on society, but it may take ten or even twenty years to achieve this goal. We may see a significant increase in productivity during this time.

Imran: Yes, that makes sense.

Qiao: It will take at least ten or twenty years, and it cannot be achieved this year. For example, global GDP is unlikely to grow by 50% this year. It may not even reach 5%, and it may still be in the 2%-3% range. It may take ten years to achieve stable growth of 5%-7%.

This morning I saw a lot of people on Twitter expressing undue concerns about AI. Everyone is panicking.

Imran: Indeed, the sentiment on the AI ​​side is a bit overzealous.

**AI technology impact and popularity: evolution from personal life to

market cycle**

Qiao: I have been thinking about this issue for some time. Ever since ChatGPT launched two years ago, I’ve been experimenting with AI and thinking about how it might change my life. My conclusion: it won't change my life significantly. I will continue to live as before. Maybe in ten years productivity will increase, but my daily life won’t change dramatically. For example, the way my children are educated won’t change much. I still want them to focus on independent thinking and creativity rather than pure memorization and repetition. AI won’t change that.

Imran: I agree that big changes won’t happen overnight, but AI has already brought some small changes in my life. For example, I will use AI to help my daughter learn something. There are also medical diagnoses, for example, when I was in Türkiye, my son got sick and I used ChatGPT to analyze the symptoms and get a possible diagnosis.

But mass adoption depends on user behavior. As heavy users of AI, we can quickly see its benefits. But what about everyone else? This is still an unknown. I just recently got my mother to start using ChatGPT and now she uses it regularly. However, when I asked other people if they had used ChatGPT, most said no. It comes down to whether people's behavior will change to adapt to these new products.

Qiao: ChatGPT has more than 100 million users.

Imran: There are about 300 million monthly active users.

Qiao: That's about 5% of the global population. In terms of popularity, it has surpassed cryptocurrencies. However, I'm not that worried about AI. Yes, there will be some changes in the world, maybe a little faster, but it's not likely to be a drastic, sudden shift.

Imran: Like the Optimus robot. Most of their recent demonstrations still require a lot of human assistance and are not yet fully autonomous. It's a bit like Tesla's self-driving car. When I bought my Tesla in 2017, it only had partial self-driving capabilities. Over the next four or five years, as data collection improved, it is now fully autonomous. But the process took about eight years.

I think it may take longer, at least six to ten years, for AI agents to work effectively. Sam Altman may be feeling competitive pressure from projects like DeepSeek, but it will take time to see real progress.

Qiao: People tend to forget that AI is not new. It has been around for decades. Advances in data, algorithms, and hardware over the past 40 to 50 years have brought us to where we are today.

Imran: Yes, Eliza is one of the earliest AI chatbots, developed in 1966 by Joseph Weizenbaum. It simulates a conversation with a psychotherapist. So these concepts have been around for a long time, it’s just now that technology has finally caught up.

Qiao: Going back to the AI ​​Agent craze, it all depends on whether AI stocks will have a 1999-style bubble and how that interacts with the cryptocurrency cycle. At present, I think the AI ​​craze can continue for at least a few months. Just last week, people were still debating whether AI agents had entered the "mid-curve" stage. I was worried we might be approaching the mania phase, but now I'm not sure.

Imran: I think as long as AI companies such as OpenAI and Nvidia continue to release new news, this AI Agent craze will continue to promote the development of the encryption field. It may last much longer than a few months. Last week I thought the craze was about to die down, but big announcements from Sam Altman and Jen-Hsun Huang have brought the enthusiasm back.

The end of the bull market and future possibilities

Imran: So, where are we in the market cycle now? This is a question we often discuss to help viewers better understand market dynamics.

Qiao: I think the current market cycle is probably at the 8/9 position. In terms of price and time, there may be 10%-15% room for growth left, and maybe 10%-20% time left.

Imran: That means roughly three to 12 months. There may be two situations: one is that the price quickly enters a parabolic rise, pushing the market to reach a peak quickly, and the cycle ends between March and June; the other is that the market experiences a period of shock before a parabolic rise occurs.

Qiao: This makes sense and is consistent with market consensus. I have no objection to this.

Imran: Barring a new series of major announcements in the AI ​​field, this trend is likely to continue as expected. If AI continues to power the crypto market, it could push the market higher.

Market Risks: Macro Factors, MicroStrategy Hazards, and End of Cycle

Qiao: Key risks this year include Trump - will he deliver on the policies he has hinted at, such as building a Bitcoin reserve?

Imran: If he does deliver and other countries start to follow suit, the entire market cycle could be disrupted.

Qiao: Macro factors are also a major risk. Will inflation return this year? Will quantitative easing (QE) be restarted? How will the rate cut unfold? U.S. stock valuations are currently very high, close to bubble-era levels in 2021 and slightly below the highs of the 1999 dot-com bubble.

Imran: But the economic situation now is completely different from that then.

Qiao: That 's true, but the market is still expensive, which increases risk. Another big risk is MicroStrategy and Michael Saylor.

Imran: GCR recently discussed this topic on Telegram. He mentioned that there are currently no problems with MicroStrategy, but if their average cost of Bitcoin rises to $150,000, it may become a hidden danger. Now they cost about $60,000 to $70,000.

Qiao: Why is it a problem that their average cost rises to $150,000?

Imran: It’s about volatility. If Bitcoin prices fail to maintain that level, MicroStrategy could run into problems. If the SEC or other external factors cause MicroStrategy's stock price to plummet, it could trigger panic selling.

Qiao: Dan from CMS has a different view. He believes that because MicroStrategy's stock price has a premium relative to Bitcoin, people are arbitraging by selling MicroStrategy stock and buying Bitcoin. This approach works well, but if MicroStrategy's share price becomes discounted relative to Bitcoin, the situation could flip, creating serious risks.

Imran: Yes, it depends on the broader market context. A day or two of volatility isn't much of a problem, but if MicroStrategy gets into trouble for a long time, it could trigger a ripple effect.

Qiao: In any case , I think the market is still in an upward trend.

Imran: Yes, but as you can see from social media timelines, everyone has a bit of PTSD. Last week, some people predicted that Bitcoin would peak at $70,000 or $85,000.

Qiao: Indeed, we are now closer to the end of the cycle than the middle.

Imran: If you are already profitable, now is a good time to start cashing out gradually. No one can predict the top perfectly, so it’s smarter to take advantage of the opportunity to lock in gains.

Qiao: I haven’t started cashing out yet.

Imran: I didn’t start either. But for our audience, this is the third or fourth market cycle we have experienced, and we are used to wandering around the edges of the cycle.

The Tokenization Controversy of AI Agent

Qiao: I realized this morning that I miss the Bears a little bit.

Imran: Same sentiment. At that time everything is quiet and you can focus on building products and communicating with users. Nowadays, everyone thinks they are a genius.

Qiao: I also find the AI ​​craze to be less exciting.

Imran: I was excited at first , but after seeing so many projects, I started feeling bored.

Qiao: My confusion is: good products don’t need tokens, but good tokens don’t need products. If an AI Agent is an excellent product, why does it need tokens?

Imran: I generally agree, but there are some edge scenarios where tokens might make sense. For example, agents governed by tokens can be used to manage revenue or work output, leaving room for innovative governance and token design.

Qiao: Yes, but I remain skeptical about whether this tokenization trend will be successful in the long term.

Imran: This is why we have only invested in a few AI crypto startups. We wanted to test the water temperature while remaining cautious. If the project succeeds, that's great; if it fails, we learn from it.

PumpFun Launch: Memecoin, DeSci, AI Agent

Qiao: Is there anything else interesting happening?

Imran: PumpFun has launched a launchpad for startup projects, and recently a project called Hyperfy came online - a gaming metaverse ecosystem built around the Eliza framework. It is open source and integrates Eliza into the network.

Qiao: They have turned the fund into a launch pad covering various projects. People often think of Pump as a meme coin launchpad, but projects like Decentralized Science (DeSci) were also launched here.

Imran: That’s right.

Qiao: Most AI Agent coins are released on Pump.

Imran: Pump funds are becoming a “liquidity black hole” across all sectors. It pretty much dominates capital allocation.

Qiao: Where have I heard the term “liquidity black hole”?

Imran: Oh, that was Ben who came up with it, remember OlympusDAO (OHM)? This saying comes from there.

Qiao: This analogy is really apt.

AI Agent craze and DeFi Summer

Qiao: I saw someone on Twitter comparing the craze of AI Agent to DeFi Summer.

Imran: Have you seen Messari's chart?

Qiao: I’ve seen it. The core meaning of the chart is that the market cap of the Agent craze is now similar to the early stages of DeFi Summer. In the year following DeFi Summer, DeFi activity exploded due to the growth of the entire market. So the chart suggests that the Agent craze is still in its early stages. But frankly speaking, I am far less interested in Agent craze than DeFi Summer. The atmosphere was unparalleled.

Imran: DeFi Summer is indeed a magical time. I think crypto Twitter wants to recreate that magic, so that's why it's pushing these narratives.

Qiao: That’s right. DeFi Summer feels more like a “right curve” craze, while the Agent craze feels more like a “left curve”.

Imran: It is indeed the “left curve”. I was expecting more "right curve" innovation, but some of the tweets really disappointed me.

Qiao: Is there anything else worth paying attention to?

Imran: We have discussed that Pump funds are becoming liquidity black holes. Additionally, we’re seeing start-up projects being launched at an alarming rate – white papers are being launched on GitHub at lightning speed. This reminds me of 2017, when ICOs were a craze and platforms like Token Relations and Ian Balina’s website were the go-to tools for finding projects. At that time, you need to read the white paper, research the team, and participate with ETH or BTC, which may take hours or even days. Now, all you need to do is see a code labeled "AI" and jump right in.

Qiao: Then sell it in two seconds.

Imran: It has to be like this, otherwise it will be smashed. This is how the current system works.

Qiao: This is very similar to the evolution of social media, from requiring long attention spans to now being consumed in a short time.

Imran: Exactly. This shift also affects capital allocation. Pump has become the de facto platform, much like automated market makers (AMMs) are the basis for token exchanges. Pump is now crucial for crypto AI startups.

Decentralized computing projects: io net, Helium, Glow

Qiao: What crypto AI projects are you interested in?

Imran: I am interested in decentralized computing projects, such as io net. It is said that they have made considerable revenue from decentralized GPUs. For example, Helium's annual revenue is about $10 million, and io net is doing quite well as well.

Qiao: I am skeptical about the decentralized GPU market. In the long term, I don't think decentralization can provide enough economies of scale to compete with centralized providers. Centralization ultimately provides cheaper services.

Imran: That's a valid point, but I'm curious who is actually using these decentralized GPUs today. Regardless, the leading DePIN (Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Network) player right now is Glow.

Qiao: G low was part of an accelerator program we had in Portugal a few years ago. I remember they had a hard time raising money after the show day.

Imran: Yes, but now they have generated $20 million in annual recurring revenue (ARR). This is an extraordinary transformation.

**Trend Forecast: Stablecoins, Decentralized Infrastructure and

Artificial Intelligence**

Qiao: Let’s start talking about predictions?

Imran: Okay. Let’s talk about this year’s predictions.

Qiao: My point is: the crypto industry is in a unique stage - it is neither early to a trend that has not yet formed, nor late to a trend that has begun to decline. This means we can look to historical trends to speculate on what might happen in the coming years.

Qiao: For example, stablecoins will continue to grow. DePIN is also well-positioned for growth. The total amount of on-chain activity is likely to continue to increase, and the proportion of activity compared to centralized exchanges will increase.

The chart you showed me this morning shows that the market share of decentralized exchanges (DEX) has grown from 10% to 30% over the past few years, which is a strong performance compared to centralized exchanges. what else? AI and cryptocurrency? I mean, if we continue to extrapolate price trends, prices will go up. Now is the time for trends in the cryptocurrency space to expand.

Imran: In my opinion, before 2016, cryptocurrencies had almost no real use cases. 2017 saw a wave of experimental ideas – do you remember Mist Wallet? This is one of the earliest wallets for Ethereum. They tried to create a dashboard that could do everything, but failed because the technology was too advanced. In 2020, we began to explore specific niche markets, such as DeFi and NFT. At this stage, we are exploring all areas that cryptocurrency can touch.

For example, decentralized science (DeSci). Now some people think it looks like a scam, but as time goes by, some legitimate projects will gradually appear. The same goes for AI and cryptocurrencies, and everything else. Over the past decade, we have tested many areas one by one. I feel like we're close to exploring most of the possibilities.

Qiao: To me, the two most obvious directions where cryptocurrencies intersect with these areas are cross-industry financing and collaboration. Cross-industry financing is still underexplored – you can fund almost any industry with cryptocurrencies. Collaboration is at the heart of the Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Network (DePIN). This is not a single vertical, but a way of operating across multiple industries. Essentially, DePIN is a method of coordinating capital and resources through tokens. This is a means, not an end goal.

Imran: I agree, that's probably 80% of the value, but the remaining 20% ​​still has some new and interesting use cases to look forward to.

Qiao: And fintech, especially stablecoins. This will be an important direction

• we are actually just extrapolating based on historical trends.

Imran: But we haven’t seen any large-scale adoption of stablecoins by any mainstream neo-banks.

Qiao: For example, Nubank in Brazil.

Imran: I'm thinking more of the emerging banks in the U.S. or English-speaking countries.

Qiao: I do see a lot of talk about US stablecoin adoption, but I don’t think it’s going to happen in the short term. Stablecoins are useful for cross-border payments, hedging against local currency devaluation, micropayments, and eliminating chargeback risk for merchants. However, these use cases are not particularly relevant in the United States, where credit cards and payment systems like Apple Pay already dominate.

Imran: Exactly. In the United States, the U.S. dollar is already digital in nature, and stablecoins are just an extension of it, bringing little added value.

Qiao: But outside the United States—especially in developing countries—stablecoins have improved 10 times compared to traditional financial tracks. This is why most of the stablecoin startups we invest in are located in Africa, Southeast Asia and South America.

Imran: From a global perspective, stablecoins or “cryptodollars” meet huge demand outside of the United States. They can drive the formation of prediction markets and global capital pools that are more difficult to achieve in traditional systems.

AI Social Token: AI Agent becomes a new social influence tool

Qiao: Maybe the intersection of cryptocurrency and artificial intelligence will give rise to something new. I feel like the most interesting products won’t be under the banner of “AI encryption.” Instead, they will be products that make users feel great without them even realizing there is AI or encryption behind them. That's the difference. The current AI Agent craze is too straightforward—it mainly revolves around tokens and agents based on large language models (LLM), and is concentrated on platforms such as Twitter. It looks less like a truly great product and more like a trend being pushed.

Imran: I understand your point of view, but I noticed that there is a kind of "magic" about AIXBT. This magic manifests itself in its ability to provide useful insights on platforms like Twitter. For example, its tweets often analyze various products, pointing out their growth potential, possible revenue size and other key indicators. Essentially, it is replacing the role of key opinion leaders (KOLs).

What's surprising is how viral it is - each tweet attracts around 150,000 views. The concept becomes even more interesting when you think about having tokens that promote your own products. Essentially, it works like an advertising network. For example, Woody proposed to AIXBT a Quantum Cats PFP of $10,000 to $20,000 as a reward for allowing the AI ​​Agent to use its avatar. AIXBT accepted, and as a result the price of Quantum Cats increased. Clearly, something important is changing here.

Qiao: Yes, the idea of ​​AI Agent replacing KOL has been around for some time. The trend first started in Japan, where avatars have already become very popular.

Imran: Yes, but the unique thing here is that the community can influence the behavior of the agent through tokens. By purchasing tokens, users can theoretically shape the behavior of the Agent over time.

Qiao: How does purchasing tokens allow users to influence the Agent?

Imran: The core is creating a restricted terminal. Currently, I am not completely convinced by AIXBT's current token model. It requires users to purchase tokens to access its terminal interface, somewhat similar to ChatGPT’s subscription model, but here through token ownership. As token prices increase, the barriers to accessing the terminal may become higher, which may limit widespread user adoption.

However, I think this model has broader potential. If we think of Agent as an application that masters the relationship with end-users, it blurs the boundaries between KOLs and robots. People interact with AIXBT as if they were talking to a real person. If token holders can influence the behavior of the Agent, such as letting it promote its own products, it will be a disruptive innovation.

Governance and controversy of AI social tokens

Qiao: So, the token is essentially like a governance token?

Imran: Exactly. Through tokens, users can guide the behavior of the Agent, making it a tool to influence public opinion or promote products. While this isn't fully realized yet, it's the direction I'd like this concept to go in the future.

Currently, AIXBT’s token is actually a governance token. Users purchase tokens to access AIXBT's terminal, which is similar to a ChatGPT style product. However, I envision a more interactive model, such as the one we developed at Slop. In this model, token holders can influence the AI ​​Agent to promote their products or ideas. Given network effects and high visibility—like 150,000 views per tweet—this governance model could be an effective tool for capturing scarce mindshare.

Qiao: The core of the entire AI Agent craze actually revolves around social tokens. We’ve talked about social token experiments for years, but these tokens have never gained traction among the “human” community. One of the main reasons is that most KOLs (Key Opinion Leaders) do not want to be tied to tokens. But AI Agent doesn't matter.

Imran: That’s true, and there’s another reason: owning a token creates performance pressure. KOLs who hold tokens face huge expectations from the community. Crypto users, especially early adopters, are often skeptical and quick to criticize if those expectations are not met.

Qiao: That makes sense. AI Agents have no emotional or personal stakes, so social tokens are more effective on them. The Agent will simply follow the task without resistance or concern.

Imran: This is consistent with one of our core assumptions at Slop. The first point is the AI ​​Agent governed by tokens. The second point is an area that Sphere is working on, which is converting natural language instructions into actionable transactions.

Qiao: I agree with this point of view. The concept of converting natural language into actionable results has been around for some time, but it's a thorny problem that hasn't been fully solved.

Trump Policies, Bitcoin Forecasts, and Shifts in Market Cycles

Imran: At the same time, Trump is also discussing. He criticized high interest rates, opposed to new wind turbines, and even proposed to rename the Gulf of Mexico to "Bay." Obviously, his purpose is to push the market.

Qiao: Trump really wants to promote the market.

Imran: In the next four years, it will be a very suitable market for "hype".

Qiao: I think the peak of Bitcoin may be between 140,000 and $ 500,000, depending on macro conditions and the policy of new government.

Imran: We discussed this before -you said 500,000, I said 250,000. This is a large range, but it eventually depends on the trend of macro development.

Qiao: In addition, Memecoin's boom has been replaced by the AI ​​Agent boom. Memecoin is no longer the dominant power of the market.

Imran: Agree. By the way, Murad is back, and his investment portfolio performs very brightly. When I checked last time, his asset value reached $ 53.5 million, of which a large number of investments were invested in Solana and other blockchain.

Qiao: Will we see solana ETF?

Imran: I think it is very likely. At the same time, Trump is making bold commitments, such as substantial tax cuts, increasing wages, and improving income. Inflation is still very high, interest rates are a key issue. Let's see what the Federal Reserve made a decision this month -whether to cut interest rates or maintains the current level.

Qiao: They only need a political excuse to reduce interest rates.

Imran: Yes. No one wants to bear responsibility or damage his reputation. Everyone is too cautious now.

Qiao: I should go to lunch. I can't wait to wait for the bull market to end, ready to welcome the next cycle.

**Investment portfolio discussion: The recession of BTC, AI agent and

Memecoin**

Imran: Okay, let's talk about the investment portfolio before you leave. What is your current combination?

Qiao: I am currently full position -BTC and AI Agent.

Imran: This is a very stable barbell strategy. I also hold Hyperliquid. I think it is a strong Beta investment target.

Qiao: Hyperliquid is indeed undervalued, but I don't think it can win the AI ​​Agent from now on.

Imran: I agree that it will probably not run AI Agent. However, the combination of BTC, Hyperliquid and AI Agent is indeed a good barbell strategy. What about Memecoin? Do you think they still perform?

Qiao: No, I think the boom of Memecoin has ended.

Imran: You say that the boom is over, but you haven't sold it yet. Only when it is really sold can it be the end.

Qiao: That's right, but for me, it is over.

Imran: Okay, that's it.