Four key factors supporting the flywheel growth of AI Agent

Original Title: Crypto AI Agents That Win: The 4 Key Pillars Of Success

Original author: Graeme

Compiled by: Asher

In the field of cryptocurrency, most AI Agent projects lose momentum rapidly due to neglecting systematic construction. Once a key link deviates, the potential energy will be lost, overtaken by competitors who are fully committed to products, tokens, social agents, and narratives. The real competitive advantage is not just a single breakthrough, but the construction of an organic self-growing system composed of AI products, token economics, social agents, and founder narratives.

Currently, the AI Agent sector is still in its early stages, mostly driven by independent developers, small teams, or AI engineers transitioning from Web2. They need to overcome multiple knowledge barriers across product development, on-chain operations, token design, and social operations. This article will provide newcomers with a clear strategy guide, focusing on the four core pillars of AI Agent construction in the crypto space, to help create projects with long-term viability.

1. Core Driving Force: AI Products

The core product of the AI Agent is the cornerstone of its value proposition, which must be clear, persuasive, and possess unique advantages in the cryptocurrency industry. In the crypto space, it is not enough for the AI Agent to be merely functional; the real power comes from combining autonomous decision-making capabilities with on-chain permissionless execution, allowing the Agent to continuously evolve without human intervention. Specifically, application scenarios for on-chain autonomous value generation include:

• Prediction Trading Bot: Automatically executes high win rate trading strategies;
• DeFAI Agent: Discover profit opportunities independently, adjust positions in real time, and achieve asset appreciation;
• Entertainment IP Agent: Create meme packs/meme culture, continuously generate content, sell peripherals or license IP;
• Game/Betting Agent: Achieve on-chain income by participating in games or betting activities.

In addition, regardless of which stage the AI Agent is in the product lifecycle, it must rely on "fuel" to drive the collaboration and growth of users, investors, and the community, and this fuel is the token.

2. Growth Catalysts: Tokens

Tokens are the economic backbone and incentive mechanism of the entire ecosystem. Many teams tend to overlook token design when developing products, but in reality, a reasonable token model is crucial for sustainable growth. Effective token usage strategies include:

• Community Building: Learn from the practices of top Meme coins to create a unified communication channel and organized social media promotion;
• Basic Token Flywheel: First, access the product through a token threshold to stimulate early demand; second, accumulate the treasury through transaction fees and other forms; finally, gradually introduce an income-based buyback/burn mechanism to strengthen the token's value.
• Gamification incentives: Aligning user behavior with project growth objectives through mechanisms such as staking while playing, earning while playing, etc. (Although it is more complex to implement, reasonable incentives ultimately represent an investment in customer acquisition costs for users).

Of course, if the core product of the AI Agent itself has enough value, the utility of the tokens can be gradually supplemented later. Conversely, if the token model design is weak, the growth potential of the project will be extremely limited.

Three, Visibility Amplifier: Social AI Agent

In the third quarter of 2024, the explosive popularity of @truth_terminal ("GOAT") sparked market interest in "social AIAgents." Although many ineffective imitators appeared subsequently, GOAT demonstrated the feasibility of releasing real value through direct social interaction. Therefore, social AIAgents can be divided into four levels:

• Level 0 (Poor Quality Bot): Simply copies information, the content is trash, which instead harms the brand image;
• Level 1 (Dialogue Bot): Engaging in in-depth interaction with users based on proprietary datasets (e.g., @aixbt_agent);
• Level 2 (Task-oriented Bot): Can execute on-chain operations directly through social interfaces, demonstrating practical value (e.g.: @bankrbot, Clanker);
• Level 3 (Autonomous AIAgent): Currently emerging, capable of predicting actions and collaborating with other Agents, represented by projects such as @virtuals_io's ACP framework and @arcdotfun's Rhyzome.

From simple conversations to practical functional execution capabilities, the development trend of AI Agents in the crypto field indicates that only agents that truly provide value can survive in the long term. However, no matter how good social AI Agents perform, whether they can ultimately establish deep connections still depends on the narrative ability led by the founder.

4. Sustained Power Engine: Founder-led Narrative

In the crypto space, founders must personally become the biggest promoters of their projects. Effective founder marketing strategies include:

• Clearly articulate the vision;
• High-frequency transparent updates on progress;
• Continuously interact with the community in various content forms.

In the world of cryptocurrency, trust and reputation are the most valuable assets. Founders who are willing to step forward and advocate for their projects often gain an overwhelming advantage. Some founders who have excelled in this regard include:

• HeyAnon founder @danielesesta
• Acolyt founder @condzxyz
• ElizaOS founder @shawmakesmagic

Comprehensive Flywheel Effect: Four Pillars Synergy

When the above four elements operate in synergy, they will form a self-reinforcing value growth system:

• AI Products: Provide basic utility value, driving user demand;
• Token Economy: Incentivize continuous participation and bind community relationships;
• Social AI Agent: Amplify dissemination, convert passerby users;
• Founder Narrative: Consolidate Trust and Form Long-term Stickiness.

This is not just about creating a product, but about building an ecosystem that can self-accelerate and continuously grow through compound interest. In the future, the projects that can truly stand out will inevitably be those teams that deeply integrate products, token economics, social AI Agents, and the founder's narrative into a closed-loop flywheel system.