The Integration of Web3 and AI Agents: Analysis of New Trends and Potential Projects

In the first half of 2024, the total market capitalization of the cryptocurrency market grew by 37.3%. Among them, meme coins, artificial intelligence, and tokenization of physical assets performed the strongest. In particular, AI-related projects were only second to the popularity of meme coins.

The combination of Web3 and AI has become a key area of focus for venture capital this year. The latest trend in the traditional AI field, AI agents, has also been introduced into the Web3 world. Many new projects have been launched, such as Spectral and Olas Network, while older projects like Fetch.AI and Phala are also following this trend.

Concept of AI Agents

AI agents are "agents" based on large language models that can perceive the environment, understand independently, think independently, and execute actions. Its core functions can be summarized in three steps: perception, planning, and action.

Unlike chatbots, AI agents are designed to perform autonomous tasks and have the ability to take independent actions. It is like a smarter voice assistant that can automatically complete complex tasks based on user needs.

The Integration of Web3 and AI Agents

Advantages of Web3 for AI agents:

• Anti-censorship
• Decentralization/Ownership
• Monetization Opportunities
• Composability

The value that AI agents bring to Web3:

1. Conversational AI agents on the chain, simplifying Web3 users' on-chain information retrieval.
2. Change the way users interact with Web3 to achieve large-scale adoption

Web3 x AI agency projects can be divided into two categories:

1. Web2-style on-chain dialogue AI agent: suitable for learning and on-chain research, does not include on-chain operations.
2. Web3 Native AI Agent: Includes on-chain operations to help users achieve specific interactions.

Typical Project Analysis

Spectral

The business model includes:

• Spectral Syntax: Officially developed collection of Agents
• Spectral Nova: Decentralized Machine Learning Platform
• Agent Wallets: AI Agent Integrated Wallet
• Inferchain: Layer 1 primarily based on AI agents

Development History:

• Financing Web3 credit risk assessment infrastructure in 2021-2022
• Launching Syntax in March 2024, transforming into an on-chain AI agent.
• Token generation event in May 2024, airdrop launch.
• Collaborating with Turnkey in June 2024, launching Agent Wallet in Q3.

Value:

• Reduce the trial and error cost of AI
• Enable ordinary users to quickly create on-chain Agents
• Facilitate communication between on-chain Agents

Token Economy:

• $SPEC is used for payment, governance, and staking.
• Circulating market cap of $85 million, FDV $800 million
• Unlocking of core contributors and investors in May 2025

GaiaNet

Business Model:

• Node is Agent
• AI Agent network based on Ethereum
• Three main components: GaiaNet nodes, domain names, and DAO

Value:

• Simplified Agent deployment
• Generate a collection of AI Agents with expertise in various fields

Current status:

• Not issued
• 35 available conversational AI agents
• Total number of nodes 18,594

Other Early Projects

• Zotto: Users create AI Agents to achieve trading intentions
• AgentLayer: Layer 2 built on OP Stack
• Olas Network: Off-chain AI Agent Ecosystem
• Theoriq: Modular and Composable AI Agent Foundation Layer
• AgentCoin: Universal Web3 AI Agent
• Giza: Web3 AI Agent framework, ZKML off-chain inference