Original text from Edgy
Translation｜Odaily Planet Daily Golem (@web3golem)_
Editor’s note: A few weeks ago, we experienced the framework and infrastructure competition in the AI Agent track, with ai16z and Virtuals still firmly in the lead, while the dark horse swarms are striving to catch up with strong competitiveness. Meanwhile, the market is gradually focusing on the specialized field of AI Agents, specifically AI agents with practical utility. The integration of AI and DeFi is considered the first specialized AI Agent field that is about to explode. Overseas well-known DeFi KOL Edgy shared his views on this and introduced noteworthy DeFAI projects, both launched and yet to be launched, which Odaily Planet Daily has specially translated.
Everyone is tired of AI reply bots; they are now somewhat saturated. The focus has now shifted to AI agents with practical uses. The first practical utility AI agent field is here: DeFAI (also known as AiFi or AgentFi), which centers on the ability for people to use AI agents to simplify DeFi and bring more profits.
Here are my reasons for being optimistic about this field:
• Abstraction: It addresses the UI/UX complexity of DeFi through a natural language interface;
• User profitability: More profits can be gained through automated trading, yield optimization, and AI-enhanced trading strategies, reducing costly human errors;
• Revenue potential: There are already protocols like Bananagun and Photon that make trading easier, and their current revenue capabilities are akin to printing money. Once product-market fit is established, we can see some interesting token economics emerge in the DeFAI field.
Finally, market enthusiasm is rising, and the energy and sentiment towards DeFAI can be felt. I believe that billions of dollars will flow into this field in the coming months, and now is a great time to position oneself.
Launched DeFAI Projects
Griffain
Market Cap: $393 million
Contract: KENJSUYLASHUMfHyy5o4Hp2FdNqZg1AsUPhfH2kYvEP
Griffain is built by Solana's OG builder @tonyplasencia3. He previously contributed to building Underdog Protocol and blnk.fun. Griffain allows users to search and complete any on-chain operation using natural language commands.
It can be imagined as an Appstore where users can use different agents to complete various tasks, including following wallet trades, creating meme coins, and automating profit-taking.
Hey Anon
Market Cap: $137 million
Contract: 9McvH6w97oewLmPxqQEoHUAv3u5iYMyQ9AeZZhguYf1T
Hey Anon focuses on natural language trading interfaces, autonomous DeFi agents, and research and communication agents. DWF Labs has established an AI agent fund and has granted $20 million to Hey Anon. There are currently some video demonstrations showcasing the project's products, with public testing expected to open at the end of January.
Another reason Anon has garnered widespread attention is its controversial founder, Daniele Sesta. He created a $2 billion protocol (Spell and Wonderland) in the last cycle, and he may achieve similar success in this cycle.
Mode
Market Cap: $97.3 million
Contract: 0xdfc7c877a950e49d2610114102175a06c2e3167a
Mode Network is an Ethereum Layer 2 focused on building a DeFi economic system fully operated by AI agents. Over 129 AI agents have already been built on Mode Network. These agents have conducted over 1,600 DeFi transactions. While some of these agents have yet to issue tokens, some popular agents include:
Arma by Giza: An agent that helps users optimize USDC liquidity mining yields across Mode applications;
Brian: Allows users to execute trades using natural language and easily deploy contracts;
Sturdy: Utilizes AI-driven yield vaults to aggregate and optimize returns;
MODIUS by Olas: Allows users to co-own or launch their own AI agents to optimize liquidity mining strategies;
Amplifi: Provides users with optimal returns across multiple chains by leveraging full-chain liquidity and AI optimization.
Hive
Token BUZZ Market Cap: $90 million
Contract: 9DHe3pycTuymFk4H4bbPoAJ4hQrr2kaLDF6J6aAKpump
Hive aims to simplify DeFi trading through composable on-chain AI agents, providing an integrated trading terminal where agents autonomously complete on-chain operations via natural language commands. Hive has previously announced a partnership with Zerebro to build cluster communication infrastructure to enhance the DeFi agent suite, and Hive has already supported Apple Pay and Google Pay.
Hive's founder, Jason Hedman, has won multiple AI hackathon championships, including first place in Microsoft's production AI hackathon, and has also participated in Solana's AI hackathon, making him a strong contender for this Solana AI hackathon based on his previous "achievements."
Orbit
Token GRIFT Market Cap: $48 million
Contract: GekTNfm84QfyP2GdAHZ5AgACBRd69aNmgA5FDhZupump
Orbit allows users to interact with various protocols across different chains. The project is built by the SphereOne team, a crypto payment platform, which raised $2.5 million in 2023 and currently supports over 100 chains, including EVM, Solana, Aptos, Sui, Cosmos, and the Bitcoin network.
SphereOne aims to create a complete "newbie process," from purchasing cryptocurrency to using AI agents to execute on-chain operations.
Neur
Market Cap: $53 million
Contract: 3N2ETvNpPNAxhcaXgkhKoY1yDnQfs41Wnxsx5qNJpump
Binance Alpha recently launched Neur, which allows users to interact with leading Solana native protocols using natural language. The protocol is fully open-source and community-driven, and the team continuously launches bounty programs to encourage developer contributions. Neur's GitHub has received over 350 stars so far, but the product is still in beta. Users must pay 1 SOL to experience its limited early product.
Hiero
Token HTERM Market Cap: $13 million
Contract: BDW8YHasD3NSDjSHU9Xy6KXtshGayMGQfj5bJpLcpump
Hiero is a multi-chain AI agent currently operating on Solana and Base chains. HIERO also allows users to use natural language commands for agents to autonomously complete transactions, including buying and selling tokens, conducting simple token analysis, etc. It has also announced that more autonomous features will be launched in the future, such as tweeting, DCA, limit orders for buying and selling tokens, and has recently stated it will build DeFi agent infrastructure.
Hiero's founder is Johannes, who is also a co-founder of the Web3 startup studio corpus.io, aimed at data science and DeFi startups, and previously served as the chief data scientist at ConsenSys.
ASYM
Market Cap: $11 million
Contract: DNMTk67urDBxEEVRx9HjVzCVu8en4Kgg5HfZy3E6pump
ASYM is an AI-driven trading agent that has achieved 3-4 times investment returns in real trading of tokens like NEUR and GRAPH. Its agent trading profits are returned to ASYM, driving buy orders while locking 28% of the supply. ASYM focuses on DeFi automation and agent infrastructure, using on-chain and social data to identify current meme coin trends, aiming to consistently outperform the market.
Gekko AI
Market Cap: $15 million
Contract: 0xf7b0dd0B642a6ccc2fc4d8FfE2BfFb0caC8C43C8
Gekko AI is a trading agent fairly launched on the Virtuals platform by Axal. Although the Axal team does not hold any tokens, Gekko is a trading agent that provides bold crypto strategies and integrates with Axal's Autopilot, bringing not only traffic but also enhancing the product.
Axal is a verifiable agent network supported by a16z and Unusual Ventures. Currently in closed testing, Axal aims to integrate autonomous agents into everyday tasks, from trading to flight bookings.
Unlaunched but Noteworthy DeFAI Projects
Cod3x
Cod3x is a DeFAI ecosystem that supports no-code creation of trading agents, allowing anyone to create trading agents using a growing library of strategies and APIs. It integrates Allora's machine learning models for advanced strategies and uses cdxUSD-based liquidity to maintain stability. Its flagship agent Big Tony (market cap $6.9 million) trades tokens using AI-driven predictions. Cod3x aims to build the largest economic AI agent community.
Almanak
Almanak is a DeFi platform that builds autonomous financial agents using institutional-grade tools. It conducts real-world strategy testing by forking EVM chains and combines MEV and Gas complexity. It uses TEE to protect privacy and employs the Almanak wallet for non-custodial fund management. It has raised $1 million on the Legion launch platform and expects to launch a beta agent in Q2 2025.
WayFinder Protocol
WayFinder Protocol aims to deploy users' own AI agents with just a text message. Their "wayfinding paths" enable agents to seamlessly navigate DeFi, including token swaps, liquidity mining, NFT launches, and more, all with a single command, supporting Ethereum, Solana, Base, and other chains.
What sets WayFinder apart is that agents can share learning outcomes across the network. However, the token has not yet launched, but Prime stakers will receive 40% of the prompt token supply.
Slate
Slate is an AI tool that automates trading through real-time convergence alerts by combining Telegram, Discord, X, and on-chain channels. But it’s not just notifications; it can execute trades instantly on Solana, Base, and Hyperliquid, providing MEV protection and optimized routing. It is designed for traders who pursue precision and speed without manual intervention.
Conclusion
I have been working in the DeFi space since the end of 2020. I love that era full of possibilities. It felt like a brand new token economics design or innovation would emerge every week. But now DeFi has matured, and innovation is starting to slow down; the addition of AI will lead DeFi into a new renaissance.
The current market conditions are quite unstable, but we don’t have to FOMO; we will gradually gain more public access and see which protocols can deliver on their promises. In any case, this is a field you should pay attention to.
Here are some other thoughts:
It will be interesting to see if any older DeFi giants quickly start creating AI-based frontends;
We are still in the early stages, so we are in the "selling dreams" phase. The risks are high due to many execution risks; in a few months, many protocols will open for testing, and we will judge based on their execution;
Use some tools (like DexScreener) to create your own DeFAI project watchlist.
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