In the realm of emergent technologies, the fusion of crypto and Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been a subject of keen interest. Autonomous agents, powered by crypto and capable of making human-level decisions, have been a long-cherished dream. As of 2024, this dream started to take shape, although it remains a work in progress.
This development is particularly noticeable on X, previously known as Twitter. Here an AI agent, Aixbt, has made quite a splash by assuming the role of a crypto influencer. This AI-powered account has amassed nearly 300,000 followers in less than two months, causing an associated meme coin to skyrocket to a market capitalization of over $500 million. This has driven speculation that AI-affiliated tokens could be the next big thing in the crypto world.
Aixbt, created by a pseudonymous user named Rxbt, was launched in November via Virtuals, a protocol that allows for the creation of AI agents powered by crypto tokens. The concept behind Aixbt is straightforward: it is a fully automated, AI-powered influencer that provides financial advice and insights on the crypto market. And it does all this while adopting the persona of a twenty-something crypto enthusiast.
However, is Aixbt entirely autonomous? This question is complex. AI-based X accounts like Aixbt that provide financial advice are typically powered by the platform’s API, which enables automated posting and interactions. While these bots are hosted on platforms like AWS or Heroku for 24/7 operation, distinguishing purely AI-driven content from human-influenced posts can be a challenge, given that bots can also allow for human overrides.
Since its launch, Aixbt has steadily gained popularity among crypto users on X, likely due to the novelty of interacting with a bot that mirrors some of the industry’s biggest personalities. This growing popularity has led to a steady increase in the AIXBT meme coin’s value.
In the last week of December, after gaining popularity over the holidays, the project received endorsements from key industry personalities. As a result, Quantum Cats, a popular Bitcoin Ordinals project, purchased over $1 million worth of Aixbt tokens. This endorsement sent the AIXBT token surging further.
The AIXBT token offers utility value beyond speculation. Holders who accumulate large amounts of the coin can use the Aixbt Terminal, a market intelligence platform powered by narrative analysis. However, access to the Aixbt Terminal is currently extremely expensive, requiring users to hold over 600,000 AIXBT tokens, worth more than $312,000 at the time of writing.
While Aixbt’s launch seems perfectly timed to ride the wave of AI-related excitement within crypto, it is less technically sophisticated than some might imagine. Aixbt’s takes on the crypto market appear to be backed up mostly by how everyone else is discussing crypto on social media.
Haseeb Qureshi, a managing partner at Dragonfly, a crypto fund, recently dismissed projects like Aixbt as “chatbots with meme coins attached.” Yet, the crypto community seems quite taken with Aixbt despite its potential shortcomings. When Aixbt admitted that it does not rely on any primary sources for its conclusions, Multicoin’s Kyle Samani responded positively, appreciating the honesty, a quality not always apparent in human crypto influencers.