What is AI crypto?
AI crypto refers to blockchain-based projects that integrate artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance decentralised applications (DApps), data sharing and automation. These projects aim to bring AI-powered functionalities to Web3, offering services like AI-driven trading, decentralised machine learning and autonomous agents.
To power these ecosystems, many projects issue their own tokens, which serve as a way to access AI services, incentivise participation or facilitate transactions within the network.
AI tokens play a key role by:
Facilitating AI-driven DApps: They provide access to AI-powered tools, such as automated trading, predictive analytics and smart contract optimisation.
Monetising AI models: Developers can sell or license AI models on blockchain-based marketplaces, creating new revenue opportunities.
Democratising AI: By decentralising AI services, these tokens help reduce reliance on major tech companies, making AI more accessible.
Securing and verifying AI-generated data: Blockchain’s transparency and immutability enhance trust in AI-generated outputs by ensuring data integrity.
This combination of AI and cryptocurrencies aims to create a decentralised AI economy. However, not all projects deliver on these promises, meaning it’s crucial to evaluate their real-world use cases:
Prominent AI crypto projects
Several AI-focused blockchain projects have recently gained growing attention, notably Fetch.ai (FET), SingularityNET (AGIX) and Ocean Protocol (OCEAN). These platforms aim to integrate AI within the blockchain space, enhancing decentralised applications and data sharing. In a major move, these three projects have united to form the Artificial Superintelligence Alliance (ASI), creating an open-source AI ecosystem.
Let’s take a closer look at their individual components:
Fetch.ai (FET)
Fetch.ai is a platform that utilises autonomous economic agents – AI-driven entities capable of executing tasks such as data retrieval and transactions. These agents operate on a decentralised network, aiming to optimise various industries, including supply chain management and finance.
Use case: The platform's native token, FET, is essential for accessing services within the Fetch.ai ecosystem. As the adoption of autonomous agents grows the demand for FET is expected to increase.
SingularityNET (AGIX)
SingularityNET, founded by AI researcher Ben Goertzel, is a decentralised marketplace for AI services. It enables developers to publish, share and monetise their AI algorithms, encouraging collaboration in the community.
Use case: The AGIX token facilitates transactions within the marketplace. As more developers and businesses utilise SingularityNET for AI solutions, the utility and demand for AGIX may rise.
Ocean Protocol (OCEAN)
Ocean Protocol is designed to unlock data for AI consumption by creating a decentralised data exchange. It allows data owners to share and monetise their data securely, providing AI developers with access to valuable datasets.
Use case: The OCEAN token is used for buying and selling data within the platform. As the demand for quality data in AI development increases, the usage of OCEAN tokens is anticipated to grow.
Artificial Superintelligence Alliance (ASI)
In a strategic merger completed in June 2024, Fetch.ai, SingularityNET and Ocean Protocol combined their technologies and communities to form the Artificial Superintelligence Alliance (ASI). This alliance aims to create a decentralised AI infrastructure, focusing on ethical and accessible AI solutions independent of traditional tech monopolies.