AI Agents Drive Web3 Growth with Billions in Funding

With $1.39 billion raised and over 17,000 AI agents launched, AI has become a cornerstone of the decentralized ecosystem. On-chain activity related to AI has surged by 86% since the beginning of the year, reaching 4.5 million unique active wallets daily. This growth has elevated AI's market share to 19%, just behind gaming (20%), a significant leap from 9% in January.

What Are AI Agents?

AI agents are autonomous software programs that perform tasks, make decisions, or interact with users based on goals, prompts, or real-time data. In Web3, these agents are evolving into "crypto-native" entities with specialized roles. For example:

• DeFi copilots manage yield strategies or execute trades.
• Social agents represent users in decentralized social networks.
• Gaming agents act as intelligent guides or opponents.

According to cookie.fun, 1,748 AI agents are already active across various environments. On Virtuals Protocol, over 17,000 agents have been launched since November 2024, averaging 85 new agents per day.

Tokens: Utility vs. Hype

Most AI agents in Web3 are accompanied by tokens, which serve multiple purposes:

• Governance: Enabling community-driven decisions.
• Utility: Funding development and advanced features.
• Speculation: Some tokens resemble memecoins, riding market waves.

The sector's total market capitalization stands at $5.9 billion, with $1.4 billion traded in the last 24 hours. However, the market has corrected sharply from its June peak of $16.6 billion, reflecting broader volatility.

Global Adoption Trends

AI agents are gaining traction worldwide:

• Europe leads with 26.2% of sessions.
• Asia follows at 21.9%.
• North America accounts for 15.8%.
• South America is growing but remains marginal at 2.5%.

A significant 33% of interactions come from untracked regions, including VPN users.

Investment and Future Outlook

In 2025, AI-related projects raised $1.39 billion, a 9.4% increase from 2024. This signals strong investor confidence in the potential of autonomous on-chain agents. Key blockchain platforms driving adoption include:

• Matchain: 1.9 million daily users, fueled by social and agent-centric dapps.
• opBNB and Nebula: Popular for lightweight, gamified AI services.

Challenges Ahead

While the growth is undeniable, challenges remain:

• Many tokens are still hype-driven rather than utility-focused.
• Not all agents deliver on promises of autonomy.

As the ecosystem matures, AI agents are poised to become a foundational layer of Web3, reshaping how users interact with decentralized protocols. The race is on to build smarter agents, stronger ecosystems, and clearer standards for the future.