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The future of digital self-governance: AI agents in crypto

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3 weeks ago

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Opinion by: Tomer Warschauer Nuni, chief marketing officer of Kima Network

No one should be surprised that the crypto space is actively discussing the new wave of enthusiasm around AI and its limitless uses. According to proponents, AI represents the most promising approach to enhancing blockchain technologies and decentralized applications, driving greater autonomy and efficiency across the ecosystem.

The use of AI agents in crypto trading and interoperability between traditional finance (TradFi) and decentralized finance (DeFi) has been quite fruitful. They also help improve user experience within the ecosystem and play a key role in enhancing the scalability of blockchain networks as they grow.

In December 2024, VanEck reported that AI agents were already numbering 10,000 and that they were expected to reach 1 million in 2025. This projected growth shows how seemingly inevitable this future is for believers and skeptics alike.

The current state of AI agents in the digital world 

It is easy to see why everyone is excited about integrating AI agents into nearly every digital process. They enhance several processes with no or less effort from humans.

Current challenges, however, including the ethical concerns identified by the Vatican, do not allow for their full adoption. Crypto investors also felt the heat after DeepSeek’s release, which led to a massive market loss. This risk-to-reward analysis may well be used to discuss the necessity of AI agents in the crypto industry.

The market capitalization of AI agents in crypto rose 322% in the fourth quarter of 2024, from $4.8 billion to $15.5 billion, indicating that more people in the crypto community are accepting AI. The phenomenon of the absolute autonomy of systems is not so far away if we look at the advantages.

AI agents’ trading, analysis and risk management capabilities are widely reported to be better than those of humans. Every decision made in the market is made quickly and is strongly supported by as much data as possible, reducing human errors that can cause losses. 

There are some good indications of this potential. Edwin is a project that aims to combine AI and decentralized finance, enabling the easy integration of AI agents built on top of frameworks like LangChain and ElizaOS to work with DeFi platforms, including Aave and Uniswap. This makes creating a single interface and securely performing blockchain operations easier, removing the need to learn different protocol integrations. 

Recent: Microsoft for Startups backed project: Web3 AI workforce on demand

This allows for a utopia of financial automation, or “DeFAI,” where AI agents can control their financial destiny and manage and control their assets in a highly complex, dynamic environment.

For example, ElizaOS offers a robust multi-agent simulation environment to develop, deploy and manage many autonomous AI agents. It’s a versatile platform that enables these agents to move between various systems while preserving their identity and knowledge toward fully active and self-directed entities in the crypto realm.

AI agents can combine all the functions of TradFi and DeFi without issue. They can cut out the intermediaries in international transactions, improving the speed of handling crypto and fiat financial transactions. They can also enable liquidity providers to manage their stablecoin yields completely automatedly and maximize their yields according to current demand across all blockchains. These integrations are an indication of the endless possibilities in cross-border payment transactions.

In a September 2024 report, the Global Digital Visionaries Council predicted that by 2025, 20% of all financial transactions would be crosschain due to the integration of TradFi and DeFi systems. 

Projects like Virtuals Protocol go further by enabling users to create, own and deploy autonomous AI agents. Although the initial application of Virtuals Protocol is the creation of AI-driven avatars, the protocol offers resources that can be used for autonomous crypto trading, showing the versatility of AI in blockchain ecosystems.

Autonomous market and personalization is also improving with the help of AI. Crypto’s first AI agents index, Cookie.fun — developed by Cookie DAO — provides real-time analysis of agents’ performance, mindshare and engagement across blockchains and social media. The platform lists their market caps and “smart following” to track market trends and provide vital information that investors and projects can use to make better decisions and identify the top-performing agents in the ecosystem.

AlphaNeural provides a decentralized environment for the training, market share and effectiveness of AI models and agents. It also has a marketplace for AI assets and a GPU aggregation network that enables creators to tokenize their work and secure and scale the execution of AI solutions. In this manner, the current opportunities for developing advanced AI tools are open for everyone, which connects AI developers with the crypto ecosystem.

The crypto analyst community is confident that AI technology can improve most blockchain performance metrics. The crypto ecosystem is also experiencing rapid user growth, which means that the level of personalization in customer interactions is also increasing due to the use of AI agents.

The skeptic’s point of view

Nevertheless, many still have different opinions regarding promoting digital autonomy in crypto through AI agents.

One significant concern raised in a case study published by the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania is the potential effect on the stock market from the increased risk of market manipulation. In theory, collusion between trading algorithms powered by AI could lead to price inefficiencies that might weaken the efficiency of financial markets. In such cases, the bots could manipulate prices up or down or cause a price surge or crash, eroding the market’s credibility.

Many people have also expressed concerns over relying on AI agents to make decisions because they are prone to hacking. Poorly programmed agents may be unable to resist certain types of cyberattacks, resulting in capital loss.

Without a drastic solution to such threats, risks, and legal and ethical issues, the skeptics will always have a valid argument against integrating AI agents in this area.

AI-driven autonomy

Cryptocurrencies and their supporters have been slow to warm up to AI agents, but they really should, given how useful they’ve been in so many areas. These integrations will likely improve trading, help onboarding from TradFi to DeFi, and offer other features. The utopia of completely autonomous AI control crypto experts describe is just around the corner.

The integration of artificial intelligence and blockchain technology unlocks the door to endless possibilities and may pave the path to a new digital era for humanity and its bots.

Opinion by: Tomer Warschauer Nuni, chief marketing officer of Kima Network.

This article is for general information purposes and is not intended to be and should not be taken as legal or investment advice. The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed here are the author’s alone and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.

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Coin Market

XRP price eyes 70% rally ahead of CFTC-regulated futures launch on Coinbase

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33 minutes ago

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April 21, 2025

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XRP (XRP) has dropped nearly 40% since hitting its multi-year high of $3.40 three months ago.

Still, its ability to hold above key technical support levels, combined with a potentially market-shifting derivatives listing, has prompted some analysts to maintain a bullish outlook for the months ahead.

XRP/USD daily price chart. Source: TradingView

Coinbase XRP futures may launch on April 21

From a fundamental perspective, XRP may receive a boost from the anticipated launch of XRP futures contracts on the Coinbase Derivatives platform, scheduled for April 21 under the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s (CFTC) oversight.

Source: X

This development may inject fresh liquidity and institutional interest into the market, helping catalyze the technical breakouts projected above.

XRP price chart painting Wyckoff reaccumulation

XRP’s ongoing consolidation phase resembles a classic Wyckoff reaccumulation pattern, according to technical analyst Charting Guy.

The Wyckoff reaccumulation pattern is a mid-cycle structure that often precedes the next leg of a broader uptrend. It suggests that smart money is absorbing supply during the cooldown, setting the stage for a potential breakout.

XRP established support and began consolidating in late 2024, marking Phases A and B of the Wyckoff reaccumulation pattern. In early April 2025, the price formed a “Spring” followed by a successful “Test,” signaling seller exhaustion.

XRP/USD daily price chart. Source: TradingView/Charting Guy

As of April 21, XRP is attempting to break above the descending “Creek” trendline.

A breakout would confirm a “Jump Across The Creek” (JATC) and entry into Phase D. If confirmed, XRP could enter Phase E and rally 70% toward $3.55 in the coming weeks, a level aligning with the pattern’s Last Point of Support (LPS).

XRP/USD weekly price chart. Source: TradingView

A Fibonacci retracement graph drawn from $3.55-swing-high to $0.14-swing-low presents $5.65 as the upside target for June if XRP price breaks above $3.55.

Falling wedge aligns with XRP’s bullish outlook

The upside outlook aligns with XRP’s prevailing falling wedge pattern, as spotted by chartist “Jobcfx” on X.

Notably, the bullish reversal structure has been narrowing since February 2025. A breakout above the wedge’s upper trendline, currently around the $2.20-2.40 area, would signal the start of a new rally.

XRP/USD daily price chart. Source: TradingView

Falling wedge breakouts typically target a move equal to the pattern’s maximum height.

In XRP’s case, if it breaks above $2.20, the projected upside target for May lands near $4.00, aligning with the Wyckoff reaccumulation’s Phase E breakout zone.

Related: XRP price analysts project $10 next, ‘optimistic’ target of $20

Interestingly, Bitcoin (BTC) is also forming a falling wedge pattern on its chart. If confirmed, a bullish breakout in Bitcoin could act as a catalyst for the altcoin market, potentially accelerating XRP’s upward momentum as well.

This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.

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Coin Market

Bitcoin rally above $100K may follow US Treasury buybacks — Arthur Hayes

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33 minutes ago

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April 21, 2025

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Investors seeking Bitcoin exposure may be running out of time to purchase below the six-figure price, as US Treasury buybacks may signal the next leg up for the world’s first cryptocurrency.

This might be the “last chance” to buy Bitcoin (BTC) below the $100,000 mark, according to Arthur Hayes, co-founder of BitMEX and chief investment officer of Maelstrom.

“Seriously fam, this might be the last chance you have to buy $BTC < $100k,” Hayes said in an April 21 X post, hinting at incoming “treasury buy backs” as the “Bazooka” for Bitcoin’s price trajectory.

Source: Arthur Hayes

Treasury buybacks refer to the US Treasury Department repurchasing its outstanding bonds from the open market to increase liquidity, manage federal debt or stabilize interest rates.

These operations can inject liquidity into the financial system, often benefiting risk assets like Bitcoin.

Related: Bitcoin up 33% since 2024 halving as institutions disrupt cycle

Other analysts predicted that the growth of the fiat money supply will be Bitcoin’s main catalyst in 2025.

BTC projection to $132,000 on M2 money supply growth. Source: Jamie Coutts

The growing money supply may push Bitcoin’s price above $132,000 before the end of the year, according to Jamie Coutts, chief crypto analyst at Real Vision.

However, global trade war concerns may limit investor appetite until the US and China reach a trade agreement amid ongoing escalations.

Related: Metaplanet tops $400M Bitcoin holdings with new $28M purchase

US dollar sinks to 2022 low, Bitcoin gains momentum

Bitcoin price briefly rose above $87,700 for the first time in nearly three weeks, since US President Donald Trump announced reciprocal import tariffs on April 2.

“Looks like Bitcoin is pumping on continued Dollar weakness,” wrote André Dragosch, the European head of research at Bitwise, adding that the US Dollar Index “just touched the lowest level since March 2022.”

BTC, DXY, 1-year chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

The weakening US dollar may reinforce Bitcoin’s appeal as a safe-haven asset, Ryan Lee, chief analyst at Bitget Research, told Cointelegraph, adding:

“Strong volume and technical confirmation from a descending wedge breakout suggest a potential test of the $90,000 resistance, with macro factors like a weakening dollar and rising gold correlation reinforcing BTC’s appeal as a hedge.”

Despite the recent correction, Japanese and UK-based investment firms are investing hundreds of millions into Bitcoin, signaling continued institutional adoption that may accelerate Bitcoin’s four-year cycle.

This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.

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Coin Market

Ethereum Foundation shifts focus to user experience, layer-1 scaling

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2 hours ago

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April 21, 2025

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The Ethereum Foundation, the nonprofit organization developing the Ethereum ecosystem, is shifting its focus to user experience and layer-1 scaling challenges following its March leadership reshuffle. 

On April 21, the Ethereum Foundation co-executive director Tomasz Stańczak shared an X post detailing how the organization has changed since its change in leadership structure.

Stańczak said the change aims to give Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin more time for research and exploration rather than dealing with day-to-day tasks and crisis management.

“Each time Vitalik shares insights or communicates a direction, he accelerates major long‑term breakthroughs,” he wrote.

Stańczak added that Buterin’s recent posts had advanced promising avenues and helped realign the community around the organization’s core values. 

Vitalik Buterin tackles Ethereum privacy and speed

On March 1, the Ethereum Foundation announced that its core researcher Hsiao-Wei Wang and Stańczak, the CEO of Nethermind, would become the co-directors of the organization from March 17. 

Since the changes in the organization’s leadership structure, Buterin has stepped back from daily operations. He has since published proposals addressing the Ethereum network’s privacy and performance limitations.

On April 11, the Ethereum co-founder unveiled a privacy roadmap for the network. In the post, Buterin proposed having features that anonymize user transactions. Buterin said the features should be “ideally turned on by default.” 

Besides the privacy of transactions, Buterin also shared a post addressing Ethereum’s speed and efficiency. On April 20, Buterin proposed a change in the Ethereum Virtual Machine’s (EVM) contract language to improve the efficiency and speed of the blockchain’s execution layer. 

Stańczak said that while Buterin’s proposals will “always carry weight,” they are supposed to start conversations and encourage progress in different research areas. The executive said the community can either refine or reject the ideas. 

Related: Debate as Solana briefly flips Ethereum in staking market cap

Foundation targets near-term protocol upgrades

The Ethereum Foundation will shift much of its research to “near-term” goals, including addressing user experience and scaling challenges in upcoming protocol upgrades, Stańczak said.

Stańczak added that the foundation will concentrate on layer-1 scaling, support for layer-2 scaling, and user experience improvements such as interoperability in the Pectra, Fusaka and Glamsterdam upgrades. 

While the focus shifted to near-term results, the executive said the team is also looking into ways to bring in more long-term projects.

“Posts from our top researchers help some of them to ship within one or two years through initiatives such as next‑generation execution and consensus layers,” Stańczak said. 

Cointelegraph contacted the Ethereum Foundation for comment but did not receive a response by publication.

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