The Rise of AI in the Web3 Field: Agency Economy, Token Market and User Trend Analysis

Recent data shows that on-chain activities related to AI have experienced explosive growth. Since the beginning of this year, AI's dominant position in the Web3 space has jumped from 9% to 19%, second only to gaming applications. The number of daily active unique wallets has reached 4.5 million, an 86% increase compared to the previous period. This phenomenon reflects a fundamental transformation in how users interact with decentralized applications.

AI agents are becoming the new on-chain interaction layer, covering multiple fields such as DeFi, social, and gaming. They do not replace users, but rather enhance user capabilities through automation and optimization. Data shows that AI is leading discussions in the Web3 space and may define its future development direction.

Key Data

• The dominant position of AI on the blockchain rose from 9% in January to 19% in June.
• AI agent projects raised $1.39 billion in the first half of 2025, a year-on-year increase of 9.4%.
• A total of 17,124 proxies have been launched on the Virtuals Protocol, with an average of over 85 new ones added daily.
• The total market capitalization of AI-related tokens is $5.9 billion, with a daily trading volume of $1.4 billion.
• Europe and Asia are the regions with the highest usage of AI applications, accounting for 26.2% and 21.9% respectively.

AI Agent Overview

AI agents are software programs that can autonomously perform tasks, make decisions, and interact. In the Web3 ecosystem, AI agents show a trend towards specialization:

• DeFi Agent: Execute trades, manage yield strategies, act as portfolio manager
• Social Proxy: Manage user profiles and respond to messages on behalf of users.
• Game Agent: Acts as a game guide or opponent

Currently, there are 1,748 AI agents active in various environments. Within just a few months of the launch of Virtuals Protocol, over 17,000 agents have been deployed. Multiple public chains are building the infrastructure for the creation and deployment of AI agents, and the agent economy is rapidly taking shape.

AI Agency Token Market

Most AI agent projects come with a Token issuance. These Tokens can be used for community governance, access to premium features, or project financing. Some Tokens are more of a capitalization strategy, used to gain liquidity or reward early users.

Despite market fluctuations, the total market value of AI-related tokens has reached $5.9 billion, accounting for 0.18% of the cryptocurrency market. The daily trading volume exceeds $1.4 billion. However, the market value in this sector has shrunk by 64% from its peak at the beginning of the month, reflecting the high volatility of the early stage.

Major Public Chains Supporting AI Applications

Based on daily active user data, the following public chains perform outstandingly in supporting AI applications:

1. Matchain: Nearly 1.9 million daily active users
2. opBNB
3. Nebula

These networks lay the foundation for the deployment and interaction of AI agents, expected to usher in the next wave of autonomous agents.

User Regional Distribution

AI application users are spread across the globe, with the following regional distribution:

• Europe:26.2%
• Asia: 21.9%
• North America: 15.8%
• South America: 2.5%
• Others: 33%

This distribution shows the global demand for AI agents. In the future, there may be more regionalized agent behaviors and characteristics.

Investment Trends

AI agent projects in the Web3 space are attracting a significant amount of investment. In the first half of 2025, AI agent projects raised $1.39 billion, a year-on-year increase of 9.4%. This figure is now comparable to other Web3 segments such as blockchain gaming.

Investors increasingly see AI agents as a new "primitive" that could reshape user interaction. If this trend continues, 2025 may become the Web3 vertical where AI agents attract the most funding for the first time.

Conclusion

The rise of AI agents marks a profound transformation in the way users interact with decentralized systems. From DeFi to social to gaming, AI agents are moving from the experimental phase to infrastructure. However, challenges still exist, such as Token speculation, autonomy realization, and uneven cross-chain infrastructure.

With the maturity of tools and the popularization of practical applications, interaction with on-chain AI is expected to become the new normal. The competition to create smarter agents, more powerful ecosystems, and clearer standards has already begun, and this field is still in its infancy.