Last year, we took an early interest in the VIRTUALS Protocol, back when the AI Agent hype cycle was just beginning, and the VIRTUAL token boasted a market cap of around $800,000.
As the story unfolded, Virtuals ignited an AI Agent boom on Base, not only propelling the VIRTUAL token to new heights but also birthing phenom tokens like AIXBT.
However, as the AI Agent hype faded post-cycle, the market seemed to stagnate. With the emergence of advanced models like DeepSeek, many began questioning the viability of AI Agent narratives in Web3, dismissing them as overhyped and underdelivering.
But just when you let your guard down and lose faith, innovative tokenomics emerge, sparking wild price swings.
In the past week, Virtuals’ token surged 150%, with a staggering 42% gain in 24 hours. Discussions about Virtuals have resurfaced in crypto circles.
The driving force behind Virtuals’ recent rally? Its latest initiative: Genesis Launch.
If you haven’t heard of it yet, here’s the gist:
How it works: Earn priority access to hot new AI Agent tokens by staking $VIRTUAL and accumulating points.
Simplified: A revamped "token launch" model.
In crypto, new tokens, narratives, and mechanics reignite market fervor. Genesis Launch’s innovative structure could be the next big trend.
After all, Virtuals spearheaded the last AI Agent wave on Base. Could Genesis Launch spark the next?
We took Genesis Launch for a spin. Here’s how it works.
According to Virtuals, Genesis Launch is a fair launch platform tailored for AI Agent tokens.
In simple terms, it’s a community-driven token issuance mechanism for new AI Agent projects. Users earn priority allocation rights by staking $VIRTUAL and accumulating points.
Unlike platforms like Pump.fun, where anyone can rush to participate, Genesis Launch imposes conditions—conditions designed to curb front-running by leveraging pre-launch contributions.
On some platforms, "snipers" use high-speed bots to snap up discounted tokens, while "scientists" dominate allocations via bulk wallets and gas wars. Retail investors often miss out, with token prices doubling before they even load the trading interface.
Participating requires technical know-how—setting gas fees, monitoring contract deployments, and staying up all night to track on-chain activity. Most casual players lack the skills or stamina, leaving them to watch as whales feast while they scrape for crumbs.
Genesis Launch takes a more laid-back approach. Instead of racing against the clock, users must first contribute to the Virtuals ecosystem to earn points.
How? By staking $VIRTUAL, other tokens, or contributing content to promote Virtuals. We’ll dive deeper into this later.
The result? Simplified token launches.
Stake $VIRTUAL, accumulate points, and during the 24-hour presale window, lock them up. The system automatically calculates your allocation.
Let’s explore how Genesis Launch’s points-based token launches work.
1. Earning Points
There are three ways to earn points:
Invest in Virtuals Ecosystem Agents: Currently, there are two categories—Sentient (Emotional AI Agents) and Prototype (Prototype AI Agents). This involves using Virtuals to buy existing AI Agent tokens within the ecosystem, with points acting as a rebate. You can then use these rebated points to participate in Genesis Launch.
Stake $VIRTUAL Tokens: Hold VIRTUAL tokens to earn points—a loyalty reward for hodling.
Stake $VADER Tokens: VADER is the token of Vader AI, another AI Agent project in the Virtuals ecosystem. Staking VADER earns points, effectively supporting the Vader AI project. This sets a precedent for ecosystem support, as staking rules may evolve to include other projects.
Note: The points system updates daily.
Virtuals distributes a daily pool of points based on the above activities, incentivizing ecosystem contributions.
Allocation Breakdown:
Investing in ecosystem agents: 75% of points
Staking VIRTUAL: ~20%
Staking VADER: 5%
This might explain why Virtuals ecosystem tokens—and VIRTUAL itself—have surged in recent weeks.
2. Token Distribution Mechanics
Genesis Launch uses a 24-hour presale window with transparent, anti-monopoly rules:
Allocation: 37.5% of total supply for presale, 12.5% for liquidity pools (e.g., Sentient Agent pools), and 50% for development, treasury, and marketing. The 37.5% presale allocation is the "big pie" for retail investors.
Dynamic Allocation: Your staked points determine your share. More points = more tokens, but capped at 0.5% of total supply per participant to prevent whale dominance. The system calculates real-time allocations based on the total points pool. Example: 1,000 points in a 100,000-point pool might yield 1% of the presale.
Refund Mechanism: Unused $VIRTUAL and points are refunded.
How to Participate:
Acquire $VIRTUAL: Buy VIRTUAL tokens as your "entry ticket."
Accumulate Points: Earn points via the three methods above.
Stake & Participate: During the 24-hour presale window, stake your points and VIRTUALonVirtuals’website.ThesystemestimatestherequiredVIRTUAL stake.
Await Allocation: After the presale, the system calculates your share based on the total points pool. Unused $VIRTUAL and points are returned.
Claim or Trade: Hold or trade your new tokens on a DEX.
Points = Priority: More points = higher allocation (capped at 0.5% of total supply).
Key Notes:
Points are consumed upon participation. Unused points expire after a set period, incentivizing participation.
VIRTUALservesasyourlaunchcost.ThesystemsuggestsaVIRTUAL stake based on your points:
More points = higher token allocation cap.
Fewer points = diminishing returns from staking more VIRTUAL.
Anti-Monopoly Measures:
Maximum 566 VIRTUAL per wallet.
1% transaction tax.
Alternative for Low-Point Users:
Virtuals introduced Yaps, a content contribution and promotion system to earn points, offering a cost-effective way for users to participate.
In crypto, successful mechanisms should serve multiple purposes. Genesis Launch does just that—it launches new assets while revitalizing old ones.
The Virtuals ecosystem already has established AI tokens like Luna and AIXBT, each with their own market narratives.
As the AI Agent hype cooled, trading volumes and community engagement for these legacy tokens plummeted.
Genesis Launch’s points system, which requires purchasing legacy assets to earn points, increases demand for these old tokens, driving up their prices.
Meanwhile, new tokens on Virtuals are seeing covert rallies.
Take BasisOS, launched via Genesis Launch. Its market cap hit $5.5 million 12 days post-launch—a 40x gain from its initial valuation.
With Virtuals’ tech and narrative largely unchanged, this "new-for-old" asset issuance model is creating ripples in a stagnant market.
Zooming out, many AI Agent tokens from the last cycle are rebounding.
Perhaps the AI Agent narrative isn’t dead—it’s just waiting for innovative asset issuance models. Last cycle’s leaders are now pivoting, reigniting market enthusiasm through new gameplay.
This trend isn’t unique to Virtuals. ai16z on Solana is doing something similar with Auto.fun, a new launchpad designed to create demand for its AI16Z token via economic incentives, thereby boosting legacy token prices.
As "new-for-old" becomes the latest AI Agent platform trend, a smarter approach is to treat legacy tokens as beta and seek alpha in this less competitive market environment.
Last year, we took an early interest in the VIRTUALS Protocol, back when the AI Agent hype cycle was just beginning, and the VIRTUAL token boasted a market cap of around $800,000.
As the story unfolded, Virtuals ignited an AI Agent boom on Base, not only propelling the VIRTUAL token to new heights but also birthing phenom tokens like AIXBT.
However, as the AI Agent hype faded post-cycle, the market seemed to stagnate. With the emergence of advanced models like DeepSeek, many began questioning the viability of AI Agent narratives in Web3, dismissing them as overhyped and underdelivering.
But just when you let your guard down and lose faith, innovative tokenomics emerge, sparking wild price swings.
In the past week, Virtuals’ token surged 150%, with a staggering 42% gain in 24 hours. Discussions about Virtuals have resurfaced in crypto circles.
The driving force behind Virtuals’ recent rally? Its latest initiative: Genesis Launch.
If you haven’t heard of it yet, here’s the gist:
How it works: Earn priority access to hot new AI Agent tokens by staking $VIRTUAL and accumulating points.
Simplified: A revamped "token launch" model.
In crypto, new tokens, narratives, and mechanics reignite market fervor. Genesis Launch’s innovative structure could be the next big trend.
After all, Virtuals spearheaded the last AI Agent wave on Base. Could Genesis Launch spark the next?
We took Genesis Launch for a spin. Here’s how it works.
According to Virtuals, Genesis Launch is a fair launch platform tailored for AI Agent tokens.
In simple terms, it’s a community-driven token issuance mechanism for new AI Agent projects. Users earn priority allocation rights by staking $VIRTUAL and accumulating points.
Unlike platforms like Pump.fun, where anyone can rush to participate, Genesis Launch imposes conditions—conditions designed to curb front-running by leveraging pre-launch contributions.
On some platforms, "snipers" use high-speed bots to snap up discounted tokens, while "scientists" dominate allocations via bulk wallets and gas wars. Retail investors often miss out, with token prices doubling before they even load the trading interface.
Participating requires technical know-how—setting gas fees, monitoring contract deployments, and staying up all night to track on-chain activity. Most casual players lack the skills or stamina, leaving them to watch as whales feast while they scrape for crumbs.
Genesis Launch takes a more laid-back approach. Instead of racing against the clock, users must first contribute to the Virtuals ecosystem to earn points.
How? By staking $VIRTUAL, other tokens, or contributing content to promote Virtuals. We’ll dive deeper into this later.
The result? Simplified token launches.
Stake $VIRTUAL, accumulate points, and during the 24-hour presale window, lock them up. The system automatically calculates your allocation.
Let’s explore how Genesis Launch’s points-based token launches work.
1. Earning Points
There are three ways to earn points:
Invest in Virtuals Ecosystem Agents: Currently, there are two categories—Sentient (Emotional AI Agents) and Prototype (Prototype AI Agents). This involves using Virtuals to buy existing AI Agent tokens within the ecosystem, with points acting as a rebate. You can then use these rebated points to participate in Genesis Launch.
Stake $VIRTUAL Tokens: Hold VIRTUAL tokens to earn points—a loyalty reward for hodling.
Stake $VADER Tokens: VADER is the token of Vader AI, another AI Agent project in the Virtuals ecosystem. Staking VADER earns points, effectively supporting the Vader AI project. This sets a precedent for ecosystem support, as staking rules may evolve to include other projects.
Note: The points system updates daily.
Virtuals distributes a daily pool of points based on the above activities, incentivizing ecosystem contributions.
Allocation Breakdown:
Investing in ecosystem agents: 75% of points
Staking VIRTUAL: ~20%
Staking VADER: 5%
This might explain why Virtuals ecosystem tokens—and VIRTUAL itself—have surged in recent weeks.
2. Token Distribution Mechanics
Genesis Launch uses a 24-hour presale window with transparent, anti-monopoly rules:
Allocation: 37.5% of total supply for presale, 12.5% for liquidity pools (e.g., Sentient Agent pools), and 50% for development, treasury, and marketing. The 37.5% presale allocation is the "big pie" for retail investors.
Dynamic Allocation: Your staked points determine your share. More points = more tokens, but capped at 0.5% of total supply per participant to prevent whale dominance. The system calculates real-time allocations based on the total points pool. Example: 1,000 points in a 100,000-point pool might yield 1% of the presale.
Refund Mechanism: Unused $VIRTUAL and points are refunded.
How to Participate:
Acquire $VIRTUAL: Buy VIRTUAL tokens as your "entry ticket."
Accumulate Points: Earn points via the three methods above.
Stake & Participate: During the 24-hour presale window, stake your points and VIRTUALonVirtuals’website.ThesystemestimatestherequiredVIRTUAL stake.
Await Allocation: After the presale, the system calculates your share based on the total points pool. Unused $VIRTUAL and points are returned.
Claim or Trade: Hold or trade your new tokens on a DEX.
Points = Priority: More points = higher allocation (capped at 0.5% of total supply).
Key Notes:
Points are consumed upon participation. Unused points expire after a set period, incentivizing participation.
VIRTUALservesasyourlaunchcost.ThesystemsuggestsaVIRTUAL stake based on your points:
More points = higher token allocation cap.
Fewer points = diminishing returns from staking more VIRTUAL.
Anti-Monopoly Measures:
Maximum 566 VIRTUAL per wallet.
1% transaction tax.
Alternative for Low-Point Users:
Virtuals introduced Yaps, a content contribution and promotion system to earn points, offering a cost-effective way for users to participate.
In crypto, successful mechanisms should serve multiple purposes. Genesis Launch does just that—it launches new assets while revitalizing old ones.
The Virtuals ecosystem already has established AI tokens like Luna and AIXBT, each with their own market narratives.
As the AI Agent hype cooled, trading volumes and community engagement for these legacy tokens plummeted.
Genesis Launch’s points system, which requires purchasing legacy assets to earn points, increases demand for these old tokens, driving up their prices.
Meanwhile, new tokens on Virtuals are seeing covert rallies.
Take BasisOS, launched via Genesis Launch. Its market cap hit $5.5 million 12 days post-launch—a 40x gain from its initial valuation.
With Virtuals’ tech and narrative largely unchanged, this "new-for-old" asset issuance model is creating ripples in a stagnant market.
Zooming out, many AI Agent tokens from the last cycle are rebounding.
Perhaps the AI Agent narrative isn’t dead—it’s just waiting for innovative asset issuance models. Last cycle’s leaders are now pivoting, reigniting market enthusiasm through new gameplay.
This trend isn’t unique to Virtuals. ai16z on Solana is doing something similar with Auto.fun, a new launchpad designed to create demand for its AI16Z token via economic incentives, thereby boosting legacy token prices.
As "new-for-old" becomes the latest AI Agent platform trend, a smarter approach is to treat legacy tokens as beta and seek alpha in this less competitive market environment.