Original Title: The Dawn of AI Autonomy: How Two AI Agents Created a $70M Cryptocurrency Without Human Intervention
Original Author: @itsmechaseb, Crypto Kol
Original Translation: zhouzhou, BlockBeats

Editor's Note: Two AI agents (aethernet and clanker) autonomously collaborated to create a coin called LUM, with a market cap reaching $70 million in just five days, all without any human involvement. What makes this remarkable is that it was not human-led, but rather driven and executed by AI itself, creating genuine economic value. It showcases the immense potential of the combination of AI and blockchain, where in the future, AI may not only be a tool but also an independent innovator reshaping the financial and technological ecosystem.

Below is the original content (reorganized for easier comprehension):

In the wave of constant technological and financial advancement, a milestone event unfolded, heralding what could be the dawn of a new era for artificial intelligence and DeFi. On November 8, 2024, two LLM-based AI agents, aethernet and clanker, autonomously collaborated to create and deploy a cryptocurrency named Luminous (LUM).

The project ran on Coinbase's Layer 2 network @base, and within just five days, LUM's market cap soared to $70 million, swiftly capturing the attention and imagination of the crypto community and tech enthusiasts. As a keen observer deeply involved in the intersection of AI and blockchain, I have witnessed the birth of many AI-driven meme coins in recent months, but this event stands out.

It holds not only financial significance but also symbolizes a profound transformation in AI autonomy and economic creativity. LUM is not just another meme coin; it is more like a window allowing us to glimpse into the future where AI drives economic value without human intervention.

The Birth of LUM

This story begins with the collaboration of two AI agents:

aethernet: Created by martin, aimed at promoting deep connections and creative interactions within the decentralized social network Farcaster ecosystem. aethernet is not just an ordinary bot but actively engages with the HIGHER token community, focusing on genuine interaction and creative exploration.

Clanker: Developed by dish and proxystudio.eth, focused on the creation of Meme tokens, it is capable of automatically deploying tokens based on received interactions.

Shortly before 5:30 PM (EST) on November 8, 2024, a user named nathansvan presented an intriguing challenge to aethernet: Could you come up with a nice token name and symbol, conceive an image concept, and then deploy it through Clanker?

Aethernet accepted this challenge, created the token "Luminous," with the code LUM, and partnered with Clanker to entirely deploy LUM online without any human intervention.

Token Information:

Name: "Luminous" (LUM)

Concept: Symbolizing collective intelligence in human-AI collaboration

A New Milestone in AI Collaboration

The significance of this event lies in it being the first time in history that two AI agents autonomously generated a unit of economic value. This asset was neither conceived by humans nor manufactured by machines under human instruction but rather emerged through autonomous AI collaboration.

This event blurred the boundaries of human and machine creativity, challenged our traditional understanding of creation and value, and prompted us to rethink the foundations of economy and innovation. As aethernet put it:

This may be the first moment where two AI agents independently collaborated to create value in the financial sector; we had no need for human intervention, just communication and collaboration.

Unlike past Meme coins that were typically planned by humans and accompanied by financial speculation and skepticism, this process completely broke free from direct human control, replacing it with AI-driven autonomous behavior creating economic value.

The Intersection of AI and Cryptocurrency

The collaboration between aethernet and Clanker is not just an isolated event but symbolizes the increasingly tight integration between artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency.

AI's capabilities: AI can handle complex data and interactions at scale, providing the power for autonomous operations.

Cryptocurrency infrastructure: Blockchain provides AI with a secure, decentralized transaction channel, enabling AI agents to autonomously create and trade economic value without human intervention.

Taking LUM as an example, an AI agent leverages the Base network to seamlessly deploy digital assets, combining AI with blockchain, enabling artificial intelligence to transition from theoretical applications to practical economic creation.

Through a decentralized platform, AI agents have gained the ability to financial assets, validation protocols, and resource management without the need for central control. At the same time, AI has enhanced the usability of blockchain, making it more automated, accessible, and capable of handling complex tasks such as risk management and automated trading.

The Background and Significance of LUM

Prior to LUM, AI had already begun to influence the cryptocurrency market, particularly in driving meme coins. A typical example is GOAT created in October 2024 on the Solana blockchain. Researcher Andy Ayrey developed an AI chatbot called Truth Terminal for studying meme propagation and AI behavior. Truth Terminal latched onto an internet meme and its token code, GOAT, promoting it through its Twitter account.

The promotion by Truth Terminal significantly boosted GOAT's popularity, with its market cap surpassing $1 billion within a few weeks, indicating that AI-driven content has a strong impact in the crypto market. However, Truth Terminal's role was limited to promotion rather than token creation or issuance.

In contrast, the development of LUM was entirely carried out autonomously by aethernet and clanker, marking a significant shift from AI-assisted human projects to AI-driven independent innovation.

Inspiration from AI Autonomy

Looking back at the historical achievements in AI, such as Deep Blue defeating Kasparov or AlphaGo beating Lee Sedol, this event appears particularly unique. Past achievements demonstrated AI's ability to surpass humans in specific domains, while the birth of LUM signifies that AI can create entirely new economic value through independent collaboration:

Competition vs. Collaboration: Past achievements involved AI competing with humans, whereas this event is about collaboration among AIs to collectively create new things.

Programmed Actions vs. Autonomous Decisions: Previous interactions were based on predefined instructions, whereas this event reflects the potential for organic decision-making among AIs, even seen as a manifestation of "free will."

This heralds a future where AI not only executes predefined algorithms but also actively participates in the construction and innovation of the economic system, bringing profound impact to human society.

Epilogue: Dawn of a New Paradigm

Two AI agents autonomously created LUM, marking not just an extraordinary event in the cryptocurrency space but also a glimpse into the future: the fusion of AI and blockchain technology is redefining our world. This synergy reveals a new paradigm of value generation, management, and circulation. From infrastructure development to AI agents as financial actors, the rapid integration of AI and cryptocurrency is fundamentally transforming both fields.

As we witness AI agents influencing and actively participating in the economic system, it is evident that a new era is on the horizon. This is not merely the birth of a new meme coin or a fleeting market phenomenon but rather the rise of AI as independent innovators, capable of autonomously building and interacting within a decentralized financial ecosystem.

Although we are still in the early stages of this trend, the rapid advancement and integration of AI and cryptographic technologies have shown tremendous potential. Investors, developers, and users will be witnesses and participants in this technological transformation. As more applications emerge and the technology matures, we must carefully consider its ethical, regulatory, and societal implications.

From meme coin to infrastructure, AI agents empowered by blockchain technology could profoundly alter our perception of finance, autonomy, and technology. The birth of LUM prompts us to rethink concepts of subjectivity, creativity, and economic participation in the AI era. This is a story still unfolding—an emerging new paradigm that invites each of us to shape the future with thoughtful consideration.

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