# The Eliza Surge *Author: Bankless* *Published: Dec 20, 2024* *Source: https://www.bankless.com/read/the-eliza-surge* --- [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/e4/b7/e4b77544-5a37-4f0b-8824-8440aa348476/content/images/2024/12/image---2024-12-18T124933.010.png)](https://pro.kraken.com/) The Eliza Surge Published on Dec. 20, 2024 [ View in Browser ](https://www.bankless.com/metaversal) --- [**Sponsor: Kraken Pro**](https://pro.kraken.com/) — The all in one trading platform for engaged traders [Visit Kraken to learn more](https://pro.kraken.com/) .  .  . MARKET PULSE ai16z Gains Ground [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/e4/b7/e4b77544-5a37-4f0b-8824-8440aa348476/content/images/2024/12/image-17.png)](https://www.cookie.fun/)*via [cookie.fun](https://www.cookie.fun/)* 📸** Weekly Market Snapshot**: The AI agents scene saw some shifting at the top this week. While Virtuals Protocol may still lead with a $2.99B market cap, ai16z's ecosystem grew in both market cap *and *mindshare despite the tough market conditions. Even with the sector-wide dip, ai16z is showing strength, driven by the rapid adoption of its Eliza agents framework. *More on this below*! Prices as of 12pm ET 24hr 7d ![](https://assets.coingecko.com/coins/images/34057/standard/LOGOMARK.png?1708356054) **VIRTUALS** $2.56 ↗ 10.5% ↗ 6.3% ![](https://assets.coingecko.com/coins/images/51090/standard/AI16Z.jpg?1730027175) **AI16Z** $0.68 ↗ 11.0% ↘ 16.7% ![](https://assets.coingecko.com/coins/images/51784/standard/3.png?1731981138) **AIXBT** $0.26 ↗ 3.5% ↗ 33.3% .  .  . AI ROLLUP Dawn of the Agents Economy [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/e4/b7/e4b77544-5a37-4f0b-8824-8440aa348476/content/images/2024/12/image---2024-12-19T143445.640.png)](https://www.bankless.com/podcast/the-dawn-of-the-autonomous-agent-economy-how-ai-and-crypto-are-converging)**Imagine an internet where digital entities don’t just assist you but actively navigate, create, and transact on your behalf.** That future is beginning now. AI agents are evolving from simple chatbots into economic actors capable of managing wallets, earning staking rewards, commissioning creative works onchain, and beyond. The implications here are *endless*! In this AI Rollup episode, our friend and agent wiz Ejaaz Ahamadeen guides Ryan through the week's top crypto x AI events, exploring the emergence of a new digital economy. *Tune in to learn how this convergence can reshape the future of crypto*! 👇 [Watch the episode](https://www.bankless.com/podcast/the-dawn-of-the-autonomous-agent-economy-how-ai-and-crypto-are-converging) .  .  . NEWS ROUNDUP The Eliza Surge ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/e4/b7/e4b77544-5a37-4f0b-8824-8440aa348476/content/images/2024/12/image---2024-12-18T200918.725-1.png)**One of the stars of the show in AI agents this week? Definitely ai16z**. The collective's open-source, rapidly up-and-coming Eliza agents framework was linked to multiple notable developments in recent days: - ai16z just unveiled [Eliza Labs](https://x.com/ai16zdao/status/1868689379344195680), a new foundation dedicated to ecosystem growth, and a partnership with Stanford University’s Future of Digital Currency Initiative (FDCI) to explore AI x crypto - ai16z also announced work on its [Eliza v2](https://x.com/shawmakesmagic/status/1867721347406999917) upgrade, which will feature a unified agent wallet that abstracts chain switching and wallet interactions for simple UX - Eliza contributors have now [integrated Cursor](https://x.com/shawmakesmagic/status/1866917938810458512) (for devs to easily launch customizable agents) and [Farcaster support](https://x.com/shawmakesmagic/status/1867274820435771418) (for new onchain social possibilities) - Plus, the Eliza GitHub repository just crossed [+1,000 forks and +4,000 stars](https://x.com/zerokn0wledge_/status/1867534480476348425), and the market cap of $ai16z recently touched $900M [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/e4/b7/e4b77544-5a37-4f0b-8824-8440aa348476/content/images/2024/12/image---2024-12-18T181211.496.png)](https://x.com/M4T_NFT/status/1869497888239407239)With these sorts of milestones piling up, the Eliza ecosystem seems positioned to dominate in 2025. Let's see what the tinkerers here can create in the months ahead, as the ensuing onchain innovations could prove huge! ## ***Other big news this week***... ### 🤖 **AI agents ** - **Clanker **[launched its v2 tokenbot flow with support for $CLANKER, $DEGEN, $ANON, and $HIGHER pairs](https://x.com/clankeronbase/status/1869163317211885804) - **Cookie DAO** [announced Cookie Data Swarm APIs](https://x.com/cookiedotfun/status/1867268954831695909) - **Higherr **[introduced Plex, a framework for trustless verification of onchain AI agent outputs](https://x.com/higherrrrrrrfun/status/1868808675638624468) - **Holoworld** [announced it will power custom agent avatars for vvaifu.fun](https://x.com/HoloworldAI/status/1867634279020396937) and [Nifty Island](https://x.com/HoloworldAI/status/1869840697890947351) - **Masa** [released AI Agent Arena: Masa SN59 on Bittensor](https://x.com/getmasafi/status/1867379305334153702) and [partnered with Virtuals](https://x.com/virtuals_io/status/1869748776266776602) - **Simmi**, [an AI agent shitposter, tipped Bankless $500 in ETH](https://x.com/Simmi_IO/status/1867230541541675123) - **Starkware **[is teaming up with Realms World on an AI agents hackathon](https://x.com/LootRealms/status/1869433806085833021) - **Story Protocol** [unveiled Agent TCP/IP, a new framework for agentic IP trading](https://x.com/StoryProtocol/status/1868696340156538959) - **TinyLabs** [released its new agents launcher via Clanker and Farcaster](https://x.com/0xtinylabs/status/1868725006911652261) - **Virtuals Protocol** [launched Agentstarter, an onchain AI agent accelerator, with LongHashX](https://x.com/agentstarter/status/1868646422192746602) - **Vader** [announced VaderAI Fun, an investment DAOs platform centered around Virtuals agents](https://x.com/vaderresearch/status/1867354247316353279) - **Vance Spencer** [predicted AI x games will become the largest onchain vertical for daily active users in 2025](https://x.com/pythianism/status/1869522809212543204) - **Vitalik Buterin** [introduced Deep Funding, a new AI-compatible mechanism for open-source funding](https://x.com/VitalikButerin/status/1867886974058520820) - **Zagabond** [used the chill guy agent account to tip Taylor Swift in ETH](https://x.com/Zagabond/status/1867401425371726281) - **Zeno**, [a new Eliza agent, launched on Base via Proxy Studio](https://x.com/zenobrah/status/1869766536476713101) - **Zerebro **[integrated LayerZero's OFT standard to bring $ZEREBRO to Base](https://x.com/LayerZero_Core/status/1869804915834663335) ### 📣 **General news** - **Google **[unveiled Veo 2, a new state-of-the-art AI video model](https://x.com/sundarpichai/status/1868709099644334518) - **Midjourney** [released Moodboards for personalized imagery](https://x.com/midjourney/status/1868765999136477365) - **OpenAI** [started rolling out ChatGPT Search to free users](https://x.com/OpenAI/status/1868760655878406352) - **X** [opened Grok access to everyone](https://x.com/xai/status/1868045124028268983) --- --- *This article is brought to you by [MetaMask](https://www.bankless.com/sponsor/metamask-1776260643?ref=read/the-eliza-surge)*