The metaverse isn't a place: Why Animoca’s Yat Siu says the future is 100 billion AI agents
Animoca Brands chairman Yat Siu argues the metaverse's future lies not in VR worlds but autonomous AI agents handling transactions on blockchain networks. He predicts 50-100 billion AI agents will manage payments, bookings and commerce, solving crypto's user-onboarding challenge. Animoca announced a $10 million fund for AI agent developers, signaling a major industry pivot away from immersive virtual realities.
Key takeaways
- 1Animoca predicts 50-100 billion AI agents will handle blockchain transactions, payments, and commerce autonomously in the background.
- 2Animoca launched $10 million Animoca Minds fund to support developers building AI agent applications on blockchain infrastructure.
- 3Only 70 million of 800 million crypto owners actively use blockchain apps; AI agents could solve mainstream user-onboarding challenges.
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Why it matters
This signals a fundamental industry shift from consumer-facing metaverse VR platforms toward machine-driven blockchain infrastructure, potentially unlocking crypto adoption at scale. For Indian retail investors, this represents a long-term pivot in blockchain utility—from gaming/social applications toward autonomous agent economies, making blockchain the backend financial system for AI rather than a consumer product.
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