Should’ve bought: TON’s push, AI tokens and 16 years since bitcoin’s first transaction
“Should’ve bought” is ForkLog’s news podcast about the week’s biggest industry stories and the hottest tokens.
Topics: ubiquitous memes, hype around AI agents, TON’s US expansion, and 16 years since the genesis block and the first bitcoin transaction.
Special guest: TON technical lead Anatoly Makosov.
Participants: ForkLog authors Vladimir Sliper and Lena Jess.
AI inspires, memes surprise
At the start of 2025, the combined capitalisation of “AI-inspired” meme tokens exceeded $11bn, with daily trading volume nearing $2.5bn.
On CoinGecko it is noted that AI-related assets use AI agents, are created with the relevant tools, or are based on trends and technologies in this field.
By mid-January, prices for many AI tokens had corrected sharply, inevitably weighing on the segment’s market capitalisation — the figure fell by almost 40% to $8bn.
Will the hype last?
Artificial intelligence and cryptocurrencies will underpin new trends in the coming years, believes Dragonfly managing partner Haseeb Qureshi. In his view, in 2025 AI agents will take centre stage in the industry, although today the technologies resemble chatbots with meme coins run “from behind the scenes”. The exception he named was Freysa.
Qureshi thinks chatbots will replace crypto influencers and meme coins will fade. By 2026, mass adoption of AI agents could trigger a backlash, reviving interest in human-made content. Bots will shift from meme coins to monetisation through sponsorships and token promotion, while exposés of “AI influencers” will become routine.
Longer term, software development will be reshaped, becoming cheaper and spurring an on-chain renaissance. Qureshi also noted that digital assets will become an important settlement tool for AI agents, strengthening stablecoins — especially Tether — amid a softer US regulatory stance.
TON’s far-reaching plans
The TON Foundation announced Manuel Stotz as its new president and set out a “strategic course” to expand operations in the United States.
“TON is ready to lead the blockchain revolution. I am delighted to work with our partners and stakeholders, especially in the innovative US market,” said Stotz.
The organisation stressed that important steps to implement the new course can be expected in the coming months.
Stotz is a co-founder of investment firm Kingsway Capital and a member of the foundation’s board. His predecessor, Steve Yun, will remain with the team to support the project’s development in the US market.
Sony’s Soneium: problems at launch
Sony’s blockchain division unveiled the Soneium mainnet — an Ethereum-based L2 leveraging Optimism technologies. The platform targets financial and entertainment applications, with creators and their communities as the core audience. However, the network’s debut was marked by a contentious token freeze that sparked a wave of criticism.
Users accused the developers of freezing smart contracts without prior notice. Among those affected was the Aibo token, dedicated to Sony’s famous robot dog.
Representatives of the platform explained their actions as a response to copyright violations, but the community remained unconvinced. By participants’ estimates, damages exceeded $100,000.
Subscribe to the podcast:
Рассылки ForkLog: держите руку на пульсе биткоин-индустрии!