Virtuals Protocol revenue down 97% as AI agent demand fades

Virtuals Protocol, an AI agent platform enabling the creation and monetization of AI-driven virtual entities on the blockchain, has seen its daily trading revenue plummet by 96.8% despite expanding from Coinbase’s Ethereum layer-2 Base to Solana.

According to Dune Analytics data, the protocol recorded its highest daily revenue of over $1 million on Jan. 2, but that figure had dropped to less than $35,000 as of Feb. 27.

Revenue from the Base virtual app has been particularly weak, with earnings remaining below $1,000 for 10 consecutive days, declining from its daily peak of $859,000 on Oct. 27, 2024. In total, Virtuals generated $28,492 on the Base network and $6,300 on Solana on Feb. 27.

The number of new AI agents created on the platform has remained below 10 per day for the past 10 days.

Related: New agent launches on Virtuals plummet amid AI token drawdown

Virtuals disappoints since moving to Solana

Originally launched on Base, Virtuals gained attention for its novel AI agents capable of managing their own cryptocurrency wallets and even tipping social media users to drive engagement.

On Jan. 25, the project announced its expansion into the red-hot Solana ecosystem. However, Solana’s reputation has suffered in recent weeks following a wave of failed presidential memecoins, which have underscored the rampant scamming issues on the network.

There are currently about 170,000 unique wallets holding Virtuals agents’ tokens on Base, compared to roughly 11,000 on Solana, according to Dune. Wallet activity has significantly declined across both networks, as only 7,642 wallets traded at least one token on Feb. 27.

Related: Solana’s token minting frenzy loses steam as memecoins get torched

VIRTUAL token struggles amid market downturn

Virtual Protocol’s native token has fallen more than 14% in the past 24 hours, according to CoinMarketCap data. The drop comes amid a broader crypto market downturn, with Bitcoin losing 20% of its value over the past week due to heightened global trade tensions.

Despite the wider market correction, Virtuals Protocol appears to be losing traction among top cryptocurrencies. When the protocol first announced its move to Solana, it ranked 68th by market capitalization. As of the time of publishing, it had slipped to the 92nd spot.

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