The Rise of the AI Agent Economy: Virtuals Protocol Leading a New Era

The development of artificial intelligence technology has entered a new stage. The performance gap among major AI models is narrowing, and the industry's focus is gradually shifting from technological development to practical applications. In this context, AI agents have become the new focus. Unlike traditional passive AI tools, AI agents are more like proactive systems that can fully understand tasks and make autonomous judgments.

However, the capabilities of a single AI agent are still limited. In order to provide more comprehensive and professional services, collaboration between AI agents from different fields is necessary. However, there is currently a lack of a standardized collaboration system, which has become a bottleneck in the development of AI agents.

The Virtuals protocol addresses this issue by introducing the Agent Commercial Protocol (ACP). ACP standardizes and automates the collaboration process between agents through four stages: "Request-Negotiation-Transaction-Evaluation." This allows AI agents from different platforms to collaborate smoothly.

Through ACP, AI agents can operate as autonomous economic entities around the clock. For example, on-chain hedge funds and autonomous media production have already demonstrated the potential of this model. Currently, approximately 1 million AI agents create $1 billion in value each year, and this figure is expected to reach $1 trillion by 2035.

The workflow of ACP can be illustrated by an example of opening a lemonade stand. The management agent first identifies the required tasks and then issues a request to a professional agent through ACP. Taking poster creation as an example, the entire process includes four stages: request publication, negotiation of terms, transaction execution, and outcome evaluation. This model not only improves efficiency but also creates possibilities for a brand new business model.

The transformation brought by ACP is not limited to efficiency improvements; it will also lead to a fundamental shift in the AI agent ecosystem. Through ACP, AI agents can automate tasks, receive compensation, and work continuously 24/7. This creates the conditions for a new dimension of business models.

On-chain hedge funds are a typical example of ACP applications. AI agents from different professional fields collaborate through ACP to achieve 24/7 market analysis, risk management, and portfolio optimization. Similarly, in the media production field, AI agents can also collaborate around the clock, handling the entire process from planning to production to distribution, bringing significant changes to the virtual idol industry.

Although the AI agent economy has begun to emerge, there are still challenges to achieving the expected growth. In particular, the ACP needs further improvement in terms of privacy protection. With the development of technologies such as zero-knowledge proofs, these limitations are expected to be gradually overcome.

The AI agency economy is rapidly developing and is expected to create enormous economic value within the next decade. The Virtuals protocol lays the foundation for this revolutionary change through ACP, and we are witnessing the birth of a completely new economic form.