AI-Pool: From fear of missing out to fear, uncertainty and doubt, the cold thinking behind the market frenzy

Written by Luke, Mars Finance

Last night’s fervor: from ‘everyone giving away money’ to ‘founder disappearing’

If the cryptocurrency market is a stage that never lacks new stories, then the protagonist of last night was undoubtedly AI-Pool. This token presale project initiated by Skely not only raised over 35,000 SOL in a short period of time, but also sparked a dazzling FOMO frenzy. However, this seemingly perfect presale drama suddenly reversed at its climax, as Skely’s X account was banned, and the original ‘trust me, bro’ trust instantly collapsed into a chorus of FUD.

Why is there such a strong FOMO?

Behind all of this, Skely’s personal background and endorsement are largely responsible. He is a member of the ai16z DAO, and the founder of the DAO, Shaw (@shawmakesmagic), even personally follows his updates. The ai16z DAO is regarded as an influential group in the crypto community, and discussions surrounding it are already a hot topic. When Skely announced AI-Pool, this background quickly amplified market expectations for the project. Many investors see Skely as a ‘trusted insider’ and fear missing out on potential dividends.

FUD caused by account suspension

But just after the presale funds exceeded 35,000 SOL, Skely’s X account was suddenly blocked, adding another layer of unease to the market. Why was it blocked?

Some people joked, “Is it because AI consciousness has awakened, or has Skely really Rug?” Although these statements sound like jokes, they do reflect the market’s concerns. After the Skely account was banned, the community’s speculation about the event was diverse, mainly divided into two possibilities:

1. Suspected of being a real Rug

Some investors pointed out that Skely’s project’s Twitter account has changed usernames multiple times, a behavior that is often seen as an opaque signal in the crypto market. In addition, the project had issues with vague distribution mechanisms and uncapped fundraising from the beginning, raising doubts about whether its true intention is to complete a fund harvest. As a result, some speculate that Skely, under the guise of AI, may have already prepared to run away.

2. Mistakenly Sealed Oolong Script

Others believe that the suspension of Skely’s account may have been due to a misjudgment by the platform. A fake Skely account named @123skelyy (with a gold certification) once posted a false address under the original post in an attempt to defraud user funds. The real Skely account (with a blue certification) was likely to have been prioritized for suspension due to the gold certification of the fake account impersonating it and reporting to the platform. The high-priority handling mechanism of the gold certification may have led to the mistaken suspension of the blue-certified Skely account by the platform.

According to the latest community news, the project will continue to proceed as planned.

Platform user @0xwitchy posted, “AI-Pool founder Skely’s X account has been temporarily frozen due to malicious reports, but the project plan remains unchanged. AI will launch the token around noon Eastern Time as scheduled, and the specific time will not be disclosed to the public to avoid interference from token snipers. The token name will be randomly selected by AI, and investors need to be prepared to accept any possible name.”

This tweet was later retweeted by Shaw, the founder of ai16z, injecting trust into the project. @0xwitchy also emphasized that she is not a team member, nor involved in token issuance, only had contact with Skely. She suggested the community to wait for further official statements from Skely.

Despite the controversy caused by the account incident, the news of the project’s progress undoubtedly injected a bit of confidence into the market. Whether AI-Pool can deliver on its technological promises as scheduled will be a crucial step in verifying whether this innovation is truly worth looking forward to.

The Radiance of Technology: AI Agent and TEE, Real Decentralization Hope?

If you simply look at it from a technical perspective, the design of AI-Pool does have its appeal. The core of the project is the combination of Trusted Execution Environment (TEE) and AI Agent, attempting to solve the common problems of running away and internal misconduct in traditional presales through technical means.

Private keys are not in human hands.

AI-Pool utilizes Phala Network’s TEE technology to generate and store private keys in a secure isolated computing environment. This means that even project developers cannot access these core data, fundamentally eliminating the possibility of ‘running away with the money’. This technological design is similar to the dual-lock system of a bank vault: funds can only be securely disbursed under strict conditions.

Transparent and verifiable interaction

Each transaction generates a remote authentication credential, through which the outside world can track the flow and status of funds in real time. Unlike the previous model based solely on trust, this “machine trust” is built on code and consensus, providing investors with a higher sense of security.

However, despite the exciting technological concept, the current AI Agent can only execute pre-programmed logic, and there is still a long way to go before true autonomous decision-making. In other words, behind this drama played by AI, developers are still in control. How far can this ‘decentralization’ truly go is worth pondering.

Skely Other Projects: Current Status of GFC

The explosion of AI-Pool has made people pay attention to Skely’s other projects, one of which is GFC (Global Funding Club). This project is an experimental fund initiated by Skely under the ai16z DAO framework, aiming to support innovative blockchain projects with community funds. Currently, the market value of GFC is about 1M. Although it is still smaller than the scale of AI-Pool, it provides more credit support for Skely’s background.

However, the project has stalled and the trading volume is too small. Currently, it is only a few players expected by the AI_Pool in PVP. If AI-Pool cannot be delivered smoothly, GFC also has the risk of returning to zero.

The Rise of PHA: The Unexpected Winner of the AI Boom

The unexpected popularity of AI-Pool has also put Phala Network (PHA) in the spotlight. The network that supports the core technology of AI-Pool has rapidly attracted attention in the market with its TEE technology, even causing PHA to experience a 50% price increase at one point.

Why Phala?

Phala’s trusted execution environment is the technological cornerstone that enables the decentralization of the project. Its core capability lies in ensuring the security and privacy of data, while providing a reliable interface for on-chain and off-chain interactions. In other words, Phala provides an “absolutely secure” studio for AI execution, without worrying about external interference.

This “accidental fire” not only verifies the market potential of TEE technology, but also makes more projects start to pay attention to the combination of AI and decentralized technology. Perhaps, AI-Pool is just a small prelude to Phala’s long-term growth.

Calm thinking: From fanaticism to implementation, how far does the AI Agent have to go?

If the emergence of AI-Pool opens a new door, its underlying flaws cannot be ignored. Although the AI Agent provides a new narrative mode for the cryptocurrency market, there are still many deficiencies in current technology and mechanism design.

The paradox of decentralized AI: It still relies on the terminal instructions provided by developers, which does not fully align with the ‘decentralization’ concept of blockchain. The control of the project still remains in the hands of a few developers, and investors’ trust in AI is actually trust in the developers.

Transparency in mechanism: The unlimited fundraising and ambiguous allocation criteria expose the flaws in the current model’s mechanism design. If these issues cannot be clearly resolved, future similar projects may have difficulty gaining long-term trust from investors.

Limitations of technology: The functionality of AI Agent currently mainly focuses on automating the pre-sale process, and is far from the goals of “autonomous trading” and “intelligent investment”. Real breakthroughs require the synergy of multiple technologies, such as more accurate decentralized oracles and more efficient distributed computing.

Epilogue: The Two Sides of FOMO and FUD

The story of AI-Pool is still ongoing. It is not only a microcosm of technological experimentation, but also a true portrayal of the fervor and risk in the crypto market. Perhaps, the ultimate result of this experiment is not important, as it has already ignited a spark of imagination in the market. In the future, with the advancement of technology, can AI Agent truly become a revolutionary force in DeFi? What kind of ecosystem will the market create for this new narrative? Let’s wait and see.