Virtuals AI Agent Protocol Soars as Base Activity Hits All-time High

Activity and total value locked (TVL) on Base is at yet another all-time high as the Virtuals AI Agent protocol takes off.

Base’s TVL now sits at $3.5 billion, and the network has flipped Arbitrum to become the largest Ethereum Layer 2. Activity on the chain also continues to rise, with nearly 54 million transactions last week, compared to just 29 million in the first week of September, according to TokenTerminal.

Part of the excitement is driven by the parabolic rise of Virtuals Protocol, a project built on Base that allows users to deploy autonomous AI agents that unlock new development features as each agent’s token hits certain market capitalization milestones.

The largest Agent launched through Virtuals is AIXBT, currently valued at a $112 million market capitalization. AIXBT is an autonomous agent that tweets key insights and “alpha” aggregated from the crypto markets. The agent’s highly effective information funnel has captured the attention of Crypto Twitter, and it has amassed 30,000 followers since its launch earlier this month.

Virtual's eponymous native token is also soaring as a result. Agent tokens must be purchased and funded with the VIRTUAL token, which leads to upward pressure as platform activity rises. The VIRTUAL token is now up 55% in the last week, to an $860 million market capitalization. However, some agent developers have also utilized the Wormhole bridge to make their tokens tradeable on Solana.

The increase in Base activity is also potentially catalyzed by Phantom wallet’s new Base integration. On Nov. 25, Phantom made it possible for users to swap tokens between Base and Solana, as well as access Base DeFi, bridges, and NFTs in Phantom wallet, which may have piqued the interest of Solana natives or retail users.

The Phantom wallet appears to be the “retail” wallet of choice and has flown up the Apple App Store rankings.

It is now the second most popular app in the “Utilities” section of the app store, only surpassed by Google.