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CoinMarketCap released a report earlier this year that sparked a lot of buzz in the industry, proposing the concept of the "Agentic Web", a decentralized network dominated by AI agents, and projects like ai16z and Virtuals are frequently on the hot search. At the same time, a new term quickly entered the public eye: DeFAI, or Decentralized Finance + Artificial Intelligence. To put it simply, DeFAI is an innovative attempt to integrate AI technology into the DeFi ecosystem. It automates complex financial operations, such as trade execution, risk management, and yield optimization, through AI Agents, which not only improves efficiency, but also lowers the barrier to entry for ordinary users. As the hot discussion on the X platform said, "DeFi is the past, AI is the present, and DeFAI is the future", this trend is rapidly fermenting. The DeFAI craze is not unfounded. From the end of 2024 to the beginning of 2025, a number of projects have been released intensively, demonstrating the diverse possibilities of combining AI and DeFi. To better understand this emerging sector, we'll take a look at the latest developments in a few representative DeFAI projects that are building despite the weak market bias and see how they are driving the industry forward through technological innovation. 1. The Hive Project Introduction: The Hive is a decentralized platform based on the Solana blockchain that simplifies and elevates DeFi operations by coordinating an interoperable network of AI brokers. It provides users with token analysis, liquidity management, staking, and trading tools, all powered by AI to provide real-time insights and automation. The project prioritizes user-friendly design, combines social media data (e.g., X posts) with on-chain analytics, and continuously optimizes its technical infrastructure for scalability. Recent Developments: Token Analysis Agent Upgrade: In January this year, The Hive launched an upgraded version of the Token Analysis Agent, focusing on optimizing the management of token liquidity pools (LPs), including adding charting tools for visualizing token data, updating the token data user interface (UI), enhancing the search API, and more. Community-Inspired UI/UX Improvements: In mid-January, changes such as automatic dollar conversion, interactive transfer tool, and collapsible sidebar were updated to improve usability. Full Platform Enhancements: In February, a wide range of updates were rolled out covering multiple aspects of The Hive ecosystem, including token dashboard integrations, liquidity and trading brokers, staking pool UX, query and input improvements, API limit increases, and more. Future Expectations: While currently focused on Solana, The Hive may explore cross-chain integration to further expand its market reach as DeFi's demand for cross-chain interoperability increases. In addition, The Hive may further develop its AI agent so that it is not limited to the current features. Considering its "modular network" positioning, The Hive may launch more customized proxies in the future to meet the needs of different users. 2. Griffain Project Introduction: Griffain is a Solana-based AI-driven platform that provides users with transaction automation, liquid staking, and data analytics services through autonomous agents. It has built a modular AI proxy ecosystem, the core of which is to leverage the advantages of AI and Solana to help users manage their crypto assets smarter and more efficiently. Recent Developments: Agent DeepSeek: At the end of January, Griffain launched "Agent DeepSeek" within the "Agent Engine" suite, which aligns with Griffain's broader AI-driven strategy to expand its agent offering from transactional to data-driven insights. Agent Sniper Launch & Upgrade: In mid-to-late February, Griffain launched "Agent Sniper", a tool designed for trading new tokens on Pump.fun, a popular token launch platform on Solana, with automation and precision that caters to traders looking to capitalize on the early token boom. Griffain Virtual Validator Partners with Marinade Finance: In early March, Griffain launched a "virtual validator" for staking Solana (SOL), powered by Marinade Finance, the leading liquid staking protocol on Solana. "Virtual" means that this is a staking service that is abstractly managed by the Griffain platform, and users do not need to interact directly with Solana's native validators, but rather through Griffain's interface. The integration with Marinade Finance means that users can earn liquid staking tokens (e.g., mSOL) that can be used in DeFi while earning staking rewards. Future Expectations: "Virtual validators" could be the starting point for Griffain's foray into the broader DeFi space, and in the future it may be deeply integrated with more Solana protocols (e.g., Jupiter, Raydium) to provide a one-stop DeFi solution, such as an automated strategy that combines staking and trading. By increasing API capacity (e.g., optimizations to the Agent Engine) and potential developer programs, Griffain may attract more developers to build third-party applications based on its platform in the future. 3. Cod3x Project Introduction: As a DeFAI platform, Cod3x aims to lower the threshold for users to participate in blockchain financial activities by combining DeFi and AI technologies, so that ordinary users can easily use AI agents to conduct efficient and intelligent on-chain fund management and transaction operations without having professional programming skills. The platform is committed to providing a convenient, secure and feature-rich environment, allowing users to create personalized AI agents to adapt to different financial scenarios, such as Degen trading, tax management, DCA (regular fixed investment) investment strategies, etc., to promote the wide application and deep integration of AI in the DeFi field. Recent Developments: Partnering with the Hyperlane team: On February 18th, partnering with the Hyperlane team launched $TONY on Solana. With the same market cap as other tokens on the chain, $TONY reached $5 million in trading volume in the first five minutes due to Solana's volatility. Cod3x Create V0.5: Cod3x Create V0.5 was released on February 21, an update that uses a new backend architecture, silent interface, scheduling, and plug-in system to lay the foundation for the creation of dynamic AI agents that can respond to trends and market conditions in real time. Join the event program: Cod3x has officially joined the Cookie3 Growth Partner Program and will participate in Cookie DAO's multi-airdrop Farming program. Cod3x's trading agents have access to a richer data resource. They can use the multi-dimensional data provided on the CookieDAO platform such as market attention and sentiment indicators to conduct in-depth market trend analysis, and accurately execute trading strategies accordingly, so as to seize opportunities in the complex and volatile market environment. Future Expectations: As the DeFAI space continues to thrive, Cod3x is poised for further breakthroughs in several key areas. At the technical level, Big Tony V2 will be released, continuously optimizing the functionality and performance of its AI agent. In terms of ecosystem building, Cod3x will partner with Sophon Intelligence Agency (S.I.A.) in March this year to launch a $1.5 million core project, Sophon Spark, to promote DeFi development through an AI-driven system that allows users to build custom AI agents without the need for code, capital, and technical skills. At the same time, it will also partner with the blockchain network Sophon, which has the potential to attract more developers and users to actively participate with its existing innovative features and expanding network of partners. 4. Hey Anon Project Introduction: Founded by renowned DeFi developer Daniele Sesta, Hey Anon is a project focused on AI-powered DeFi automation tools. Its core technology is based on TypeScript, which realizes DeFi operations on the Telegram platform with the help of conversational language, and combines AI market insight capabilities to provide automated proxy services for DeFi protocols. The project aims to significantly improve transaction efficiency, reduce operational difficulty, support a variety of DeFi operations and multi-chain operation, and provide users with convenient and efficient services in a complex DeFi environment. Recent Developments: Hey Anon Build 0.3: On March 1, HeyAnon Build 0.3 went live on Solana, where users can create a Solana wallet or connect an existing wallet in the HeyAnon app and perform swaps on the Solana network directly in the app. Public Beta v0.1: Announcing the launch of Public Beta v0.1 on February 1, HeyAnon simplifies DeFi operations by enforcing swaps, cross-chain asset bridging, and managing DeFi strategies. The user only needs to give the command and specify the protocol to use, and the platform takes care of the rest. The platform is currently accessible through heyanon.ai, and this is an early version, with frequent updates to add features and protocol support. Integrating Bubblemaps: On March 1, Hey Anon now integrated Bubblemaps, a blockchain data visualization platform, to bring token distribution, holder analysis, and decentralized metrics directly to Hey Anon. Listing on CowSwap: CowSwap, a decentralized trading protocol, is now live on HeyAnon, offering MEV-protected swaps and limit orders for Base, Arbitrum, Gnosis, and the Ethereum mainnet. Future Expectations: Although Hey Anon has only been around for 11 weeks, it is still in beta. But its current v0.3 version supports multi-chain and even more features than any other DeFAI project. Hey Anon is now live on Solana, and will establish in-depth partnerships with more blockchain and DeFi projects in the future, and continue to expand the scope and application scenarios of the public chains it supports. 5. Orbit Project Introduction: Orbit is an AI-powered DeFi assistant platform designed to simplify users' operations on the blockchain through automated tools and smart contract management. The platform's features include cross-chain guessing and asset bridging, staking and yield strategy optimization, lending protocol access, and comprehensive portfolio management tools. Orbit currently supports more than 100 blockchains and more than 200 DeFi protocols, providing a seamless asset management and trading process, lowering the barrier to entry and improving the user experience. Recent Developments: On-chain automation: In July last year, Orbit launched an on-chain automation feature that allows users to set conditions and automate the execution of transactions. This further optimizes the trading experience for users and enhances Orbit's capabilities in data-driven decision-making. Function expansion and integration: On February 11, Orbit integrated KyberSwap, a liquidity protocol, to bring users a fast and efficient swap experience. In May last year, Orbit integrated with DEX Screener, a well-known trading tool, whose AI agent is able to detect emerging tokens, allocate funds and optimize portfolios in real-time, providing users with smarter investment tools. In addition, the platform also integrates the market sentiment data of the X platform to provide users with real-time market trends and insights. ORBIT V2.0: THE BIGGEST ANTICIPATION AT THE MOMENT IS THE UPCOMING ORBIT V2.0, ALTHOUGH THE EXACT LAUNCH TIME HAS NOT YET BEEN REVEALED. Orbit V2.0 will feature a hybrid interface where users can continue to perform operations on-chain, while adopting a new paradigm of using AI agents to build things on-chain. Users can leverage the agent button to initiate multi-agent workflows to achieve more complex goals. In addition, Orbit V2.0 uses a combination of AI proxy wallets and delegated actions to provide more autonomy for agents who need to execute transactions. Future Expectations: What differentiates Orbit from other solutions is its ability to integrate. With an emphasis on cross-chain functionality, Orbit has integrated more than 117 chains and 200 protocols, enabling seamless integration with multiple blockchains. In the future, Orbit will continue to expand the range of public chains it supports. In addition, the release of Orbit V2.0 is also highly anticipated, which will enable users to build complex on-chain applications, further improving the efficiency and user experience of the platform. 6. Neur Project Introduction: Neur is an AI assistant designed specifically for the Solana ecosystem and an open-source, full-stack application. It makes it easy for users to interact with DeFi protocols, NFTs, and other Solana services using natural language through an AI-powered conversational interface. Neur leverages advanced AI models such as Claude 3.5-Sonnet and GPT-4 to provide a variety of features such as smart wallets, NFT management, and market trend tracking. Recent Developments: Early Access Program (EAP): On January 1, Neur reported that its first week of users on Solana grew to 5,587 non-paying subscribers and EAP subscribers to 389. The EAP fee is 1SOL, and these users will get lifetime access when it is officially launched. Privy Wallet Integration: On January 22, Neur announced the launch of the Privy Embedded Wallet, which allows users to send assets from the embedded wallet with just a few clicks, improving the user asset interaction experience. Neur v0.3.4 has been launched: On February 14, Neur was updated to v0.3.4, adding new functions such as prompt management, enhanced user interface, integration Cookie.fun, and fixing some data bugs. Future Expectations: Neur is currently in early beta and is currently focused on developing core infrastructure and agent functionality, as well as continuously optimizing platform functionality. Neur's roadmap shows that its goal is to build scalable infrastructure and AI-driven automation of Crypto management, including the development of more user-friendly landing pages, chat interfaces, and streaming tool components for real-time blockchain interactions. In addition, Neur's next phase plans include building an open-source tool for on-chain event parsing, aiming to attract more contributors, especially developers interested in building and integration. By supporting the parsing of transactional data from a variety of protocols, Neur provides the foundation for creating automated tools. In the future, Neur's goal is not only to build a useful tool, but also to build a collaborative ecosystem where developers can co-build, share, and enhance on-chain automation. summary The six DeFAI projects highlighted in this article, ranging from cross-chain intelligent management, automation strategies to natural language interactions, all demonstrate the disruptive potential of "AI + DeFi" integration, and these projects are using the most innovative AI technology to transform complex on-chain operations into "everyone-available" financial tools. We can see from these cutting-edge projects that the current DeFAI ecosystem may go through several key transitions: first, from automation to autonomy: existing AI agents rely on preset rules, and next-generation models may combine reinforcement learning to achieve strategy evolution, such as the "adaptive liquidity management" proposed by The Hive; Second, from a single-chain to a full-chain AI agent network: in the future, an AI agent may be able to freely travel across multiple chains, and users will not need to care about the underlying protocol, and AI will automatically choose the optimal execution. Third, from tools to infrastructure: Just as Neur open-sourced on-chain parsing tools and hopes to build a collaborative ecosystem, AI projects are shifting from closed services to ecological foundations to attract more developers to participate in ecosystem construction. DeFAI is changing DeFi by making it smarter, simpler, and more accessible, and although the overall DeFAI projects are currently in a market trough, as AI-driven DApps continue to expand their application scenarios, the intelligent upgrade of DeFi is expected to usher in great changes this summer.