A good strategy coupled with perfect timing.
In March, Fetch.AI (FET), SingularityNET (AGIX), and Ocean Protocol (OCEAN) announced a new collaboration, the Artificial Superintelligence Alliance, and a token merger, which started earlier this month.
I have covered the first two protocols in previous pieces, with a dedicated article about SingularityNET (AGIX) that I will include towards the end of this.
Even though these consolidated assets still bear the FET ticker symbol, these will eventually convert to ASI following Fetch.AI’s mainnet upgrade.
I will refer to the new token as ASI throughout the rest of the piece to avoid confusion.
Playing the long game
To clarify, these will still operate as three standalone protocols but with a more unified focus and the benefit of having a mutual token.
It’s perfect timing for this major announcement as we’re gearing up for an expected post-halving bull run.
Furthermore, this is a wise move as it goes against the increasing number of competing projects and coins/tokens. This trend has led to much attention being directed away from serious projects and assets into many copycats instead of having more collaboration in this space.
Competition is important, but there comes a point when new projects mostly copy what another one is doing, albeit with slightly different documentation.
We should ask ourselves, “How many blockchains and protocols will be active (not just “around”) in five to ten years?
I’ve lost track of how many so-called “Ethereum killers” and (nowadays) “Solana killers” have come and gone over the years.
In contrast, a unified approach can help this new alliance become a major player in this nascent industry. For context, AI-related cryptos currently account for ~$30.7 billion in circulating market cap, of which ASI represents around $3.7 billion.
This strategy will help boost the Alliance’s impact on decentralised AI through greater transparency, innovation, and knowledge-sharing, which will be key in this rapidly evolving advanced AI landscape.
How can I swap my tokens?
If you’re going through a centralised exchange, they’ll automatically convert from AGIX or OCEAN to FET; there’s no need to do anything.
What about non-custodial wallets? This SingularityNET resource provides all of the token migration details and timelines. You can also use this website to connect your wallet to swap tokens, which, as a reminder, will convert its ticker symbol to ASI during Phase 2 of this token migration.
This swap is currently available on Ethereum (Phase 1). According to the above-mentioned website, more migration contracts will be available during Phase 2. If you want to change your tokens to FET immediately, you’ll need to bridge them to Ethereum.
N.B. DYOR about this before connecting your wallet. If you plan on swapping lots of AGIX or OCEAN, I recommend starting with a small quantity in an initial swap to ensure it has been successfully executed.
— Artificial Superintelligence Alliance (@ASI_Alliance) July 3, 2024
Source: @ASI_Alliance at X (formerly Twitter)
How much ASI will I receive after swapping the old tokens?
According to the Alliance’s documentation page:
The conversion rate of $FET to $ASI is 1:1.
Ocean Protocol ($OCEAN) token holders will receive 0.433226 ASI tokens per $OCEAN. SingularityNET ($AGIX) token holders will receive 0.433350 $ASI tokens per $AGIX.
Do the existing tokens still work? Can I still stake these?
AGIX staking is still available via the SingularityNET staking portal. There is no mention of the ASI swap on this portal or the related Developer staking docs.
Per OCEAN, I came across this Medium post, ‘Where to Stake your OCEAN’. However, this is from a few years ago, citing Ocean Market as the main option. It didn’t allow me to stake OCEAN when I checked it out.
Despite this, these must be converted to FET/ASI (depending on when you’re reading this) for most exchanges, as they have been delisting AGIX and OCEAN.
Here’s the related Fetch.AI documentation about FET staking.
Regarding the upcoming $ASI token, Section B.4.2—SingularityNET Token Pools, from the ASI Vision Paper, touches on staking rewards. Moreover, Section C outlines ASI tokenomics, which I recommend reading.
Additional thoughts
AI crypto projects and related tokens have experienced a massive boost in price attention, particularly since the release of ChatGPT in November 2022, amid an extended bear market for crypto.
I expect the AI/AGI subset of crypto assets to exceed $150 billion in this coming bull market; NVIDIA’s impressive share-price growth over the past 18 months—and future expectations—adds to this hype.
This industry will continue to rise as we rely more on automated systems, courtesy of artificial general intelligence (AGI) and smart contracts on blockchains.
While Fetch.ai, SingularityNET, and Ocean Protocol will remain three separate organisations for the foreseeable future, their Alliance might also lead to these entities consolidating many operations to avoid triplication – while still focusing on niches – and channel these resources to help expand the overall group, possibly getting new players on board as the space grows.
Such an expansion could include businesses and non-government organisations, similar to the Enterprise Ethereum Alliance. However, they’ll have to proceed with caution to ensure that those who intend to collaborate with the Alliance act do so with altruistic intentions.
One of the greatest risks is that emerging AGI and ASI will be controlled by centralized parties with special interests not aligned with global well-being. Another major risk is that AGI & ASI are centralized in the hands of Big Tech and the military.
Artificial Superintelligence (ASI) Alliance Vision Paper – April 2024
When you look at how Bitcoin has gone from being intended to benefit the average person (yes, it still does, and BTC is still stronger than most fiat currencies) to now being gradually taken over by institutional investors, some would say this idea of beneficial AGI is wishful thinking.
However, I believe this Alliance and a push for decentralised systems offers some hope.
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The one thing letting down this space is the vast amount of tribalism and obsession people have over one chain or a specific crypto asset, regardless of its market cap. Alas.
I highly doubt this will go away anytime soon. However, successful and sustained cooperation between different protocols with a (more or less) shared vision will help instil more confidence in the long-term viability of such projects.
Beyond this Alliance, blockchains such as Cardano and Polkadot have also announced greater collaboration on “Web3 adoption, open governance, and cross-chain interoperability knowledge sharing.”
Even though this still involves each one keeping their native coins, it’s a step in the right direction, a rather important one when these ecosystems need to make a lasting impression amid strong competition in the relatively early days of crypto and blockchain tech.
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SingularityNET article: March 2023
https://medium.com/crypto-insights-au/crypto-watch-march-2023-singularitynet-agix-142a7b109043
I covered Fetch.ai (FET) in this article:
https://medium.com/crypto-insights-au/11-small-to-mid-cap-cryptos-to-buy-in-2024-21898785de95
How to keep up-to-date with the Artificial Superintelligence (ASI) Alliance
– Official website
– Documentation
– X (formerly Twitter)
– Telegram
– Reddit (community page)
– Fetch.AI website
– Ocean Protocol website
– SingularityNET website
– YouTube videos
You might also like these articles
https://medium.com/p/4eb0e5eefd65
https://medium.com/p/12a29aa03979
https://medium.com/@cryptowithlorenzo/why-you-should-be-paying-attention-to-origintrail-c5bd9739460c
https://cryptowithlorenzo.medium.com/you-think-bitcoins-price-is-too-high-read-this-773b2d30955b
Disclaimers
• N.B. None of this is financial advice; I am not a financial advisor. You are ultimately responsible for crypto investments, let alone in any asset class.
- The opinions expressed within this piece are my own and might not reflect those behind any news outlet, person, organisation, or otherwise listed here.
- Please do your own research before investing in any crypto assets, staking, NFTs or other products affiliated with this space.
- Information is correct at the time of writing.• ASI accounts for approximately 1% of my crypto portfolio.