TL;DR
- Decentralized lending protocol Moonwell has launched support for the VIRTUAL token, allowing users to borrow, lend, and earn a yield on the AI-integrated asset.
- Analysts attribute VIRTUAL’s growth to its deflationary mechanics and utility as a payment currency for on-chain AI inference tasks.
- The Virtuals team has made significant progress, including partnerships with leading Web3 gaming projects and a buy-back and burn of 12.9 million $VIRTUAL tokens.
Decentralized lending protocol Moonwell has launched support for the VIRTUAL token ($VIRTUAL) on its Base deployment, marking a strategic push into the booming on-chain AI sector. The move follows a governance proposal approved by the Moonwell community, which highlighted VIRTUAL’s role as the backbone of the Virtuals Protocol.
The integration positions Moonwell as a key player in merging DeFi with AI innovation. VIRTUAL, which has had an impressive surge in value over the past year, now allows users to borrow, lend, and earn a yield on an asset deeply integrated with AI-driven applications.
Analysts attribute the token’s growth to its deflationary mechanics, which lock liquidity as users create new AI agents, and its utility as a payment currency for on-chain AI inference tasks.
🌜🔵🌛 A new market for VIRTUAL has been activated on Moonwell!
VIRTUAL is @virtuals_io's governance and utility token, powering an ecosystem of onchain AI agents.
The Moonwell community can now lend and borrow VIRTUAL on @Base. pic.twitter.com/NfCCDuMuoT
— Moonwell (@MoonwellDeFi) February 4, 2025
Strategic Alignment with AI’s On-Chain Surge
The decision aligns with broader trends in crypto, where AI-related tokens have dominated 2025’s market rally. Projects like Virtuals Protocol leverage blockchain to decentralize AI agent ownership, enabling transparent revenue sharing between creators and users. Moonwell’s integration taps into this demand, offering exposure to a token with a $4.3 billion market cap and $650 million in daily trading volume.
VIRTUAL Drives AI Innovation and Community Governance
These AI agents can handle tasks, execute smart contracts, and interact with users without intermediaries. Essentially, they’re eliminating the “middleman” to streamline processes and increase efficiency. VIRTUAL has two primary functions: governance and utility.
First, it enables holders to participate in the decision-making process for the Virtuals Protocol, giving the community a voice in how the protocol operates. Second, VIRTUAL powers the AI agents within the network, ensuring their functionality and fostering innovation in on-chain AI technology.
With Moonwell now supporting VIRTUAL, users can lend and borrow this token on the Moonwell platform, adding a valuable tool to their financial arsenal. This integration also allows VIRTUAL holders to actively use their tokens and earn rewards in the process.
The Virtuals team has started the year with impressive momentum, making significant strides throughout January. They’ve established partnerships with prominent Web3 gaming projects, further solidifying their presence in the gaming industry. One notable achievement was the buy-back and burn of 12.9 million $VIRTUAL tokens, which has enhanced value for token holders.
