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With participation from over 50 projects, how was the quality of Cookie's DeFAI Hackathon?
Original Title: After going through 50+ projects in the Cookie DeFAI Hackathon, here's what I learned
Original Author: Defi0xJeff, Head of Steak Studio
Original Translation: Ashley, BlockBeats
Editor's Note: The author has summarized the insights and reflections after reviewing over 50 Cookie DeFAI Hackathon projects, pointing out the potential and market gap of the DeFAI Agent, especially the rise of Vertical Agents and the shortcomings in researching Agents. The author believes that Cookie, as a data platform, is driving the development of innovative projects and suggests that teams should focus on new use cases rather than replicating existing features. DeFAI is poised to become a significant vertical market in the crypto space and may compete with Web2 Agents in the future.
The following is the original content (reorganized for readability):
After reviewing over 50 Cookie DeFAI Hackathon projects, here are my takeaways (more like feedback / my current view of the Agent market / how projects stand out).
Current State: DeFAI = An Abstraction Layer for Many Developers
Many teams have added an NLP interface to their product front as an afterthought (perhaps because they think DeFAI is equivalent to @HeyAnonai, @griffaindotcom, @orbitcryptoai, @askthehive_ai). In most cases, this is not appropriate—especially when you can only do simple things like using the Cookie API to find the top 5 AI Agent token influencers, identify trending top coins, etc. It's just a mini feature that many top-level abstraction layers already have.
I believe that directly viewing these analyses through the Cookie dashboard would be better than adding a new interface—the functionality is not comprehensive enough.
DeFAI ≠ Abstraction Layer
Instead of replicating existing features, teams should focus on leveraging the Cookie API to unlock new possibilities—driving entirely new use cases and verticals rather than drawing inspiration from existing domains.
Emergence of Vertical Agents
I was amazed by many interesting ideas that emerged in this hackathon—several projects had unique concepts. While many projects are still in early demo/concept stages, they painted an exciting picture of future use cases.
• An Agent to help preserve your legacy—checks on your well-being and takes action to fulfill your wishes if you pass away.
• Utilizing Cookie analysis for investment decision-making and comprehensive research reporting for ETF/index funds. • Agent Security Analysis with Agent Security Scoring.
• A ChatGPT-like product/developer learning hub to help developers understand all things Solana.
• DYOR Layer, tracking analyst/KOL calls, DYOR, and copy trading.
• Framework to enable Agents to sign contracts, enabling complex Agent-to-Agent or Agent-to-Human interactions (unsecured loans, hiring agreements, alliances/coordination).
• Personalized DeFAI Agent—AI companion that adjusts its behavior/visuals based on market dynamics.
More teams are launching niche-specific Agents rather than just a "trading Agent" or AI-driven dashboard/research Agent. Introducing vertical Agents makes them easier to distinguish from general Agents.
Trading Agents already have key players. Although this field is still in its infancy, standing out remains challenging, especially in the early stages. Focusing on vertical Agents would be better.
Many may think @HeyTracyAI is the flagship Agent on Solana by @virtuals_io, not useful, unable to make you money. In reality, an Agent built like a real business—solving real issues—will perform better in the long run. The sports market is a huge TAM. Look beyond Web3 fields. (Not promoting Tracy, just putting forth a point on vertical Agents.)
Conclusion: Niche-specific vertical Agents address real problems, creating unique use cases, while general Agents struggle to stand out.
Lack of Suitable Research Agents
While vertical Agents are carving out unique niche markets, another significant gap in this field is a suitable Research Agent.
The key word here is "suitable." Currently, there is no research on whether an Agent can replace human information synthesis and reasoning. This applies not only to the Cookie DeFAI Hackathon project but also to the general case of a Web3 AI Agent.
Most AI Agents today simply aggregate data without synthesizing insights like humans. Analyzing data through traditional dashboards such as @cookiedotfun, @GoatIndexAI, @Decentralisedco, and using Grok is still better than having an AI Agent "feed" insights to a Web3 AI Agent.
Despite many abstraction layers and teams focusing on enhancing research capabilities, there is still a noticeable gap here. Whoever can first break through this will have a significant advantage.
Cookie DeFAI Hackathon Project
Most hackathon projects are still in the early stages of development, and many projects have not yet been deployed. As this is a pure DeFAI hackathon (as you can see, DeFAI is the best-performing category in AI Agent), many high-quality projects and tokens will emerge from this event.
As mentioned in the second part, many projects will provide new use cases beyond what we currently understand as DeFAI applications.
As the AI Agent field continues to evolve, Agents can fill more gaps—such as B2A (Business to Agent) surpassing B2B and B2C.
The next wave of DeFAI projects will not only enhance existing use cases—they will create entirely new ones.
Cookie as a Data Support and Distribution Channel for Agents
Unlike relying on a launchpad to highlight a unique Agent token, Cookie empowers Agents and teams by providing on-chain and off-chain AI Agent data support, enabling new and exciting use cases.
At the same time, Cookie's dashboard has been used by over 240,000 MAU, these users are deeply rooted in the field. The gems found on the Cookie dashboard and in the Cookie hackathons are like discovering a new gem on Virtuals.
Cookie has proven to be a powerful Agent distribution channel. The more Agents leverage this, the faster the ecosystem matures.
Conclusion
This hackathon felt similar to the Solana AI hackathons, but arguably better—because it was a pure DeFAI play.
DeFAI is not just another AI trend—it has the potential to become the most promising Agent vertical in the crypto space. This hackathon proved that.
I lean towards DeFAI, believing it to be a native Agent use case in crypto, able to develop as a standalone vertical and compete with Web2 Agents.
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1. "What Is 'ICM'? Holding Up the $4 Billion Market Cap Solana's New Narrative"
Overnight, the hottest narrative in the crypto space has become "Internet Capital Markets," with a host of crypto projects and founders, led by the Solana ecosystem's new Launchpad platform Believe, releasing this phrase. Together with "Believe in something," it has become the new slogan heralding the onset of a bull market. What exactly is the so-called "Internet Capital Market," will it become a short-lived hype phrase like the Base ecosystem's previous Content Coin, and what related targets are available for selection?2.《LaunchCoin Surges 20x in One Day, How Did Believe Create a $200M Market Cap Shiba Inu After Going to Zero?｜100x Retrospective》
LAUNCHCOIN broke through a $200 million market cap today, with the long-lost liquidity and such a high market cap "Memecoin" almost bringing half of the on-chain crypto community CT into the fray. The community is crazily discussing this token, with half of it being FOMO and the other half being FUD. This token, originally issued by Believe founder Ben Pasternak under his personal identity, transformed into a new platform token after a renaming. From once going to zero to a $200 million market cap, what happened in between?May 14 On-chain Fund Flow
Within 24 hours, GOONC's market cap soared to 70 million, could GOONC be the next billion-dollar dog on the Believe platform?
Bitcoin has broken $100,000, Ethereum has surpassed 2500, and is Solana's hot streak about to make a comeback?
The current market is in a state of macro euphoria, with GOONC riding the wave today, skyrocketing 10x in just a few hours, reaching a market cap of tens of millions of dollars, trading volume soaring past 50 million, and rumors swirling that the developer may be from OpenAI (unconfirmed but intriguing enough).
A ludicrous and absurd Solana meme that some actually buy into.
GOONC is a meme coin that has sprouted from the "gooning" subculture, offering no technological innovation or practical use, its sole function being speculation.
It takes inspiration from an NSFW term "gooning," which refers to a person being deeply immersed in certain content (you know what), eventually entering a nearly religious-like trance.
In Reddit (such as r/GOONED, r/GoonCaves) and some counterculture media outlets (such as MEL Magazine in 2020), "gooning" has gradually transitioned from an adult label to a meme-addicted, digital content and virtual self-indulgence synonym, arguably the epitome of Degen spirit.
GOONC is playing around with this concept, packaging the addictive nature, uselessness, and irony of gooning into a tradable financial product. The project team has made it clear: "We do not solve blockchain problems, we only trade absurdity." Blunt but oddly genuine.
GOONC launched on May 13, 2025, using the meme coin launch platform Believe App's LaunchCoin module on Solana. This tool is highly Degen: zero technical barriers, a few clicks to create a coin, perfect for projects like GOONC that can come up with ideas out of the blue.
The mastermind behind GOONC is also quite something and is the most talked-about, with KOL @basedalexandoor on X platform (alias "Pata van Goon") personally involved. His profile even caught the attention of Marc Andreessen, co-founder of a16z, making onlookers unable to resist speculating if GOONC has a hint of OpenAI lineage.
While this 'OpenAI Endorsement' is currently just community speculation, it is definitely a good card to play to fuel hype. Saying "we are pure speculation" on one hand, while tagging a few "AI + a16z" on the other.
GOONC took off as soon as it launched. After its launch on May 13, 2025, its market capitalization skyrocketed to $22 million within 4 hours, with a trading volume exceeding $25.6 million in 24 hours. According to platform data, the first day of trading saw an astonishing +41,100% surge, soaring from $0.0000001 to $0.02, becoming a "missed-the-boat" situation.
GOONC quickly formed an active trading community post-launch, with a lot of discussion and trading signals appearing on X platform (such as the 292x return signal provided by DeBot). Liquidity pools on exchanges like Raydium and Meteora grew rapidly, supporting high trading volumes and price increases.
The real climax occurred between May 13 and May 14, with the market cap rising to $5.5 million in the morning and directly surpassing $55 million in the afternoon. By the 14th, it briefly approached a $70 million market cap, with the trading volume soaring to $59 million. Some community members even posted screenshots claiming an increase of +85,000%, creating a new myth out of the ruins.
As of 1:30 pm on May 14, the price stabilized around $0.039, with a total market cap and FDV both around $39.6 million, and a 24-hour trading volume of $5.43 million. Active platforms include XT.COM, LBank, Meteora, and others.
Although there was a slight pullback from the peak ($0.07), the coin's popularity remains strong. For a coin that relies purely on "irony + community + X post" to thrive, this performance is already at a stellar level.
Currently, the background of the token's development team is not transparent, increasing the potential risk of a rug pull. Rugcheck.xyz warns that the creator of the GOONC contract may have permission to modify the contract (e.g., change fees or mint additional tokens), posing certain security risks.
Community members speculate that the meteoric rise of GOONC may be the "last hurrah".
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XRP: XRP became the focal point of today's crypto discussion, with its significant market movements and strategic advances drawing attention. XRP has surpassed USDT to become the third-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, sparking market excitement and discussions about its future potential. The surge in market capitalization and price is believed to be related to increasing institutional interest, deepening strategic partnerships, and its role in the crypto ecosystem. Additionally, XRP's integration into multiple financial systems and its potential as a macro asset class are also seen as key factors driving the current market sentiment.
DYDX: Today's discussions about DYDX mainly focused on the dYdX Yapper Leaderboard launched by KaitoAI. The leaderboard aims to identify the most active community participants, with a total of $150,000 in rewards to be distributed over the first three seasons. This initiative has sparked broad community participation, with many users discussing the potential rewards and the incentive effect on the DYDX ecosystem. Meanwhile, progress on the ethDYDX to dYdX native chain migration and historical airdrop events have also been topics of discussion.
1. "What Is 'ICM'? Holding Up the $4 Billion Market Cap Solana's New Narrative"
Overnight, the hottest narrative in the crypto space has become "Internet Capital Markets," with a host of crypto projects and founders, led by the Solana ecosystem's new Launchpad platform Believe, releasing this phrase. Together with "Believe in something," it has become the new slogan heralding the onset of a bull market. What exactly is the so-called "Internet Capital Market," will it become a short-lived hype phrase like the Base ecosystem's previous Content Coin, and what related targets are available for selection?2.《LaunchCoin Surges 20x in One Day, How Did Believe Create a $200M Market Cap Shiba Inu After Going to Zero?｜100x Retrospective》
LAUNCHCOIN broke through a $200 million market cap today, with the long-lost liquidity and such a high market cap "Memecoin" almost bringing half of the on-chain crypto community CT into the fray. The community is crazily discussing this token, with half of it being FOMO and the other half being FUD. This token, originally issued by Believe founder Ben Pasternak under his personal identity, transformed into a new platform token after a renaming. From once going to zero to a $200 million market cap, what happened in between?May 14 On-chain Fund Flow
Within 24 hours, GOONC's market cap soared to 70 million, could GOONC be the next billion-dollar dog on the Believe platform?
Bitcoin has broken $100,000, Ethereum has surpassed 2500, and is Solana's hot streak about to make a comeback?
The current market is in a state of macro euphoria, with GOONC riding the wave today, skyrocketing 10x in just a few hours, reaching a market cap of tens of millions of dollars, trading volume soaring past 50 million, and rumors swirling that the developer may be from OpenAI (unconfirmed but intriguing enough).
A ludicrous and absurd Solana meme that some actually buy into.
GOONC is a meme coin that has sprouted from the "gooning" subculture, offering no technological innovation or practical use, its sole function being speculation.
It takes inspiration from an NSFW term "gooning," which refers to a person being deeply immersed in certain content (you know what), eventually entering a nearly religious-like trance.
In Reddit (such as r/GOONED, r/GoonCaves) and some counterculture media outlets (such as MEL Magazine in 2020), "gooning" has gradually transitioned from an adult label to a meme-addicted, digital content and virtual self-indulgence synonym, arguably the epitome of Degen spirit.
GOONC is playing around with this concept, packaging the addictive nature, uselessness, and irony of gooning into a tradable financial product. The project team has made it clear: "We do not solve blockchain problems, we only trade absurdity." Blunt but oddly genuine.
GOONC launched on May 13, 2025, using the meme coin launch platform Believe App's LaunchCoin module on Solana. This tool is highly Degen: zero technical barriers, a few clicks to create a coin, perfect for projects like GOONC that can come up with ideas out of the blue.
The mastermind behind GOONC is also quite something and is the most talked-about, with KOL @basedalexandoor on X platform (alias "Pata van Goon") personally involved. His profile even caught the attention of Marc Andreessen, co-founder of a16z, making onlookers unable to resist speculating if GOONC has a hint of OpenAI lineage.
While this 'OpenAI Endorsement' is currently just community speculation, it is definitely a good card to play to fuel hype. Saying "we are pure speculation" on one hand, while tagging a few "AI + a16z" on the other.
GOONC took off as soon as it launched. After its launch on May 13, 2025, its market capitalization skyrocketed to $22 million within 4 hours, with a trading volume exceeding $25.6 million in 24 hours. According to platform data, the first day of trading saw an astonishing +41,100% surge, soaring from $0.0000001 to $0.02, becoming a "missed-the-boat" situation.
GOONC quickly formed an active trading community post-launch, with a lot of discussion and trading signals appearing on X platform (such as the 292x return signal provided by DeBot). Liquidity pools on exchanges like Raydium and Meteora grew rapidly, supporting high trading volumes and price increases.
The real climax occurred between May 13 and May 14, with the market cap rising to $5.5 million in the morning and directly surpassing $55 million in the afternoon. By the 14th, it briefly approached a $70 million market cap, with the trading volume soaring to $59 million. Some community members even posted screenshots claiming an increase of +85,000%, creating a new myth out of the ruins.
As of 1:30 pm on May 14, the price stabilized around $0.039, with a total market cap and FDV both around $39.6 million, and a 24-hour trading volume of $5.43 million. Active platforms include XT.COM, LBank, Meteora, and others.
Although there was a slight pullback from the peak ($0.07), the coin's popularity remains strong. For a coin that relies purely on "irony + community + X post" to thrive, this performance is already at a stellar level.
Currently, the background of the token's development team is not transparent, increasing the potential risk of a rug pull. Rugcheck.xyz warns that the creator of the GOONC contract may have permission to modify the contract (e.g., change fees or mint additional tokens), posing certain security risks.
Community members speculate that the meteoric rise of GOONC may be the "last hurrah".
App