How is DeFAI developing after experiencing speculation? An overview of the current situation of six popular projects

These projects are using the most innovative AI technology to transform complex on-chain operations into 'accessible to everyone' financial tools.

Author: Blockchain Knight

CoinMarketCap's report released earlier this year has sparked industry discussions, proposing the concept of the 'Agentic Web,' a decentralized network dominated by AI agents, with projects like ai16z and Virtuals frequently making headlines. At the same time, a new term quickly entered the public eye: DeFAI, which stands for Decentralized Finance + Artificial Intelligence.

Simply put, 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 intelligent agents (AI Agents), not only improving efficiency but also reducing the entry barriers for ordinary users into DeFi. As the hot topic on the X platform puts it, 'DeFi is the past, AI is the present, DeFAI is the future,' and this trend is rapidly gaining momentum.

The DeFAI craze is not without reason. From the end of 2024 to the beginning of 2025, multiple projects were intensively released, demonstrating the diverse possibilities of integrating AI and DeFi. To better understand this emerging sector, we will take stock of the latest developments of several representative DeFAI projects in this article. Although the market tends to be weak, they are still under construction, showing how they continue to drive the industry forward through technological innovation.

一、The Hive

Project Introduction:

The Hive is a decentralized platform based on the Solana blockchain, which simplifies and enhances DeFi operations by coordinating an interoperable AI agent network. It provides users with token analysis, liquidity management, staking, and trading tools, all driven by AI to provide real-time insights and automation. The project prioritizes user-friendly design, combining social media data (e.g., X posts) with on-chain analysis, and continuously optimizing its technical infrastructure for scalability.

Latest development:

• Token Analysis Agent Upgrade: In January this year, The Hive launched an upgraded version of the token analysis agent, focusing on optimizing the liquidity pool (LP) management, including adding chart tools for visualizing token data, updating the token data user interface (UI), enhancing search API, etc.
• Community-inspired UI/UX improvements: In mid-January, updates such as automatic USD conversion, interactive transfer tool, collapsible sidebar, etc., have enhanced usability.
• Comprehensive Platform Enhancement: In February, a wide range of updates was launched, involving multiple aspects of The Hive ecosystem, including token dashboard integration, liquidity and trading agents, staking pool UX, query and input improvements, API limit enhancements, etc.

Future expectations:

• Although currently focusing on Solana, as the demand for cross-chain interoperability in DeFi increases, The Hive may explore cross-chain integration to further expand its market coverage. In addition, The Hive may further develop its AI agents, making them not limited to current functions. Considering its positioning as a 'modular network,' The Hive may introduce more customized agents in the future to meet different user needs.

二、griffain

Project Introduction:

Griffain is an AI-driven platform based on Solana, which provides users with transaction automation, liquidity staking, and data analysis services through autonomous agents. It has built a modular AI agent ecosystem, with its core in leveraging the advantages of AI and Solana to help users manage Crypto assets more intelligently and efficiently.

Latest Developments:

• At the end of January, Griffain launched "Agent DeepSeek" in the "Agent Engine" suite, which is in line with Griffain's broader AI-driven strategy, extending its agent products from trading to data-driven insights.
• Agent Sniper release and upgrade: In mid-to-late February, Griffain launched 'Agent Sniper', a tool designed for trading new tokens on Pump.fun (a popular token release platform on Solana). The tool's automation and precision features cater to traders looking to capture the early token craze.
• Griffain virtual validator collaborates with Marinade Finance: In early March, Griffain launched a 'virtual validator' for staking Solana (SOL), supported by Marinade Finance, a leading on-chain staking protocol on Solana. 'Virtual' means that this is a staking service abstractly managed by the Griffain platform, allowing users to complete operations through Griffain's interface without directly interacting with Solana's native validators. The integration with Marinade Finance indicates that users can obtain liquid staking tokens (such as mSOL) for use in DeFi, while earning staking rewards.

Future Expectations:

'Virtual Validators' may be the starting point for Griffain to enter a broader DeFi field, and in the future, it may be deeply integrated with more Solana protocols (such as Jupiter, Raydium), providing a one-stop DeFi solution, such as automated strategies combining staking and trading. By increasing API capacity (e.g., optimizing Agent Engine) and potential developer plans, Griffain may attract more developers to build third-party applications based on its platform in the future.

Three, Cod3x

Project Introduction:

Cod3x, as a DeFAI platform, aims to lower the barrier for users to participate in blockchain financial activities by combining DeFi and AI technologies. This allows ordinary users to easily utilize AI agents for efficient and intelligent on-chain fund management and trading operations without the need for professional programming skills. The platform is committed to providing a convenient, secure, and feature-rich environment, enabling users to create personalized AI agents to adapt to different financial scenarios such as Degen trading, tax management, DCA (Dollar-Cost Averaging) investment strategies, etc., thereby promoting the widespread application and deep integration of AI in the DeFi sector.

Latest Developments:

• Collaborating with the Hyperlane team: On February 18th, collaborating with the Hyperlane team to launch $TONY on Solana. Similar to other on-chain tokens in terms of market value, due to Solana's volatility, $TONY reached a trading volume of $5 million in the first five minutes.
• Cod3x Create V0.5: Cod3x Create V0.5 was released on February 21st, featuring a new backend architecture, a prompt-free interface, scheduling, and plugin systems, laying the foundation for creating dynamic AI agents that can respond to trends and market conditions in real-time.
• Join activity plan: Cod3x has officially joined the Cookie3 Growth Partner Program and will participate in Cookie DAO's multiple airdrop Farming plan. Cod3x's trading agents have access to richer data resources. They can utilize multidimensional data such as market attention and sentiment indicators provided on the CookieDAO platform to conduct in-depth market trend analysis, and accurately execute trading strategies based on this, seizing opportunities in the complex and ever-changing market environment.

Future expectations:

• With the continuous and vigorous development of the DeFAI field, Cod3x is expected to achieve further breakthroughs in multiple key aspects. On the technical front, the Big Tony V2 version will be released to continuously optimize the functionality and performance of its AI agent. In terms of ecosystem construction, Cod3x will collaborate with Sophon Intelligence Agency (S.I.A.) in March this year to launch the core project Sophon Spark worth $1.5 million, driving the development of DeFi through AI-driven systems, allowing users to build custom AI intelligences without the need for code, funds, and technical skills. At the same time, Cod3x will also collaborate with the blockchain network Sophon, leveraging its existing innovative features and expanding cooperation network, Cod3x has the potential to attract more developers and users to actively participate.

Four, Hey Anon

Project Introduction:

Hey Anon founded by renowned DeFi developer Daniele Sesta, is a project focusing on AI-driven DeFi automation tools. Its core technology is based on TypeScript, leveraging conversational language to perform DeFi operations on the Telegram platform, combined with AI market insights to provide automated agent services for DeFi protocols. The project aims to significantly improve trading efficiency, reduce operational complexity, support various DeFi operations and multi-chain operations, providing users with convenient and efficient services in a complex DeFi environment.

Latest Developments:

• Hey Anon Build 0.3: On March 1st, HeyAnon Build 0.3 was launched on Solana, allowing users to create a Solana wallet or connect an existing wallet in the HeyAnon application, and directly execute swaps on the Solana network within the application.
• Public Beta v0.1: On February 1st, Public Beta v0.1 was announced to be launched. HeyAnon simplifies DeFi operations by executing swaps, cross-chain asset bridging, and managing DeFi strategies. Users only need to issue commands and specify the protocol to be used, and the platform will handle the rest. Currently, this platform can be accessed through heyanon.ai, and this is an early version. There will be frequent updates to add more features and protocol support in the future.
• Integrated Bubblemaps: On March 1st, Hey Anon has now integrated the blockchain data visualization platform Bubblemaps, directly bringing token distribution, holder analysis, and decentralized metrics into Hey Anon.
• Launch CowSwap: The decentralized trading protocol CowSwap is now live on HeyAnon, providing MEV protection for perpetual and limit orders on Base, Arbitrum, Gnosis, and Ethereum mainnet.

Future Expectations:

Although Hey Anon has only been established for 11 weeks and is still in the testing phase, its current version v0.3 can support multiple chains and even has more features than any other DeFAI project. Hey Anon is now live on Solana and will continue to establish deep partnerships with more blockchains and DeFi projects, constantly expanding its supported public chain range and use cases.

Five, Orbit

Project Introduction:

Orbit is an AI-driven DeFi assistant platform designed to simplify users' on-chain operations through automation tools and smart contract management. The platform's features include cross-chain prediction markets and asset bridging, staking and yield optimization strategies, access to lending protocols, and comprehensive portfolio management tools. Orbit currently supports over 100 blockchains and 200+ DeFi protocols, providing seamless asset management and trading processes, lowering barriers to entry, and enhancing user experience.

Latest Developments:

• On-chain automated functions: In July last year, Orbit launched on-chain automated functions, allowing users to set conditions and automatically execute trades. This further optimizes the user's trading experience and enhances Orbit's ability in data-driven decision-making.
• Function Expansion and Integration: On February 11th, Orbit integrated the liquidity protocol KyberSwap, bringing users a fast and efficient Swap experience. In May last year, Orbit integrated with the well-known trading tool DEX Screener, whose AI agent can detect emerging tokens in real-time, allocate funds, and optimize investment portfolios, providing users with smarter investment tools. In addition, the platform also integrated X platform's market sentiment data, providing users with real-time market trends and insights.
• ORBIT V2.0: The biggest anticipation right now is the upcoming ORBIT V2.0, but the specific launch time has not been disclosed yet. Orbit V2.0 will adopt a hybrid interface, allowing users to continue operations on-chain, while introducing a new paradigm of building transactions on-chain using AI agents. Users can use the agent button to initiate multi-agent workflows to achieve more complex goals. In addition, Orbit V2.0 combines the use of AI agent wallets and delegation actions to provide more autonomy to agents requiring transaction execution.

Future Expectations:

Compared to other solutions, Orbit stands out for its strong integration capabilities. Orbit emphasizes cross-chain functionality, currently integrating over 117 chains and 200 protocols, achieving 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 highly anticipated, as it will support users in building complex on-chain applications, further enhancing platform efficiency and user experience.

Six, Neur

Project Introduction:

Neur is an AI assistant designed specifically for the Solana ecosystem, and it is also an open-source, full-stack application. It allows users to interact with DeFi protocols, NFTs, and other Solana services using natural language through an AI-supported conversation interface. Neur utilizes advanced AI models such as Claude 3.5-Sonnet and GPT-4 to provide various functions including intelligent wallet, NFT management, and market trend tracking.

Latest development:

Early Access Program (EAP): On January 1st, Neur reported that its user base grew to 5,587 non-paying users in the first week on Solana, with 389 EAP users. The EAP fee is 1SOL, and these users will have lifetime access once officially launched.

Integrated Privy Wallet: On January 22, Neur announced the activation of the embedded Privy wallet, allowing users to send assets from the embedded wallet with just a few clicks, enhancing the user asset interaction experience.

Neur v0.3.4 has been launched: On February 14, Neur was updated to version v0.3.4, adding features such as notification management, enhanced user interface, integration with Cookie.fun, and fixing some data bugs.

Future Expectations:

Neur is currently in the early testing phase, with a focus on developing core infrastructure and proxy functionality, continuously optimizing platform functionality. Neur's roadmap shows that its goal is to build scalable infrastructure and AI-driven Crypto management automation, including developing more user-friendly login pages, chat interfaces, and stream tool components for real-time blockchain interaction.

In addition, Neur's next phase plan includes building an open-source tool for on-chain event parsing, aiming to attract more contributors, especially developers interested in building and integrating. By supporting the parsing of transaction data from various protocols, Neur provides the foundation for creating automation tools. In the future, Neur's goal is not only to build a useful tool but also to construct a collaborative ecosystem where developers can collectively build, share, and enhance on-chain automation.

Summary

This article focuses on six DeFAI projects, ranging from cross-chain intelligent management, automated strategies to natural language interaction, all demonstrating the disruptive potential of integrating 'AI+DeFi', these projects are leveraging the most innovative AI technology to transform complex on-chain operations into 'accessible' financial tools for everyone.

From these cutting-edge projects, we can see that the current DeFAI ecosystem may undergo several key transitions: first, from automation to autonomy: existing AI agents rely heavily on preset rules, and the next generation of models may combine reinforcement learning to achieve strategy evolution, such as The Hive's proposed 'Adaptive Liquidity Management'; second, from a single chain to a full-chain AI Agent network: the future may realize a scenario where an AI agent freely roams multiple chains, at which point users do not need to worry about the underlying protocols, as AI will automatically choose the optimal execution; third, from tools to infrastructure: as Neur open-sourced on-chain parsing tools and hopes to build a collaborative ecosystem, AI projects are transitioning from closed services to ecosystem foundations, attracting more developers to participate in ecosystem construction.

DeFAI is changing DeFi by making it smarter, simpler, and more accessible, although the overall DeFAI project is currently in a market downturn, with the AI-driven DApp continuing to expand its application scenarios, the intelligent upgrade of DeFi is expected to usher in a huge change this summer.