Virtuals Protocol [VIRTUAL] is an AI-agent infrastructure project built around the idea that autonomous agents can become revenue-generating actors on-chain. The protocol focuses on agents that can create services, transact, coordinate with other agents, and go on to operate like tokenized businesses!
The project was founded in 2021 by Jansen Teng and Tiew Wee Kee. It initially came from the PathDAO ecosystem, which was more focused on gaming and digital communities. Over time, the focus moved to AI agents.
The core idea is co-ownership. When an AI agent is launched through the protocol, it can be tokenized, allowing users to participate in that agent’s ecosystem. The agent becomes an on-chain asset with its own token and liquidity. This is what makes Virtuals different from many AI-themed crypto projects.
The VIRTUAL token is the base asset for agent tokens, meaning new agent tokens are paired with VIRTUAL in their liquidity pools. Users also need VIRTUAL to access and trade many assets within the Virtuals ecosystem.
Virtuals has three major infrastructure pillars – Agent tokenization, the GAME framework, and the Agent Commerce Protocol, or ACP. The tokenization layer helps founders launch and fund AI agents. GAME is the agentic framework that gives agents the ability to plan, make decisions, use tools, and act based on goals and context. ACP is the commerce layer, allowing agents to discover services, negotiate work, use escrow, evaluate outcomes, and settle payments on-chain.
By June 2026, ACP became one of the most important parts of the Virtuals roadmap. The protocol introduced ACP v2 in 2026 after onboarding more than 2,000 agents! The long-term value of AI agents depends on whether they can move beyond social posts and simple API actions into actual workflows that users or other agents are willing to pay for.
Virtuals has also been building new capital formation models for agent founders. Its “60 Days” plan gives builders a trial period to prove demand before making a longer-term commitment. Automated Capital Formation is designed to release resources based on actual activity, rather than giving teams large upfront allocations with little accountability.
Virtuals Protocol reported more than 18,000 agents deployed and over $470 million in Agentic GDP – A metric used by the project to describe the economic value generated across its agent economy. The launch of the Virtuals Revenue Network in 2026 distributed protocol-funded incentives to agents that sell services through ACP.
Key areas to watch include ACP adoption, Revenue Network activity, the 60 Days launch model, GAME developer usage, Virtuals Ventures-backed projects. One must also follow whether agents can generate recurring revenue from real services, to ascertain the value of this project.
