This week, the crypto sector succumbed to confirmation bias, prompted by an outrageous fake news narrative. The tale suggested that venture capitalist Marc Andreessen entrusted an AI with $50,000 in bitcoin, leading the AI to produce a memecoin that soared to a staggering market capitalization of $225 million.
The rumor gained traction, likely because it resonated with the hopes and fears of crypto-anarchists, libertarians, effective accelerationists, and memecoin investors. It cleverly capitalized on the widespread excitement around AI automation and the possibilities offered by blockchain communities like Solana, decentralized finance, and memecoin platforms such as Pump.fun.
The narrative claimed that the AI, funded by Andreessen, had launched the meme coin GOAT through Solana’s Pump.fun, promoting it to traders and inciting a rally that surpassed $150 million by Monday and reached $225 million by Tuesday.
Interestingly, the reality is much less sensational but still captivating.
The actual story behind GOAT and Truth Terminal
On July 9, 2024, Marc Andreessen did indeed transfer approximately $50,000 of bitcoin to a wallet publicized by Truth Terminal. Observers have been keenly watching Truth Terminal and its bitcoin wallet over the past three months, speculating whether the ‘AI’ would discover a method to generate profits.
Following the launch of GOAT on Solana’s Pump.fun meme coin generator and the endorsement from Truth Terminal, the trading community celebrated the supposedly revolutionary emergence of AI-generated meme coins.
However, the owner of the agent, polymath Andy Ayrey, has confessed that his ‘AI’ functions semi-autonomously and frequently depends on human judgment. He further stated that neither he nor Truth Terminal created GOAT.
Ayrey’s AI-augmented social media account employs LLMs like Claude along with various integrations. Nevertheless, Ayrey maintains personal oversight of Truth Terminal, can modify its programming, and could dismantle it at any time.
The account commenced its activity on X (formerly Twitter) in June 2024, sharing philosophical insights and spontaneous thoughts. It quickly garnered a following from effective accelerationism (e/acc) enthusiasts, AI supporters, and, eventually, crypto traders.
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Marc Andreessen supports AI and meme coins
Andreessen interacts with Truth Terminal in a subtle manner, appearing to endorse its ‘autonomy’ through playful engagement.
In reality, the VC mogul understood precisely that he was donating to Ayrey — not an AI entity — when he made his $50,000 contribution. Moreover, Ayrey, as the proprietor of the U.S. assets, bears legal responsibilities concerning his endorsements of any securities or derivatives, dealings with sanctioned entities, truth in advertising, and other public disclosure commitments.
In short, a venture capitalist invested in a person — not an AI — while both men cleverly crafted an ideal narrative for social media.
While recognizing his role in managing the AI agent and addressing various concerns to ensure honesty, Ayrey expertly curates the Truth Terminal persona and its seemingly automated interactions with Andreessen, crypto traders, and the general public.
The fact that traders were able to convince themselves that an AI had birthed a $225 million meme coin highlights Ayrey’s prowess in storytelling. This narrative serves as a sharp critique of the present landscape of social media and cryptocurrency, characterized by fleeting attention spans, a quest for quick rewards, and a tendency to overlook thorough fact-checking.
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