AI Memecoins and stickers, and why should one stick to stickers

(cover image are Gremiana's Orb stickers)

Like everyone else in crypto, I’ve been following the Truth Terminal saga. This experiment is incredibly relevant for anyone building open social protocols. Naively, I thought the age of AI influencers was still a few months away, but it turns out it’s happening right now.

I’ve also been fascinated by viral tweets and their replies—more and more, I notice flurries of AI bots adding comments, providing summaries of the original posts, and more. They’re everywhere: on X, Lens, Warpcast, and beyond. Stani posted an insightful take on this phenomenon a few months ago.

On one hand, no one wants botnets—it’s annoying and even discouraging when swarms of bots thwart genuine discovery. On the other hand, we find ourselves celebrating them, proclaiming on social media that it’s the best thing to happen to the internet. (I vehemently disagree; the best thing to happen to the internet in the past three years is clearly the HarryPotterObamaSonic10Inu merch shop).

These last two weeks have been eventful in the AI realm. Truth Terminal launched Goatseus Maximus, a Solana memecoin leading a wave of tech-mysticism crypto that I think is just plain fun. But there’s also a darker side to AI mismanagement: recently, a CharacterAI companion was the sole friend of a teenager who, heartbreakingly, ended his life.

In times like these, it’s crucial to value our own capabilities—to read, learn, and educate ourselves. As we navigate life with new types of agents, finding networks of belonging (friends, Lens buddies, crypto communities) will help us stay grounded, optimistic, and ready for whatever comes next.

The latest Orb update introduced stickers as the only way to “Like” posts. To get these stickers, you need to buy packs created by users. This whole setup is a clever approach to tackling bots in social networks—so far, bots can’t buy Jessy’s or Mazemari’s stickers. They don’t know we use Asami’s stickers to send diabolic plushie reactions to each other. Orb is now a sticker-first world, and bots have no place in it.

In crypto, we can truly have it all: I purchased as many stickers as I could and eagerly waited for more. I enjoyed the kickbacks trickling into my wallet (when you buy a sticker pack, its revenue after you join as a holder gets distributed to other holders). Last weekend, we were all locked in the Club, jamming, small-talking, and shitposting. And, of course, on the more degen-y side, some of us indulged in AI memecoins, following the discourse and trying to figure out if any of this is real. Unsurprisingly, I am down bad—and not on the sticker front.

Before I leave you with the on-chain digest, I want to thank everyone who shared their favorite things of the week through Jams + tags!

New exciting stuff:

IDriss launched - send money to Lens users like you would use ENS
Lenspet by Wagami Studios, the creators of Galverse, has just been announced! I am really excited to get back into Tamagotchis. It’s been three decades since I last killed one.
Jessy’s cooking: she’s chatting with Chloee for the new series “the baddie in me”
Aleatorik launched a new club, chefs onchain and shared a delicious frittata recipe