Theoriq 2025 Annual Review

As the busy year comes to an end, I would like to share my personal reflections on the remarkable year of 2025.

Theoriq posed a challenging question at the beginning of the year: What will happen when AI truly begins to encroach on the territory of hedge fund managers? This is not just a theoretical discussion, but a profound consideration in practice.

This insight stems from my years at Goldman Sachs dealing with high-risk capital; the moment I witnessed agents mimicking trading strategies on-chain was my "eureka moment." However, against the backdrop of the 2024 cryptocurrency "hangover," this insight felt more like a flickering light bulb—full of promise yet dimmed by the exploration of unknown territories, user skepticism, and the rocky path of product launches.

Throughout the year, we focused on delivering infrastructure for agent-managed capital that could earn trust over time. Through product iterations, partnerships, and community engagement, we made substantial progress on this mission, and these moments continually reminded us of our original intentions.

Breaking Through with Social Volume

One of the key challenges we faced at the beginning of the year was how to stand out in the increasingly noisy crypto space. At this time, our collaboration with @KaitoAI played a crucial role. Market exposure was not merely about yapping, but about planting flags on the Mindshare map.

The launch of the exclusive Kaito pre-TGE leaderboard became a turning point, harnessing the power of Theoriq ambassadors and the broader community to create real-time impact. Our message quickly spread across social media, forcing us to continuously refine our narrative and experiment with new communication strategies, bolstered by a powerful amplifier.

We capitalized on this momentum by hosting a community sale through Kaito's Capital Launchpad, becoming the first project on the platform. Although the path was unconventional and fraught with risks, the results were gratifying—our initial fundraising target was oversubscribed nearly 40 times. In a year when many projects faced a funding chill, we exceeded expectations.

We dedicated the year to learning how to convert Mindshare into momentum, ultimately reaping rich rewards: our ranking soared, and we claimed the Kaito pre-TGE global Mindshare arena championship on the eve of the December TGE.

In a competitive environment with a plethora of public L1 chains and a warming prediction market, maintaining the top position was no easy feat. For me, 2025 is not just about AI; it is about making the "Agentic Era" more inclusive and decentralized. We deepened community-driven promotion through Kaito, rewarding genuine contributors and fulfilling our promises. Keeping our word and following through was one of the most important principles for the team this year.

We do not expect every "bystander" to stay after the TGE; maintaining long-term participation after the hype fades remains a real challenge in the crypto industry. This lesson has been etched in our minds and integrated into our vision for 2026.

Building a Partner Ecosystem

As product demand became clearer, the most exciting part was encountering builders who faced the same challenges and actively provided solutions. Just as "Rome wasn't built in a day," it was not accomplished alone.

The realization of AlphaSwarm and AlphaVault was made possible through collaboration with teams like @ArrakisFinance, @MoonsongLabs_, and @MellowProtocol, helping us understand the construction of modular AI-managed vaults. The Mellow team fought alongside us, playing a key role in shaping the AlphaVault roadmap.

TVL growth was not a solo endeavor: the @Turtledotxyz team helped us transform functional vaults into highly attractive yield-generating TVL products. Designing launch activities together and launching the Theoriq TVL leaderboard became the perfect finale for AlphaVault's launch.

Behind the scenes heroes of the TGE: teams like @Authena_XYZ and @Clique2046 ensured the smooth execution of the $THQ airdrop. Their around-the-clock support, resolution of complex on-chain issues, and attention to detail safeguarded community interests.

Additionally, we met many like-minded individuals: @071labs, @fomov, @withblockmedia, @chaincatcher, @metaerahk, @lunarstrategy, @theprgenius, @CambrianNetwork, @SymbioticFi, Autonomous, @liquififinance, @x2bdotxyz, @base, @Spindlxyz, @0glabs, @autonolas, @SentientAGI, @GraphProtocol, @wintermutet, @keyrock, @flowtraders, and investors, along with countless teams we stayed connected with along the journey. These partners are converging into a powerful ecosystem, injecting momentum into Theoriq's next steps.

Global Footprint: Face-to-Face with the Community

One of the important tasks this year was to be on-site, pressure-testing assumptions with ecosystem stakeholders. These stakeholders included institutional capital allocators, infrastructure partners, developers looking for the next development platform, and crypto-native users ready to leverage AI to usher in a new era of DeFi. Here are some highlights from our global activities:

ETHDenver: Meeting face-to-face with AI agent developers to discuss how to move on-chain agents beyond the demonstration phase into practicality. This led us to decide to shift from a generic agent SDK to an on-chain liquidity management agent cluster ("OLP AlphaSwarm").

Berkeley Blockchain Week: Just after completing the Kaito community sale, the team's morale was high. We shared experiences with other projects, brainstormed with potential partners, and initiated the concept of an AI-curated DeFi vault ("AlphaVault").

Korea Blockchain Week (KBW) and Token2049: During our fall Asia tour, the conversations became more pragmatic. It was no longer "What is agent finance?" but rather "How do we ensure it is secure, transparent, and worthy of allocation?"

Together with the core team, we established a solid local presence, actively participating in various workshops, keynote speeches, and networking events, all of which greatly benefited the sharing of Theoriq's vision for autonomous capital management. The most memorable moments were often not on stage, but in intimate community gatherings like the Korean Kkanbu fried chicken night.

Abu Dhabi and Dubai: As the TGE approached, we seized the opportunity to bring our leadership team (@RonBodkin, @OldDawgNewTrix, @PeiChen01) together in the UAE to finalize preparations. We worked efficiently together that week, putting in long hours with little sleep to accomplish many important tasks.

Opening a New Chapter with the TGE

The final sprint was a caffeine-fueled marathon and a cross-timezone relay. Our team was spread across the globe, attending final workshops and meetings in Dubai, making last-minute product refinements in Seoul, while also dealing with endless preparations, not just for the launch of AlphaVault, but for the… THQ TGE.

AlphaVault Launch: After its launch in November, TVL skyrocketed to $23 million within five days, a testament to the strength of our quantitative team. This AI-curated "vault of vaults" is now officially available to users. AlphaVault (ETH) is just the beginning of our journey in developing AI-managed vaults. As our CEO and co-founder @RonBodkin emphasized in the 2026 vision, at the start of the new year, our primary focus will be on implementing self-developed agent management strategies to surpass passive investment methods. More assets and more strategies will allow our flywheel to operate more smoothly.

The Birth of $THQ: Coordinating the launch of $THQ on top exchanges like Coinbase, Binance Alpha, and Bithumb was a tense yet fruitful process. Despite the market chill in December, we remained committed to the TGE to fulfill our community promises. We weathered the tough environment, but we know the road ahead is long. Imagine this: while everyone else is busy decorating their homes and preparing for family dinners, we spent 12 hours a day selling tokens in a bear market blizzard. We succeeded, but perhaps next time we should choose spring; nothing kills token hype more than competing for attention with Santa Claus. The TGE event was heavily influenced by market conditions; never underestimate the power of the "invisible hand."

Mainnet Launch: Launching AlphaProtocol on the mainnet was one of the most significant achievements of the year. $THQ became the native token, and the protocol entered a new phase. The mainnet launch is not a fleeting moment. We see it as the beginning of a cycle: launch, observe, optimize, and continuously enhance clarity and product performance. Successfully launching the mainnet is crucial, and the hard work and precise execution that follow will set the tone for Theoriq's future.

Looking Ahead

In a year marked by "model wars" and surging automation, I have come to realize that our advantage lies not in mathematically defeating AI, but in harnessing the chaos of humanity.

Personally, I believe Theoriq has achieved solid results over the past year: successful product launches, secured funding, dominant market share, enhanced team skills, and overall growth that has outpaced many peers. Our team overcame numerous challenges for the first time, from technical hurdles to market headwinds, testing our resilience. With deep technical strength and tenacious business will, we tackled the usability challenges of AI + cryptocurrency. I am proud of our team, who never gave up and worked hard to solve various problems. In the frustrating December market, we stood united, navigating market volatility and post-TGE panic, while maintaining a sense of urgency to keep moving forward.

In the new year, my focus with the team is to deliver core products and measure success against rigorous metrics: TVL, revenue, distribution, treasury efficiency, and community health. The journey is not over, and we are excited about the new goals ahead.

Thank you to all who have built with us, supported us, and challenged us globally.

See you in 2026.

Pei Chen Theoriq COO & Executive Director