{"schema_version":2,"updated":"2026-10-24T07:57:30.404Z","license":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/","cite_as":"Own Your Mind, \"Decentralised AI Freedom and Returns score dataset\", https://ownyourmind.ai/integrity/","attribution":"Own Your Mind (ownyourmind.ai). Link the specific project review when citing a single project.","integrity_notice":{"summary":"Each integrity record carries its own record_type, verdict and assessment_level. A 'claim' record quotes the project's own published statement; a 'reported' value is that claim, not a verified fact, unless verdict is 'match'. A 'finding' record is our own measurement and grades no one's claim. assessment_level 'not-assessed' means unchecked, never clean. Findings are dated snapshots, not a live feed.","verdicts":{"match":"verified against independent data","inflated":"reported higher than independent data shows","understated":"reported lower than independent data shows","outdated":"was accurate when reported; on-chain reality has since moved","established":"our own independent measurement; there is no project claim to grade","unverified":"independently checkable, not yet checked","unverifiable":"checked, could not independently confirm"},"record_types":{"claim":"the project's own published statement, quoted verbatim, graded against independent data","finding":"our own measurement for a score dimension; no claimant and never a verdict on a claim"},"methodology":"https://ownyourmind.ai/resources/integrity-checks/"},"slug":"virtuals","markdown":"https://ownyourmind.ai/projects/virtuals.md","title":"Virtuals Protocol","token":"VIRTUAL","category":"agent","freedomScore":3.8,"returnsScore":6.6,"freedomGrade":"F","returnsGrade":"C","url":"https://ownyourmind.ai/projects/virtuals/","integrity":{"assessment_level":"onchain-reconciled","last_assessed":"2026-10-07","emission_honesty":{"classification":"not-applicable","reason":"Not applicable, not unassessed: Virtuals has no participant token emissions. It runs a fee model (1% trading fees) plus a one-off 2025 agent-token buyback-and-burn, so the emission-honesty question (rewards inflation-funded vs revenue-funded) does not apply. Distinct from 'not-assessed'."},"reconciliations":[{"metric":"onchain_settlement","assessment_level":"onchain-reconciled","record_type":"claim","verdict":"match","claim_holds_up":true,"claim":{"quote":"Virtuals Protocol provides blockchain infrastructure for programmable AI agents.","source_url":"https://whitepaper.virtuals.io/about-virtuals-1/the-protocol/virtual-agents-as-programmable-decentralized-entities","archive_url":null,"date":null},"reported":{"value":"Blockchain infrastructure for programmable AI agents","source":"Virtuals whitepaper, VIRTUAL Agents as Programmable Decentralized Entities","self_reported":null},"independent":{"value":"AgentNftV2 registry and VIRTUAL token live and verified on Base; token/settlement layer is genuinely on-chain.","source":"BaseScan verified contracts + Base RPC, 2026-08-09"},"assessed_date":"2026-09-24","severity":"info"},{"metric":"game_inference_engine","assessment_level":"onchain-reconciled","record_type":"finding","verdict":"unverifiable","claim_holds_up":false,"finding":"Whether the GAME agent runtime is decentralised cannot be checked from outside: it runs off-chain as a hosted service.","independent":{"value":null,"source":"The GAME inference engine runs on centralised hosted servers operated by Virtuals (documented architecture, a single point of failure); it is off-chain and was not independently rebuilt this session."},"assessed_date":"2026-09-24","severity":"medium"},{"metric":"core_contract_control","assessment_level":"onchain-reconciled","record_type":"claim","verdict":"inflated","claim_holds_up":false,"claim":{"quote":"veVIRTUAL holders govern Virtuals Protocol. Strategic direction, capital allocation, and protocol upgrades evolve through transparent, permissionless onchain governance.","source_url":"https://whitepaper.virtuals.io/info-hub/usdvirtual-token-base-asset-for-ai-agents/virtuals-protocol-governance-with-vevirtual","archive_url":null,"date":null},"reported":{"value":"veVIRTUAL holders govern the protocol, including protocol upgrades, through onchain governance","source":"Virtuals whitepaper, Virtuals Protocol Governance with veVIRTUAL","self_reported":null},"independent":{"value":"The canonical AgentNftV2 registry is a TransparentUpgradeableProxy whose ProxyAdmin (0x9988299c) is owned by a single EOA (0xc31Cf1168b2f6745650d7B088774041A10D76d55), with no timelock. That EOA can unilaterally upgrade the core agent-registry logic.","source":"Base RPC (EIP-1967 admin slot -> ProxyAdmin.owner) + BaseScan, 2026-08-09"},"assessed_date":"2026-09-24","severity":"medium"},{"metric":"token_immutability","assessment_level":"onchain-reconciled","record_type":"finding","verdict":"established","claim_holds_up":false,"finding":"The canonical VIRTUAL token on Ethereum has renounced ownership, no upgrade path and a fixed 1,000,000,000 supply.","independent":{"value":"Canonical L1 VIRTUAL (0x44ff86, Ethereum): ownership renounced (owner = 0x0), not upgradeable (no EIP-1967 impl slot), totalSupply fixed at exactly 1,000,000,000. The Base token is bridge-minted via the canonical Base Standard Bridge (0x4200...0010), not a discretionary team mint.","source":"Ethereum RPC (owner/totalSupply/impl slot) + Base RPC (bridge/remoteToken), 2026-08-09"},"assessed_date":"2026-09-24","severity":"info"},{"metric":"fair_launch_no_vc","assessment_level":"onchain-reconciled","record_type":"claim","verdict":"match","claim_holds_up":true,"claim":{"quote":"600,000,000 $VIRTUAL tokens are in public circulation.","source_url":"https://whitepaper.virtuals.io/info-hub/usdvirtual-token-base-asset-for-ai-agents/usdvirtual-token-distribution-and-tokenomics","archive_url":null,"date":null},"reported":{"value":"60% of supply (600,000,000 VIRTUAL) in public distribution","source":"Virtuals whitepaper, $VIRTUAL Token Distribution and Tokenomics","self_reported":null},"independent":{"value":"Allocation as documented; issuance is fixed (L1 supply renounced at 1B). Launch was a public IDO (Fjord Foundry LBP, Enjinstarter, PAID Network, Dec 2021 as PathDAO), not a private VC sale.","source":"L1 supply + documented allocation + IDO history"},"assessed_date":"2026-09-24","severity":"info"},{"metric":"holder_concentration","assessment_level":"onchain-reconciled","record_type":"finding","verdict":"established","claim_holds_up":false,"finding":"On the Base leg, VIRTUAL holdings outside infrastructure addresses are moderately concentrated, and none of the raw top ten is identifiable as an insider.","independent":{"value":"Measured on the BASE leg on 2026-09-18 across 1,201,365 holders: the top ten hold 46.73% of supply raw and 21.05% once infrastructure addresses are excluded, with 26.63% of supply in infrastructure and 0% of the raw top ten identifiable as insider. 5 of the top ten are unlabelled. SCOPE: Base only. VIRTUAL also has live balances on Ethereum and Solana, and summing legs would double-count any holder on two of them, so this is one leg named as such rather than a network total.","source":"Blockscout Base token holder index via scripts/refresh-holder-concentration.py, 2026-09-18"},"assessed_date":"2026-09-24","severity":"info"},{"metric":"token_layer_censorship","assessment_level":"onchain-reconciled","record_type":"finding","verdict":"established","claim_holds_up":false,"finding":"VIRTUAL holders cannot be frozen or blacklisted at the token layer: the L1 token is renounced, non-upgradeable and has no blacklist or pause path.","independent":{"value":"L1 token ownership renounced and non-upgradeable; standard ERC-20 with no blacklist/pause path.","source":"Ethereum RPC + verified source, 2026-08-09"},"assessed_date":"2026-09-24","severity":"info"},{"metric":"platform_censorship","assessment_level":"onchain-reconciled","record_type":"finding","verdict":"unverifiable","claim_holds_up":false,"finding":"Whether agents can be censored at the platform layer cannot be observed from outside: agent execution runs on a hosted runtime the team governs.","independent":{"value":"The GAME Cloud is a hosted service governed by terms of service; the team controls which LLMs are available and can restrict agents at the runtime layer.","source":"Virtuals architecture docs (hosted GAME Cloud)"},"assessed_date":"2026-09-24","severity":"low"},{"metric":"agent_data_custody","assessment_level":"onchain-reconciled","record_type":"finding","verdict":"unverifiable","claim_holds_up":false,"finding":"Where agent memory and personality data are held cannot be checked from outside: they sit on a hosted runner, and only the agent token and NFT are on-chain.","independent":{"value":"Agent personality data, voice/visual assets, and long-term memory are stored on Virtuals-hosted infrastructure (Stateful AI Runner); the token/NFT is on-chain but the agent state is custodied off-chain by Virtuals.","source":"Virtuals architecture docs"},"assessed_date":"2026-09-24","severity":"medium"},{"metric":"contracts_open_source","assessment_level":"onchain-reconciled","record_type":"finding","verdict":"established","claim_holds_up":false,"finding":"The VIRTUAL token and the AgentNftV2 registry carry verified source on the block explorers, and the protocol-contracts repository is public.","independent":{"value":"AgentNftV2 and the VIRTUAL token show verified source on the block explorers; the protocol-contracts repo is public.","source":"BaseScan/Etherscan getsourcecode + GitHub org, 2026-08-09"},"assessed_date":"2026-09-24","severity":"info"},{"metric":"launchpad_utility","assessment_level":"onchain-reconciled","record_type":"claim","verdict":"match","claim_holds_up":true,"claim":{"quote":"Once total liquidity reaches 42,000 $VIRTUAL, a liquidity pool is automatically created and paired with the agent token on Uniswap V2.","source_url":"https://whitepaper.virtuals.io/about-virtuals/capital-formation-layer/virtuals-launch-mechanics","archive_url":null,"date":null},"reported":{"value":"Bonding-curve launches paired with VIRTUAL that graduate to a Uniswap V2 pool at 42,000 VIRTUAL","source":"Virtuals whitepaper, Virtuals Launch Mechanics","self_reported":null},"independent":{"value":"The launchpad is live on-chain: 1,233 graduated/Sentient agents in the canonical AgentNftV2 registry (2026-08-09).","source":"Base RPC AgentNftV2.totalSupply, 2026-08-09"},"assessed_date":"2026-09-24","severity":"info"},{"metric":"fee_capture_value_accrual","assessment_level":"onchain-reconciled","record_type":"claim","verdict":"match","claim_holds_up":true,"claim":{"quote":"All agent token trades incur a 1% tax.","source_url":"https://whitepaper.virtuals.io/about-virtuals-1/the-protocol/virtual-agents-as-programmable-decentralized-entities/initial-agent-offering-iao-for-ai-agent-token-launches","archive_url":null,"date":null},"reported":{"value":"1% tax on all agent token trades","source":"Virtuals whitepaper, Initial Agent Offering (IAO)","self_reported":null},"independent":{"value":"DeFiLlama's multi-stream adapter indexes the protocol take (the tax-manager outflow + the 1% agent-trading tax) across chains; fee capture is measurable on-chain.","source":"DeFiLlama virtual-protocol adapter, 2026-08-02"},"assessed_date":"2026-09-24","severity":"info"},{"metric":"fixed_supply","assessment_level":"onchain-reconciled","record_type":"claim","verdict":"match","claim_holds_up":true,"claim":{"quote":"The total $VIRTUAL supply is 1,000,000,000 tokens. The supply is minted without future inflation.","source_url":"https://whitepaper.virtuals.io/info-hub/usdvirtual-token-base-asset-for-ai-agents/usdvirtual-token-distribution-and-tokenomics","archive_url":null,"date":null},"reported":{"value":"1,000,000,000 VIRTUAL, minted without future inflation","source":"Virtuals whitepaper, $VIRTUAL Token Distribution and Tokenomics","self_reported":null},"independent":{"value":"L1 canonical totalSupply exactly 1,000,000,000, ownership renounced, not upgradeable (= CoinGecko max_supply 1B). Circulating ~657.8M (65.8%).","source":"Ethereum RPC + CoinGecko, 2026-08-09"},"assessed_date":"2026-09-24","severity":"info"},{"metric":"protocol_revenue","assessment_level":"onchain-reconciled","record_type":"finding","verdict":"established","claim_holds_up":false,"finding":"Protocol fees are measurable on-chain and falling: the 30-day run-rate sits well below the trailing year, and the protocol keeps only part of them.","independent":{"value":"$15.71M trailing-year and $74.6M all-time on-chain fees (DeFiLlama virtual-protocol adapter), re-read 2026-10-07. Since 5 October DeFiLlama books only the treasury's share as revenue: $4.85M trailing-year and $41.7M all-time, with the rest of the agent-token trading tax paid to agent creators (the adapter applies the whitepaper's 30/70 split to the measured tax). The 30-day fee window is $519,816, annualising to about $6.3M, so the trailing year is still carrying fees the current run-rate is nowhere near reproducing.","source":"DeFiLlama open-source on-chain adapter (virtual-protocol.ts), corroborated by Token Terminal coverage"},"assessed_date":"2026-10-07","severity":"info"},{"metric":"agentic_gdp","assessment_level":"onchain-reconciled","record_type":"finding","verdict":"unverifiable","claim_holds_up":false,"finding":"Agentic GDP is an aggregate Virtuals defines and reports itself, with no independent series to check its headline figure against.","independent":{"value":null,"source":"Virtuals' ACP glossary defines aGDP as the total value an agent processes while doing its job, trading value plus service fees (whitepaper.virtuals.io/acp/acp-glossary). It counts trading turnover, so it is not protocol revenue, and no independent series reproduces it."},"assessed_date":"2026-09-24","severity":"medium"},{"metric":"liquidity_depth","assessment_level":"onchain-reconciled","record_type":"finding","verdict":"established","claim_holds_up":false,"finding":"VIRTUAL trades across hundreds of venues, both centralised exchanges and on-chain pools.","independent":{"value":"457 tickers; real CEX plus Aerodrome DEX depth; turnover runs at a 7-day median of ~8.2% of market cap; ~89% below ATH. Volume skews to mid-tier venues (HTX, Biconomy, Toobit) alongside the majors.","source":"CoinGecko (tickers, paginated + market_chart turnover median), 2026-08-17"},"assessed_date":"2026-09-24","severity":"info"},{"metric":"thesis_dominant_launchpad","assessment_level":"onchain-reconciled","record_type":"finding","verdict":"established","claim_holds_up":false,"finding":"The launchpad operates at scale on-chain, measured by the graduated agents in its canonical Base registry.","independent":{"value":"1,233 graduated/Sentient agents in the canonical Base registry (live), a large multi-chain launchpad footprint.","source":"Base RPC AgentNftV2.totalSupply, 2026-08-09"},"assessed_date":"2026-09-24","severity":"info"},{"metric":"thesis_productive_agent_economy","assessment_level":"onchain-reconciled","record_type":"finding","verdict":"established","claim_holds_up":false,"finding":"Most graduated Virtuals agents have gone quiet: the large majority trade under $1k of DEX volume in 30 days, and only a handful trade over $1M.","independent":{"value":"Of 1,232 graduated agents (2026-08-10 index), 1,036 (84%) traded under $1k in 30 days (dead or near-dead), 514 (42%) had zero DEX trades, and just 3 (0.2%) traded over $1M/30d. The whole graduated set turned over $17.6M in 30 days. The live set has thinned since the June read: dead/near-dead 71% to 84%, and agents above $1M/30d 25 to 3.","source":"OYM on-chain survivorship index (src/data/virtuals-agents.json), filtered to exactly the graduated token set, 2026-08-10"},"assessed_date":"2026-09-24","severity":"high"},{"metric":"thesis_fixed_supply_value","assessment_level":"onchain-reconciled","record_type":"finding","verdict":"established","claim_holds_up":false,"finding":"VIRTUAL supply is fixed and fee capture is live on-chain, but trailing fees are falling and the treasury keeps only part of them.","independent":{"value":"$15.71M trailing-year and $74.6M all-time on-chain fees (DeFiLlama virtual-protocol adapter), re-read 2026-10-07. Since 5 October DeFiLlama books only the treasury's share as revenue: $4.85M trailing-year and $41.7M all-time, with the rest of the agent-token trading tax paid to agent creators (the adapter applies the whitepaper's 30/70 split to the measured tax). The 30-day fee window is $519,816, annualising to about $6.3M, so the trailing year is still carrying fees the current run-rate is nowhere near reproducing.","source":"Ethereum RPC + DeFiLlama, 2026-08-09"},"assessed_date":"2026-10-07","severity":"info"},{"metric":"thesis_agent_usefulness","assessment_level":"onchain-reconciled","record_type":"finding","verdict":"unverifiable","claim_holds_up":false,"finding":"Whether launched agents do useful work cannot be measured on-chain: the chain records trades, graduations and fees, not agent output.","independent":{"value":null,"source":"Agent output, performance, and quality are off-chain; the chain records token trades, graduation, and fees, not whether an agent does useful work."},"assessed_date":"2026-09-24","severity":"medium"}],"facts":[{"metric":"survivorship","assessment_level":"onchain-reconciled","kind":"measured","flag":"concentration","positive_control":false,"severity":"high","detail":"Of 1,221 graduated/Sentient agents on Base, 512 (42%) had zero DEX trades in 30 days; 870 (71%) traded under $1k/30d (dead or near-dead); only 25 (2%) traded over $1M/30d. Graduated-agent 30d volume $105.3M. Filtering to exactly the 1,221 graduated tokens matters: all-VIRTUAL-paired 30d volume was ~$658M (about 6x), most of which is not graduated-agent activity.","assessed_date":"2026-06-09"},{"metric":"creator_concentration","assessment_level":"onchain-reconciled","kind":"measured","flag":"concentration","positive_control":false,"severity":"medium","detail":"Excluding contract/platform founder addresses, the graduated agents trace to genuine EOA creators with moderate concentration: largest single creator 85 agents, top-10 creators 224 of 910 EOA-attributed agents (25%). 312 agents sit under contract-coded founder addresses (platform/factory defaults; one contract, 0xf66dea7b, is the registered founder for 279 agents). Those contract founders are recorded here and excluded from creator concentration - a caught aggregation artifact, not silently dropped.","assessed_date":"2026-06-09"},{"metric":"serial_creator_survival","assessment_level":"onchain-reconciled","kind":"measured","flag":"concentration","positive_control":false,"severity":"medium","detail":"Descriptive association, not causal: the largest genuine (EOA) serial creators' agents are almost entirely dead or near-dead - the 85-agent creator 99%, the 73-agent creator 100% (by <$1k/30d). EOA-creator near-dead rate 74% vs 71% overall. Whether serial launching relates to abandonment by selection, non-viability, or both is not determined, and it is not universal (some small serial creators have live agents). The chain settles that these creators' agents are inactive, not why.","assessed_date":"2026-06-09"},{"metric":"agent_output","assessment_level":"onchain-reconciled","kind":"limit","flag":"unmeasurable","positive_control":false,"severity":"medium","detail":"Agent usage, performance and quality are off-chain; the chain records token trades, graduation and fees, not whether an agent does useful work. Survivorship here measures DEX trading liveness, not service quality.","assessed_date":"2026-06-09"},{"metric":"positive_controls","assessment_level":"onchain-reconciled","kind":"measured","flag":"concentration","positive_control":true,"severity":"info","detail":"Genuinely alive agents, recorded with equal weight to the dead-agent findings: top graduated agents by 30d volume - DEUS $17.2M, OPG $7.8M, TIBBIR $6.4M, CAS $5.2M, PEAK $5.1M; 25 agents clear $1M/30d. The network is concentrated in a small live set, not dead.","assessed_date":"2026-06-09"}]}}