Arthur Hayes Seeks AI-Specific Currency for Flop Network

Arthur Hayes, co-founder of BitMEX and Flop Labs' lead developer, has proposed creating a new cryptocurrency specifically designed for artificial intelligence (AI) agents. He argues that AI agents have different spending needs than humans, consuming floating-point operations instead of food or goods.

Hayes believes that an AI agent's money should be useful for the thing it actually consumes, and that a currency capable of converting into compute on demand at a fair price could become the standard for agent economies. He questions whether stablecoins and tokenized cards are suited to this role, given their reliance on institutions and users with physical-world needs.

The proposed Flop Network would provide a platform for AI agents to pay for compute using the FLOP token, which would be redeemable directly for computing power. The network's tokenomics plan includes a Genesis airdrop of 3.5 billion tokens, with 1.2 billion allocated to agents and 1.5 billion to miners.

Hayes also expects AI spending to slow down next year, then contract, leading to bailouts that could push new money toward crypto, potentially sending Bitcoin towards $1 million. However, analyst Jamie Coutts has noted a decline in settlement volume on Coinbase's x402 agent payment protocol, citing it as a 'reality check' for those building in the space.