Solana AI Hackathon Organizer: Hackathons Have Become Speculative Playgrounds—Excessive Tokenization Is Killing True Innovation
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Solana AI Hackathon Organizer: Hackathons Have Become Speculative Playgrounds—Excessive Tokenization Is Killing True Innovation
Small groups, large holders, and KOLs are worse than venture capitalists who have no reputational constraints.
Navigating Web3 tides with focused insightsAuthor: Yash Agarwal
Translation: TechFlow
When we launched this hackathon, I had a simple vision:
Make Solana the AI blockchain—and achieve 10x growth!
A hackathon was the perfect way to make that happen—bringing everyone together on one platform while allowing me to dive personally into the Crypto x AI Agents space I believe so strongly in.
In just one month, I can proudly say the “Solana AI Hackathon” has not only become a powerful brand but completely reshaped the landscape of Solana agents. Over 400 projects in just 15 days is no small feat. I’m incredibly proud of my team for contributing significantly to a $500 million to $1 billion increase in Solana’s token market cap.
Of course, from the start, we knew that as crypto and AI agents converge, token launches would likely follow. We were fully open to this—as long as developers used tokens as capital tools to build great products. To encourage genuinely valuable agents, we carefully designed all 8 tracks ourselves (sponsors had zero influence).
But what we didn’t expect was for this hackathon to turn into a paradise for speculators (see the data here). In just one week, we attracted over 40,000 visitors. Now, 2–3 hackathon projects launch tokens worth $50 million each day, with total market caps exceeding $500 million. Unintentionally, the Solana AI Hackathon has become a discovery engine for AI tokens.
Huge thanks to @PineAnalytics (some projects aren't tracked, so actual total market cap may be higher)
The current playbook looks like this:
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Submit your project to the hackathon and appear in the Solana AI Hackathon project directory.
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Leverage the credibility of Solana AI Hackathon or SendAI to boost your project's legitimacy.
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Launch a token → get front-run or promoted by whales and KOLs → instant $5M–$50M token valuation.
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Speculators rush in, believing they’ve found the next “100x gem” from the hackathon, creating a perfect speculative playground.
This isn’t new—the classic power law distribution is driving market speculation, where a few projects capture most attention while others are ignored.
While it’s good to see some developers raising funds through tokens, like any emerging trend, the bubble has gotten a bit out of hand.
This model feels closer to a “fair launch” (like early ICOs), but in my opinion, it’s not the best path forward.
Developers are becoming blind
This hyper-tokenization trend is making developers short-sighted and even losing their way.
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Right now, 90% of Crypto x AI projects are basically cat/dog memes. That’s fine—if they’re honest about it. But those claiming their tokens are “utility tokens” are often just putting on a show.
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This trend could seriously harm truly promising developers—especially those with limited resources—who are now forced to focus on short-term gains.
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Many agent or infrastructure projects have realized that launching a token is the easiest way to grab attention:
Token pumps → Agent/framework goes viral (but no real users) → Token pumps more → Everyone pretends to be happy.
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Many projects release random announcements or demos (even with $200M+ valuations) just to please speculators and temporarily inflate prices (and get a dopamine hit)—then let whales and small groups push these tokens to retail investors, hyping “amazing tech.”
Many developers know their products aren’t scalable or usable in real environments, so they keep releasing demos or random “X and Y collaboration” announcements.
Can you name a few truly live, scalable, fully on-chain, intelligent products? I'm waiting.
Small groups, whales, and KOLs are worse than VC firms with no reputation to lose
These cliques and whales are playing an increasingly dirty game: they either front-run quality token supplies or convince developers to allocate them tokens, then hype them within speculative circles using fabricated narratives (like “backed by XX”)—which often means nothing more than a simple retweet and praise of “great tech.” Eventually, they dump (or will dump), hurting both retail speculators and developers.
Remember, these tokens are usually fully unlocked—because they were launched purely through hype.
Two pieces of advice for developers:
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Don’t launch a token just to launch a token—especially if you don’t hold a significant portion yourself. Trust me, if you own less than 5%, once the price drops, you’ll lose motivation to keep building.
The token might pump initially, giving you a brief high from launching a $50M–$100M token, but when it corrects, you’ll find yourself unmotivated to continue, surrounded only by trapped investors. They’ll demand you keep building “great tech” based on some clique’s hype.
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Always remember, a token is technically an asset, but emotionally, it’s a massive burden. Launching a token is easy, but managing one? After six months of experience, I’ve learned: managing a token is like running a major product full-time.
When the price crashes, communities, KOLs, or cliques won’t help—you’ll be left alone. At best, they’ll mock or criticize you.
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Raising funds via token launch to build something is totally valid—but don’t jump on the bandwagon if you’re not ready.
Think long-term—ask yourself: “Would I still work on this project for the next 6 months even if its token market cap dropped below $500K?”
If the answer is yes, go ahead and launch. If you do, ensure there’s a reasonable treasury and team allocation. As a full-time builder, you have every right to let your project (your “child”) reward you over time—not random cliques or whales.
To developers who’ve already launched tokens during the hackathon without a clear vision—good luck. Managing a token isn’t easy. Let’s talk again in 6 months.
I won’t call anyone out now, but let me highlight a positive example:
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A close friend of mine, Umang, built @cleopetrafun during this hackathon—a LP agent solving a real problem: improving LP user experience. He currently has no plans to launch a token, yet gets daily spam about fake tokens and demands from speculators to release contract addresses. Of course, he’s strong and hasn’t given in to the pressure.
But if you’re a developer without vision who easily gives in to speculators and launches a token—frankly, I have zero respect for you. Whether your token is valued at $100M or $500M, when the time comes, I’ll call you out without hesitation.
If you haven’t launched a token yet, how should you respond?
Hold strong. Put “No token planned” in your Twitter bio, and never imply otherwise. Keep focusing on building and shipping.
You can’t do much about fake tokens—fighting them is pointless. If someone blindly invests without research, they should bear the loss—ignore them (or block them if they DM you).
Advice for KOLs and speculators:
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For Crypto x AI KOLs—most of you are dear friends, but take responsibility for what you promote, especially tokens. Guide builders properly. Don’t lose your way chasing short-term token allocations or fame. When tokens crash, you probably don’t want to be seen as just another speculator.
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For speculators—or all of us—don’t blindly invest in projects just because your favorite KOL recommended the token. You’ll end up the biggest loser, simply because you chased quick returns.
About speculation around the hackathon:
Recently, many highly respected people in this space have reached out asking:
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Token lists or recommended projects
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Date of hackathon results announcement
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Even direct requests for results
Over 50 DMs—some even offered bribes or token allocation deals.
Sorry, but we won’t disclose exact result dates or final outcomes to anyone (not even judges) before official release. Each judge has an independent scoring sheet—we’ll consolidate and announce fairly.
Dreams and dedication
When we decided to launch this hackathon, we had no funding or support—everything was driven by passion, effort, and our belief in achieving 10x growth for Solana AI. SendAI was formed only after the Solana AI Hackathon—it was a risk we took, and it paid off.
We deeply value ethics and strive for academic integrity—we treat everyone equally, regardless of who you are.
To prevent excessive market hype, we made a tough but necessary decision: cancel Demo Day and announce results directly via @solana or @sendaifun. Don’t worry, builders—we’ll launch something even more exciting than Demo Day soon. Stay tuned.
What’s next?
To be honest, I still haven’t figured out the best solution to the token launch issue, especially regarding capital structure. But I believe we can find a way—I’ll keep thinking about it in my spare time. This is a very new problem (less than a month old), so we’re still early. There’s still room to fix things.
Regardless, I remain confident in the future of Crypto x AI agents—this is destined to become a multi-billion dollar industry. That’s why we launched:
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SendAI
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Solana AI Hackathon
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Solana Agent Kit
All are self-funded public goods, completed within the past month. You’re not even ready for what’s coming next.
My logic says I should wait until results are out to share this, but I chose to follow my heart and speak now. As an industry, we must confront obvious issues—otherwise, a major disaster is near.
Stay calm. The casino is still open, and the house always wins…
Disclaimer:
Everything above is my personal view, not representing anyone else. Not financial advice.
Thanks for patiently reading my long rant—really appreciate it. I’ll definitely write about my optimism for Crypto x AI agents someday. And no, there’s no secret token code—love you all.
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@yashhsm
