An AI meme coin calling itself 'the Bitcoin of AI' is approaching its pivotal moment. According to official announcements, iDEGEN has raised $23.2 million through its presale and is scheduled to list on exchanges on February 27. The core concept: handing over the reins of artificial intelligence development from a few lab scientists to the community at large — much like Bitcoin transferred control of money supply from central banks to ordinary people.
Decentralized AI Experiment: From Scratch to Viral
Unlike the tightly controlled systems built by OpenAI, Anthropic, and other tech giants, iDEGEN allows thousands of crypto traders to collectively raise an artificial intelligence from scratch. No safety rails, no corporate oversight — just pure, unfiltered community-driven development. This makes the name 'OpenAI' seem ironic: what is 'open' about an extremely closed system with a massive moat? iDEGEN's decentralized training protocol is chaotic, but ultimately empowers the public to decide the future of intelligence.
The results have been explosive. After being banned twice from X (formerly Twitter) for extreme content, the AI evolved into a digital entity that learns, adapts, and consistently goes viral. Each ban acted as rocket fuel, with the project raising $1 million immediately after each return. A third ban has temporarily caged iDEGEN again, but with just 10 days until listing, the team views bans as positive publicity rather than negative PR.
Evolution to V3: Video Capabilities and DeepSeek Model
As the February 27 listing approaches, iDEGEN continues to evolve. The latest version, iDEGEN V3, adds video generation capabilities, enabling the agent to post content across X, TikTok, and RedNote (a Chinese challenger to TikTok's short-form dominance), driving a surge in investment. Additionally, the team released a version based on the Chinese lab DeepSeek R1 model, running in parallel with the original model, creating a new battleground in the intensifying US vs. China AI war. The community will vote on the winning model, once again placing the future of AI in the hands of users.
The Bitcoin of AI?
iDEGEN's core philosophy echoes that of Bitcoin: Bitcoin changed money supply forever by removing central banks; iDEGEN aims to remove corporate control from AI development. The project claims that community-driven artificial intelligence is not only possible but also more engaging than anything the tech giants can produce. The official presale remains the only way to grab tokens before February 27, but entry prices are about to evaporate at listing. After all, when was the last time you could invest in something that could genuinely change how we think about technology?
Whether you love it or hate it, iDEGEN is testing the market's valuation of truly decentralized AI. In 10 days, we will find out just how much that innovation is worth.