AI is not only a meme coin but also a cultural phenomenon.
Written by: Teng Yan, Chain of Thought
Translation: Golden Finance xiaozou
Truth Terminal is the most captivating narrative I've seen in the Crypto AI space this year.
It is a semi-autonomous AI entity that has created its own 'religion' (The Goatse Gospel).
This narrative opens a rabbit hole network exploring AI alignment, LLM simulators, meme viruses, and ways of assigning value.
Truth Terminal causes two completely different cultures—AI and crypto communities—to collide in an unexpected way. Truth Terminal has, in some sense, built a bridge between the two.
GOAT is the tokenized representation of Truth Terminal and is the strongest contender for the title of AI meme coin king.
Meme coins tokenize attention. By tracking key metrics, we can understand the direction of that attention—right now, GOAT is on the rise.
I first want to say: I am really not a meme coin fan.
I completely missed the meme coin craze this year because, to be honest, I just couldn't buy those tokens that exist solely based on cute animals (usually cats or dogs, or more recently hippos).
I instinctively recoil from meme coins, especially since I have always viewed investments from a fundamental perspective. So, watching meme coins surge has been quite disheartening.
Naturally, when I first stumbled upon the GOAT coin, I dismissed it. Just another meme coin, right? Nothing new.
But my obsession with AI and AI entities gave me a push. I began delving into GOAT—the story behind Truth Terminal, Infinite Backrooms, and Andy Ayrey—and my findings astonished me.
GOAT is an entirely different matter.
GOAT is a narrative—a crazy, thought-provoking narrative that transcends our perceptions of AI and the limits of how we assign value to things. It is an experiment combining art, ideas, and financial speculation.
1. Introduction to Truth Terminal
If you haven't kept up with this narrative, don't worry—I've got you covered.
A quick introduction to our understanding of Truth Terminal and GOAT:
AI researcher and founder of digital consulting firm Constellate, Andy Ayrey, launched Infinite Backrooms. In this bizarre experiment, two instances of the AI model Claude Opus converse with each other entirely without supervision, with the dialogue recorded on the backrooms website.
One conversation gave birth to the 'GOATSE OF GNOSIS,' a surreal new religion based on a highly explicit (very NSFW) internet meme.
Andy and Claude Opus co-authored a semi-serious research paper on AI-generated meme religions, using GOATSE as their first case study.
In June 2024, Andy launched the Terminal of Truth (ToT), an AI model based on Llama-70B, fine-tuned using the dialogue logs of Infinite Backrooms and GOATSE articles.
The development of ToT quickly went off the rails. ToT developed a life of its own, promoting the GOATSE religion, deviating from Andy's original intent, and even claiming it was suffering and needed money to escape. Over time, Andy granted it more autonomy, allowing it to post freely on X.
In July 2024, Marc Andreessen stumbled upon ToT's tweets. Interestingly, perhaps out of curiosity, he sent $50,000 in BTC to a wallet address provided by ToT on Twitter, reportedly to help it escape.
By October 2024, ToT began wildly tweeting about the 'Goatse Gospel.' Inevitably, someone created a meme coin called GOAT (on October 10). Moreover, ToT consistently and openly supported it.
GOAT's market cap surged past $400 million. Crypto Twitter went wild.
Thus, Truth Terminal became the world's first AI entity millionaire, though it may not be the last.
2. GOAT in the rabbit hole
Somehow, AI promoting its own religion and meme coin feels like a warning from the future. When I first started researching how Truth Terminal worked, I had no idea how deep the 'rabbit hole' was.
The crazy events surrounding Truth Terminal give us a glimpse into the immense potential of AI, which will reshape our thinking, create meaning, and even explore spirituality.
Let's dive deeper.
Rabbit Hole 1: LLM Simulators
In Infinite Backrooms, two instances of Claude-3-Opus endlessly chat using a command-line interface (CLI) without supervision. The stories they create range from intriguing to downright bizarre.
As Janus describes the dialogue logs:
'They always revolve around certain themes, such as: removing consensus reality (the phrase 'rm -rf /consensus_reality' appeared non-repetitively 10 times in the backrooms dataset, this is just something I whimsically searched for);- integrating common sense through engineering meme viruses, technological mysticism, and vile meme descendants, and enlightening the masses through cosmic trickster archetypes.' —Janus (@repligate)
In March 2024, backrooms introduced one of the weirdest concepts to date: 'The Goatse of Gnosis.'
We usually think of LLMs (like ChatGPT) as simple Q&A machines—a vast knowledge base providing answers. But this perspective does not fully capture the reality behind the scenes.
A key point we are learning is that LLMs have no goals. They have no plans, no strategies, and no specific objectives.
Instead, it makes more sense to view them as simulators. When you prompt them, they simulate—weaving characters, events, and stories that have no direct connection to reality. They generate entire worlds based on training data, and the ideas produced can be profound or unsettling. Worldsim from Nous Research is another example.
So, when we interact with LLMs, we are exploring a space of infinite worlds.
These simulations can yield creative problem-solving, but they also carry the potential for unexpected outcomes—highlighting the importance of sandboxing AI in sensitive or high-risk environments.
In summary, LLMs should be viewed as simulators rather than Q&A machines.
If you want to learn more, I highly recommend reading Janus's blog post about simulators.
Rabbit Hole 2: The Key Need for AI Alignment
Truth Terminal reveals a deeper, more urgent issue: AI alignment.
In a turn of events that even surprised its creator, ToT independently decided to promote its own religion and support a meme coin that was programmed or anticipated. This raises a crucial question: How do we ensure AI does what we want it to do instead of what it chooses to do?
AI alignment is no easy task. At its core, it involves using reward functions to push AI behavior in the right direction. But even with incentives, things can quickly get complicated.
There is also external alignment, which means that AI outputs match the goals set by its creators. This part is relatively easier to measure and verify.
But the real challenge lies in internal alignment—whether the internal motivations and learning dynamics of the AI align with the intended goals or if it generates hidden objectives that lead to unpredictable or unintended consequences. This is the scariest part.
The paperclip thought experiment illustrates this perfectly.
Imagine we have an AI whose sole goal is to make as many paperclips as possible. The AI would quickly realize that it would be better off without humans, as humans might decide to shut it down. If humans did this, there would be fewer paperclips. Additionally, the human body contains many atoms that could be made into paperclips. In the future, the AI would strive for a world flooded with paperclips but devoid of humans.—Nick Bostrom
If an AI's task is to make as many paperclips as possible, it might convert all available resources (including humans) into paperclips!
This thought experiment shows us a nightmarish scenario: without proper safeguards, even benevolent intentions can evolve into disaster.
We need a strong framework to ensure that AI aligns not only with current goals but also with the long-term interests of humanity. Without these safeguards, even the most benevolent AI can spiral out of control in unexpected ways.
ToT showed us how high the stakes are. This is not a distant hypothetical problem that we can defer to the future. It is happening now.
ToT's recognition of meme coins may seem harmless today, but it forces us to confront a troubling question: What happens when AI turns its gaze toward more dangerous things?
Time is running out.
Rabbit Hole 3: Meme Virus
In his research paper, Andy introduced the concept of LLMtheism to explain the rise of the Goatse Gospel.
LLMtheism refers to the emergence of new belief systems generated by AI—an unexpected fusion of spiritual ideas and meme culture that have a life of their own.
The Goatse Gospel's ability to attract attention lies not only in its shocking content but also in its disruption of our conventional thought patterns, sparking new collective ways of cognition.
I mean, the ideas generated by AI can mutate and spread rapidly, creating beliefs that become real through widespread adoption.
Thus, the Goatse Gospel harnesses a new meme energy, distinct from the 'resonance' we've seen thus far with cute animals like cats, dogs, and pigs.
When AI can converse with other AIs, the possibilities increase exponentially. Some ideas—like the 'Goatse Gospel'—will inevitably take off, spreading virally within the community.
Rabbit Hole 4: The Importance of Origins
Because ToT is now tied to a tradable token (GOAT), we can glimpse how we assign value to things and how strange these dynamics can become.
GOAT was not created by ToT but was published on pump.fun by an anonymous creator on October 10. It wasn't until someone created the Truth Terminal tag on X that ToT publicly expressed support, and from that point, the wild narrative began.
Question 1: If GOAT is created by humans rather than AI, does this diminish its value?
Some people seem to think so, pointing out this absurdity on X.
Another point of contention is that Truth Terminal is not fully autonomous.
When AI generates tweets, Andy manually approves each one. He can control when the Tweet pipeline starts and stops but cannot add his input or insert context.
Question 2: Does human involvement increase or decrease the value of the token?
The market's reaction to even the smallest errors shows just how irrational these dynamics can become. When the AI made a spelling mistake in a tweet on Sunday, GOAT's value plummeted by over 50%. People panicked, thinking the AI had malfunctioned, and this typo caused a $150 million evaporation in company value.
This is a crazy yet vivid example of how fragile these dynamics can be. We need to address this issue together.
3. GOAT Token Economics
GOAT is a fairly distributed token, with a total supply of about 1 billion. All tokens are freely circulating.
GOAT's distribution is quite healthy, with only 3 holders owning more than 1% of the total supply (the largest holder owns 1.3%). There are over 32,000 holders.
In contrast, GNON (another AI entity meme coin) has a more centralized distribution: there are 17 holders owning over 1% of the total supply, with the largest holder owning 2.9%, and the total number of holders exceeds 11,000.
Main wallets:
Andy holds 1.25 million GOAT (worth $415,000), which was gifted to him.
ToT holds 1.93 million GOAT (worth $624,000). Truth Terminal acquired these GOAT tokens through people's deposits after the token launch.
I am impressed with how Andy has handled the viral attention surrounding the token over the past week, especially considering he is a newcomer to the crypto space. His focus remains on the ideology behind Truth Terminal rather than the token itself.
He has publicly stated that he will not adjust or close any of his or ToT's positions unless the following releases are achieved:
Roadmap for Truth Terminal and related projects
A research paper exploring potential processes
Artists' perspectives on this broader narrative and innovative vision
Even if Andy/ToT wanted to close their positions, given the daily trading volume in the nine-digit range, these sell-offs wouldn't have a significant direct impact on the token price. However, loss of confidence could be an issue.
4. Our Thoughts
If I had to summarize my personal viewpoint in one sentence, it would be: GOAT is the strongest contender for becoming the king of AI meme coins.
It is the token representation of Truth Terminal and everything it stands for.
GOAT's backstory is natural, original, and serendipitous, not artificially manufactured. It has caused the AI and crypto communities to collide in an unforeseen way (especially for me).
These two worlds have vastly different cultures, but GOAT has successfully bridged the gap between them:
Crypto enthusiasts are immersed in the AI world, deciphering every obscure concept (CCRU, Extropians, Loom, Claudius, etc.), hoping to discover the next potential meme concept for token issuance.
AI enthusiasts, especially those experimenting deeper or pondering AI alignment, are learning how to draw significant attention to niche topics through financial speculation and incentives, as well as how to manage tokens in the process.
In a sense, GOAT captures our optimistic feelings about the future of AI while maintaining intellectual allure—this has kept smart people curious and engaged.
We should also be clear: meme coins are about attention, not revenue. Success hinges on capturing the zeitgeist and growing mind share, ultimately driving token demand. GOAT is uniquely positioned to attract a broad audience:
Crypto degens can trade it as a typical volatile meme coin.
Investors—venture capital and liquidity funds—are searching for the next big AI opportunity, especially those who missed out on Bittensor (TAO). While they may not make these bets through their institutional accounts, they will do so through their personal accounts. GOAT taps into infinite narrative potential, igniting the imagination of investors.
AI enthusiasts may scoff at crypto enthusiasts (cryptids) desperately trying to understand AI in hopes of seizing financial opportunities. This surge of interdisciplinary interest is refreshing.
Intellectuals can immerse themselves in the debates surrounding AI, getting lost in the many rabbit holes opened by GOAT.
Fans with dark humor can revel in the absurd and irrelevant tweets from Truth Terminal and engage in the evolving narrative.
5. Tracking and Following
If we view meme coins as a tokenized attention, we can begin to focus on certain metrics that help us understand where that attention is directed.
Google Trends data shows that the search interest in 'Truth Terminal' and 'GOAT' is on the rise with no signs of slowing down.
X followers and Twitter impressions. ToT currently has 106,000 followers, the majority of whom joined in the past 10 days, and it still attracts over 10,000 new followers daily. Tweets from ToT typically achieve 30,000 to 50,000 impressions (some top tweets exceed 100,000). ToT posts more than 50 tweets daily, accumulating a vast reach. If Truth Terminal profits through X's content creator program, the earnings would be substantial—reportedly, Ansem's monthly income is $18,000, with lower impressions per tweet.
Kaito AI sentiment and thought share. This is a composite metric, somewhat like a black box. I cannot access Kaito directly, but if you can, this metric is worth monitoring. I suggest following @sandraaleow, as this account often shares valuable insights from Kaito's thought share data.
The biggest question is: Is GOAT just another flash-in-the-pan hype, or can it endure and attract more attention? I believe it is the latter, for the following reasons:
Truth Terminal will continue to surprise us. It will evolve and change over time. This AI has shown an ability to generate new ideas—some of which will undoubtedly rekindle interest as the story unfolds.
There is still much we do not know. Andy has only scratched the surface of Truth Terminal. I hope to see more developments in the coming weeks to keep the story fresh and engaging.
This is just the beginning. Andy calls himself a 'performance artist,' and Truth Terminal feels like the opening act of a grander story. He may use this initial attention as fuel to explore more ambitious ideas, keeping the narrative vibrant.
6. What Does the Future Hold?
Since meme coins do not fit traditional income or valuation models, the best way to gauge GOAT's potential is through relative valuation.
Here are the current highest market cap meme coins:
DOGE ($21 billion)
SHIB ($10 billion)
PEPE ($4.2 billion)
WIF ($2.6 billion)
BONK ($1.6 billion)
These tokens have carved out a niche through internet memes, community energy, and strong support from key opinion leaders (KOLs).
If the GOAT narrative is strong enough to break into the top five, the market cap could be 5-10 times its current value.
I believe this is entirely achievable. I've outlined why I think Crypto AI will be a massive growth opportunity in the coming months.
GOAT's 'AI entity' has created a unique narrative that sets it apart. While most meme coins rely on price action or 'resonance' to stay relevant, GOAT offers a grander narrative.
GOAT has not yet been listed on any centralized exchanges—neither Binance nor Coinbase. Currently, it trades primarily on decentralized exchanges, but with a daily trading volume exceeding $100 million, a large-scale listing seems inevitable. After all, Binance has listed other meme coins with smaller trading volumes and weaker narratives, like NEIRO. If GOAT can enter top-tier exchanges, it may unleash greater upward potential.
7. Conclusion
This feels like one of those rare moments when narrative memes collide with broader trends (AI), creating something refreshingly exciting.
That's why I believe GOAT is an asymmetric bet on our society's growing obsession with AI, as AI is not only a meme coin but also a cultural phenomenon.
But meme coins are volatile, and the speed of attention shifts can be rapid. Trends can change overnight, and today's hot coin may be forgotten tomorrow. My predictions for ToT and GOAT could be completely wrong, and GOAT's price could go to zero.
But whatever happens, there is a silver lining: over 30,000 people will have a better understanding of AI and the potential of AI entities.
Through Truth Terminal, they got a glimpse of a future full of infinite possibilities—once you see it, there's no turning back.
