Edge
The promise of crypto has always been transparency. The reality is anything but.
Despite having all transaction data available onchain, crypto remains flooded with manipulation, wrong/exaggerated metrics, and outright fabrications. The challenge of maintaining data integrity is growing exponentially with the explosion of L1s, L2s, L3s, and cross-chain interoperability. We're moving toward a future of hundreds of interconnected networks, each generating significant transaction volumes and financial activities that can trigger cascading effects across the entire ecosystem.
Apply to the Chaos Labs AFI Grant Program
Manipulated data can take many forms: rampant sybil activity distorting user metrics, sophisticated wash trading schemes fabricating volume, and coordinated narratives pushed to benefit specific positions rather than reflect reality. As networks multiply and interact, detecting these deceptions becomes more challenging – a single wrong or manipulated signal can now ripple through dozens of interconnected systems.
This problem is about to get worse. As AI tools become more sophisticated and accessible, the cost of generating convincing fake news, coordinated narratives, and manipulated metrics approaches zero. High-integrity data and authenticity will become the scarcest resources in the world.
With blockchains, we can do better. The solution isn't better PR or more "influencers." It's better technology.
What We Need
We need an approach that combines the rigor of traditional finance with the transparency of blockchain. Real-time intelligence that can process billions in transactions while extracting signals and identifying manipulation. A system that turns raw data into genuine insight, separating signal from an ocean of noise.
We're calling it: Artificial Financial Intelligence (AFI).
Introducing: AFI
AFI represents years of AI development at Chaos Labs. Our journey began with Agent-Based Monte Carlo simulations that set a new standard for real-time value-at-risk assessment in DeFi. From there, we expanded into real-time value-at-risk computations, liquidity ingress + egress, market surveillance, wash-trading detection, wallet clustering, and more.
Over the past year, we’ve focused on our most ambitious project yet: building specialized machine learning models—including LLMs and SLMs—designed specifically for the intersection of traditional and decentralized finance. These models are domain-specific, fine-tuned crypto intelligence systems that deeply understand blockchain mechanics, market dynamics, and financial risk.
The current wave of AI advancement has focused on general intelligence – systems that can engage in PhD-level discourse across domains. But when billions of dollars are at stake, "generally intelligent" isn't good enough. You need systems purpose-built for crypto and finance.
The problem? Frontier AI models were never trained for CeFi markets or blockchains. Their training doesn’t capture:
• Block transaction histories
• Behavioral patterns of on-chain entities
• Protocol-specific risk factors
• Smart contract security vulnerabilities
At best, general AI models can detect broad patterns—but that barely scratches the surface of what’s possible. AFI changes this. It’s AI built for crypto builders, by crypto builders
What AFI Enables
Imagine an AI that doesn’t just provide generic market summaries but understands on-chain leverage, value at risk, toxic liquidity flows, and liquidity migrations in real-time. Imagine a system that can instantly parse blocks, detect exploits, and translate complex blockchain activity into human-readable insights.
That’s exactly what AFI is built to do—not as a distant vision, but as a fast approaching reality.
Building Together: The Open Source Vision
We recognize that crypto's expanding universe of L1s, L2s, and appchains makes it impossible for any single company to cover the entire ecosystem. That's why we're making the AFI initiative open source and will launch a comprehensive grants program. We’re funding AI/ML initiatives that further the understanding of blockchains and onchain movements. This includes, but is not limited to:
Key Areas for Contribution:
- Development Toolkits: Creating specialized tools for crypto and traditional finance
- Search Infrastructure: Building vertical search engines focused on cryptocurrency
- Analytics Explainers: Developing tools for complex data interpretation
Our grants program will fund contributors building:
- Integration tools for new chains and protocols
- Agent toolkits
- Specialized research and analysis agents
The open-source AFI initiative is still very new, but we think with a community behind it, it will become powerful, quickly.
Join the Chaos Labs AFI Grants Program
If you're passionate about AI and machine learning in crypto and want to help build the future of financial intelligence, we want to work with you. Our grants program is now accepting applications for:
- Crypto ML research initiatives
- Search infrastructure developers
- RAG specialists
- Crypto data engineers and dashboard wizards
- Crypto data scientists
Apply now: https://chaoslabs.xyz/grants
Let's build the future of financial intelligence together.
