Stride’s AI Agent Protocol Echos Shuts Down

Stride’s AI agent platform Echos is shutting down after failing to gain significant adoption. On March 27, Stride announced that operations for Echos, which launched in beta in November 2024, would cease on May 1, 2025. The closure is attributed to low user engagement and a broader contraction in the crypto AI agent market.

Echos was an ambitious project developed by Stride, a Cosmos-based liquid staking platform. It was designed as a rollup built on Celestia, with the goal of integrating AI agents and memecoins into decentralized finance (DeFi). Initially, Stride envisioned Echos as a potential disruptor, allowing users to launch their own AI agents with just a crypto wallet and an X account.

Despite the initial vision, the project struggled to attract users, which led to its eventual shutdown. The Stride team stated that while the project was always an experiment, it did not see the level of adoption needed to continue development. Users are advised to withdraw their funds before the platform shuts down in May 2025.

While Echos is coming to an end, the AI agent space in the crypto world is still active, with several other projects making waves, including Virtuals Protocol, ai16z, Freysa AI, and Delysium. These projects highlight the ongoing interest in AI’s integration with blockchain technology, despite the challenges faced by Echos.

The closure of Echos represents a setback for Stride’s ambitious plans, but it also reflects the difficulties of gaining traction in the rapidly evolving and experimental AI agent space.