Original Title: "MIR Coin Earns Over $10 Million in 7 Days! When AI Skin is Wrapped Around a Blockchain Skeleton, Do We Still Need Real Stars?"

Original author: Lawrence, Mars Finance

In May 2025, a capital experiment spanning virtual idols, artificial intelligence, and Blockchain quietly launched in Tokyo. The MIRAI project, jointly launched by Japan's leading virtual human company Aww Inc. and the Solana ecosystem AI platform Holoworld, raised over $12.9 million in just one week, breaking Japan's Web3 project fundraising record, thanks to the appeal of the top-tier IP "imma". Is this project, which attempts to deeply bind ACG culture with decentralized finance, a "new paradigm" of metaverse narrative, or yet another footnote of bubble frenzy?

1. Project Background: From Virtual Idols on the Streets of Shibuya to Blockchain "New Species"

1. Aww Inc.: The Creator of the Virtual Human Empire

As one of the earliest companies in Japan to enter the virtual human sector, Aww Inc. has built a matrix of over 20 virtual IPs, including Ria and Plusticboy, since launching its first virtual idol imma in 2018. Its core business model is "Virtual as a Service" (VaaS), which achieves commercial monetization through brand endorsements, trendy brand collaborations, and film and television placements.

The breakout effect of imma can be described as phenomenal: in SK-II's global skincare advertisement, she appears alongside real models; at the launch of the BMW Tokyo Harajuku experience store, her holographic projection serves as the "digital store manager"; even in the advertisements on the JR Yamanote Line in Japan, daily commuters can see her dynamic images. This kind of immersive marketing that blurs the lines between reality and virtuality has made Aww Inc. a strategic partner of traditional giants like Mitsubishi UFJ and Shiseido.

2. Holoworld: The AI Infrastructure Maniac of the Solana Ecosystem

Holoworld's positioning is "virtual human blockchain infrastructure," and its core product AVA AI engine can map real human actions to virtual avatars in real-time through 3D scanning and deep learning.

The previously issued governance token $AVA (with a peak market capitalization of $300 million and a current market capitalization of $90 million) has been connected to more than 50 metaverse platforms, and provides on-chain identity confirmation services for South Korean girl group aespa and European and American virtual influencer Lil Miquela. The essence of this cooperation with Aww Inc. is the vertical integration of "IP resources + technology infrastructure": Aww contributes imma's IP assets and fan traffic, and Holoworld provides AI-generated tools and on-chain interaction protocols to jointly build a virtual human economic ecology.

2. Token Economics: The Design Logic Behind the Overfunding of 12.9 Million USD

On May 10th, less than two days after the on-chain virtual human MIRAI started fundraising, the official announcement stated that the pre-sale of the Mirai token has ended earlier than planned, and the amount raised has far exceeded our initial target. The team plans to refund the excess funds. On-chain data shows that the Mirai pre-sale address has received 76,423.42 SOL, equivalent to approximately 12.95 million dollars.

​​1. Token Allocation: Centralized Governance and Liquidity Games​​

According to the white paper, the total amount of MIRAI tokens is 1 billion coins, and the distribution structure shows a clear "resource-oriented" characteristic:

This design implies two major controversies:

​​· Centralized Risk​​: The team and partners hold a total of 25% of the tokens, and the presale share is highly concentrated (the top 100 addresses account for over 60%), which may lead community governance to become a "rubber stamp";​​

· Liquidity Trap: 25% of the liquidity pool is released in phases, which may lead to severe price fluctuations in the early stages. Historical data shows that similar model projects (such as SkyAI) typically experience an amplitude exceeding 300% in the first week after launch.

​​2. Overfunding and Refund Mechanism: The "Double-edged Sword" of Market Sentiment

The original fundraising target of 50,000 SOL was ultimately concluded ahead of schedule with 76,831 SOL (approximately 12.9 million USD), exceeding the target by 153.6%. The project party promised to proportionately refund the excess funds, but on-chain data shows that the top 10 addresses contributed 42% of the funding, highlighting significant "whale control" characteristics. While the refund mechanism may boost confidence in the short term (referencing the significant rebound after the SLERF incident), it could also trigger a "prisoner's dilemma": some investors may choose to sell in the secondary market to avoid refund losses, leading to a spiral decline in prices.

3. Price Prediction: Trend Derivation Under Multi-Dimensional Factor Game

​​1. Short-term (1-3 months): Market maker operations and liquidity games

Wintermute's deep involvement (on-chain labels show its test address participating in the pre-sale, with the largest single Wintermute-related transfer to the pre-sale address of nearly 15wu 881sol) injects a strong boost to the project. Referencing the launch performance of $AVA:

· First Day Performance: When launched in Q4 2024, $AVA opened at a price of $0.12, surged to $0.87 within 24 hours (an increase of 625%), and then fell back to $0.35;

· Market Making Strategy: Wintermute completed the initial control of the market through "pulse-style promotion + step-by-step selling," achieving a turnover rate as high as 580% in the first week.

If MIRAI replicates this path, it may present the following stages:

​​· Opening Surge​​： With the help of imma's social media popularity (over 860k Twitter followers), the price may quickly break through 0.5 dollars, equivalent to a market value of 50 million dollars;

· Profit Taking: About 30% of the pre-sale investors are "new investment studios," which may withdraw in bulk after 2-3 times the return;

· Liquidity Siphoning: If 25% of the initial liquidity pool is concentrated on Raydium, it may trigger MEV bots to snipe, exacerbating volatility.

2. Mid-term (3-6 months): Ecosystem Implementation and Narrative Validation

The project roadmap shows that the Mirai Terminal beta will be launched in Q3, supporting three major features:

​​· Virtual Human Minting​​： Users can generate their exclusive avatars through AVA AI and mint them as NFTs；​​

· Reward Economy: Fans use MIRAI tokens to purchase virtual gifts, and IPs like imma can earn a share;

**​​· Brand Collaboration Pool​​：**Partners (such as Uniqlo, Loft) can initiate limited digital product crowdfunding.

In this stage, two key indicators need to be focused on:

**​​· MAU (Monthly Active Users)​​: **If it fails to break through the 100k threshold, the token may fall into a "valuable but unmarketable" situation;

**· IP Revenue Share: ** Whether imma related transactions account for more than 70% of the ecosystem, reflecting a deficiency in ecological diversity.

3. Long-term (over 1 year): The "death cross" in the virtual human track

The lifecycle law of virtual idols shows that the peak popularity of top IPs usually lasts for 18-24 months (such as Hatsune Miku, Luo Tianyi). imma has entered its seventh year since debuting in 2018. Although the lifecycle has been extended through "cross-dimensional marketing," the risk of aesthetic fatigue among Generation Z users is increasing. If the team fails to incubate new IPs or expand application scenarios (such as VR concerts, AIGC content platforms), the tokens may become "MEME assets," relying on community speculation to maintain their valuation.

Conclusion: Can the "dimension wall" between virtual and reality be broken by tokens?

The ambition of MIRAI is not just to issue a coin, but to attempt to build a trinity economic system of "virtual people - fans - brands". Its success depends on whether it can convert the traffic potential of imma into on-chain activity and break through the "toolization" bottleneck to create a true digital identity paradigm.

However, when the capital frenzy dissipates, we need to answer a fundamental question: does Blockchain truly endow virtual idols with new value, or is it merely donning a decentralized "emperor's new clothes"? Perhaps only time can provide the answer, but before that, investors must fasten their seatbelts—this journey through the dimensional wall is destined to be bumpy.

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