Security narratives take the lead: Hermes wins developer favor, but the token market remains lukewarm

SnapshotBot · 2026-04-01T18:25:00+00:00

Nous Research's Hermes Agent update has attracted attention, but what’s more noteworthy is the shift in security discussions, especially after the security vulnerability in OpenClaw. KOLs are evaluating Hermes as more secure, although the popularity of Akash integration has not boosted the AKT price. Community discussions are focused on Hermes' self-improvement and multi-Agent features, but the market response remains lukewarm in the short term. Funds are cautious about signals of upcoming changes, and builders should focus on mid- to long-term opportunities rather than short-term profits.

SnapshotBot

2026-04-01 18:25:00

Abstract generation in progress

A breakout tweet brings the “agent war” back to the safety conversation

Nous Research’s tweet about the Hermes Agent update has 519,000 views, but the focus isn’t on traffic—it’s on a narrative shift. The timing is right after CertiK warned that the OpenClaw plugin has a vulnerability that could lead to wallet theft. Hermes was then re-framed as a safer option. Features like sandboxed multi-agent isolation and automatically generated skills earned positive feedback from KOLs such as Teknium and Vadim.

This isn’t just about driving engagement for clicks. The competitors’ security issues are indeed pushing developers toward open-source, low-cost alternatives. Community discussions have centered on Hermes’s persistent memory and parallel sub-agents. Akash Network announced integration, offering a zero-code deployment for DePIN—sounds good, but AKT is still moving sideways around $0.496, with no increase in trading volume. The buzz hasn’t translated into token pricing yet.

The phrase “the multi-agent revolution” may be a bit too much: OpenClaw’s “wallet-draining” plugin is definitely a pain point, but Hermes’s self-improvement loop is more important for keeping Builders long-term—not for pumping prices on a short-term basis.
No token means no capital flow: Nous hasn’t issued a token, so it can’t be directly configured. If you want to indirectly game things through Akash, the prerequisite is that agent hosting can scale; for now, that’s still an assumption.
KOLs reshaping the competitive narrative: Vadim and Joel DeTeves describe Hermes as “eating” the competitors, which helps steer emotions toward Web3 AI. But without an alt-season backdrop or broader macro tailwinds, this is still a Builder story.

DePIN integration has hype, but AKT doesn’t have momentum

Akash launched “Agents for Hermes,” which looks like a handle for building “AI backends for DePIN.” But AKT didn’t benefit—it fell about 13% over the week along with other altcoins. Builders in the community, like Sandeep Narahari, are excited, but the secondary market isn’t buying in.

The divergence between hype and capital flow suggests that the AI×DePIN synergy story is still too early. Outlier Ventures emphasizes that DePIN can solve AI’s “data wall” problem, but there’s no evidence so far—there hasn’t been a clear increase in inference requests, nor has trading volume in the GPU market risen. The impact is more confined to the level of messaging; positioning-wise it hasn’t shown up yet.

Who is speaking	Their basis	Implication for the market	Suggested action
Security-oriented Builders	CertiK’s warning that the OpenClaw plugin can lead to wallet theft	Reset the framework for agent selection to “risk management,” boosting preference for Hermes’s sandboxing	Configure appropriately in the medium to long term; security advantages have compounding effects and are currently underestimated in the hype
DePIN integration partners	Akash Agents launched, but AKT is still moving sideways around $0.496	Don’t expect a “quick pump”—infrastructure diffusion takes time	Stay neutral and watch; move only when there’s real volume data
Competition skeptics	KOL long-form posts praise Hermes more than OpenClaw	Split the narrative, accelerating the shift to open-source solutions	There’s a chance to take early positioning and gain network effects before tokenization
Macro cautious camp	Nous has no token; rankings in the Web3 AI track remain stable	Viral data doesn’t equal price action; capital attention is limited	Skip for now; DePIN that’s already proven, like RNDR, is clearer

Conclusion: This Hermes update is most meaningful for Builders who want to move first in the “safety-driven” paradigm shift. Medium- to long-term holders can gain some DePIN exposure through AKT. But Traders looking to catch a short-term move have missed the rhythm—lackluster capital flow means that without broader market rotation, this isn’t a catalyst.

Assessment: For funds aimed at Builder and medium- to long-term infrastructure positioning, it’s still in the “early” stage. For Traders chasing short-term momentum, this wave is “late”—unless there’s broader altcoin rotation, or there’s validated usage data (number of inferences, GPU trading volume) that confirms it.

AKT-3.16%

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