Tech investors Jason Calacanis and Chamath Palihapitiya emphasized in the All-In podcast that the high operating costs of AI agents limit their potential to replace the workforce. This discussion also brings the integration of AI agents in the crypto world to the agenda.
AI Agents’ Daily Cost Reality: Calacanis and Palihapitiya
Calacanis stated that he spends $300 per day using Anthropic’s Claude AI agent in his work. Calacanis, who expressed that the agent operates at only 10-20% of its full capacity, questioned whether token costs exceed average employee salaries. Palihapitiya argued that models need to be at least twice as efficient as employees and added that he is considering imposing budget limits. These costs arise from API calls, compute resources, and token consumption; for example, models like Claude 3.5 Sonnet incur fees of 3-15 dollars per 1M input tokens.
Mark Cuban’s Strongest Argument Against AI
Mark Cuban described this cost as the smartest counterargument against AI taking over jobs. He calculated that eight Claude agents doing the work of one daily employee could cost $1200. He also emphasized the need not to ignore intangible factors like motivation and creativity. According to expert analysis, current models’ hallucination rates (5-20%) and context window limitations (200K tokens) reduce efficiency.
AI Agents on ETH: Base AIXBT and Fetch.ai ASI
The use of AI agents in crypto is accelerating. Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire predicts that billions of agents will trade with stablecoins within five years. Binance founder CZ argued that crypto will be the natural currency for AI agents. Examples: AIXBT (Bitcoin analysis agent) on Ethereum Layer 2 Base, ASI Alliance on Fetch.ai. OpenAI published a benchmark testing smart contract vulnerabilities. This integration is highlighted in ETH detailed analysis reports.
ETH Price and Technical Analysis: Support and Resistance Levels
As of February 20, 2026, ETH price is 1.954,91 USD, 24h change -0,69%. RSI 33,58 (oversold), downtrend, Supertrend bearish. EMA 20: 2.138,32.
| Level | Price | Score | Distance | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| S1 | 1.947,89 | 61/100 ⭐ | -0,36% | Prev Day Close, S1, MACD |
| S2 | 1.747,80 | 61/100 ⭐ | -10,59% | Fibo 0.000, Donchian L |
| R1 | 1.955,34 | 72/100 ⭐ | +0,02% | Fibo 0.114, Pivot, Prev High |
| R2 | 2.137,59 | 62/100 ⭐ | +9,34% | Fibo 0.214, EMA |
AI hype may increase ETH gas fees; watch ETH futures.
BlackRock Staked ETH ETF Application: 18% Fee Details
Breaking news: BlackRock applied to take 18% of the staking fees generated from its new staked Ethereum ETF. This could boost ETH staking demand, supporting AI agents’ on-chain transactions.
Peter Thiel Leaving ETHZilla: Tokenized Assets
Peter Thiel is leaving ETHZilla, the Ethereum data platform focused on tokenized jet engines with $ETHZ. If the application is approved, the RWA (real world assets) trend will strengthen the ETH ecosystem, providing liquidity for AI agents.
Source: https://en.coinotag.com/are-ai-agent-costs-shaking-the-eth-ecosystem