Grayscale’s AI Crypto Sector launch boosts top AI coins, offering accredited investors exposure to decentralized AI projects.
AI currencies are rejoicing today as asset manager Grayscale Investments unveiled its ‘AI crypto sector’ as the industry registers 4.5x growth over the past two years, surging from $4.5 billion to over $20 billion. The asset manager is confident that decentralized AI is acquiring the same level of dominance as centralized players while also capturing the crypto mindshare. Today, the price of top currencies such as Bittensor (TAO) has already increased by 4.2%.
Amidst Grayscale’s AI Crypto Sector Push, AI Coins Celebrate
AI Coins celebrated immediately following Grayscale’s announcement, as Bittensor (TAO) experienced a 4.5% increase in price to $475, and its market capitalization surpassed $4 billion. Similarly, the Injective Protocol (INJ) experienced an 8% increase, rising to $15. In comparison, the Virtual Protocol (VIRTUAL) experienced a 15% increase, resulting in a 60% increase in daily trading volume to over $600 million.
I am grateful to Grayscale for introducing the ‘AI Crypto Sector,’ which emphasizes the decentralized AI sector in the context of its increasing dominance and mindshare over other crypto sectors. The chart below from Kaiko demonstrates the dominance of AI discussions over DeFi, Gaming, Layer 2s, and tokenization.
The top 20 assets in the AI Crypto Sector, part of Grayscale, have a combined circulating market valuation of $20 billion. Even though this represents less than 1% of the total crypto market, Grayscale believes that:
“The addressable market of blockchain-based AI applications is potentially very large, and we believe that the Artificial Intelligence Crypto Sector will grow in both absolute terms and relative to the rest of the crypto market”.
In addition to the most prominent AI crypto tokens, such as Bittensor (TAO), Near, and RENDER, Grayscale’s list includes projects such as Worldcoin (WLD), which has recently gained popularity.
What will the AI crypto sector provide?
The AI Crypto Sector, as defined in the Grayscale press release, comprises AI Coins associated with developing, maintaining, and applying AI technologies. It is divided into three distinct subsectors:
- AI Platforms: These are fundamental networks intended to facilitate the creation of a wide range of AI applications. Bittensor and Near are two examples.
- AI Tools & Resources: This sector offers critical resources for the development of AI, including computational capacity and data. Examples include Akash (compute services) and Grass (data mining).
- AI Apps & Agents: This category concentrates on AI applications and AI agents addressing specific challenges, such as identity verification or intellectual property management. Virtuals (AI agents) and Kaito (AI-powered sentiment analysis) are two examples.
Recently, investors have been interested in decentralized AI to ensure that it is free of bias or censorship. Additionally, Grayscale has been developing additional initiatives, including crypto ETFs. Nevertheless, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has recently postponed its decision regarding the Litecoin ETF and the Solana ETF.
