AI cryptos are leading the altcoin surge, outshadowing traditional leaders like Ethereum in terms of price pace. Here’s what you need to know about AI tokens and their near perspective.
The rise of AI coins is one of the most intriguing trends in the crypto space today.
As artificial intelligence (AI) continues to revolutionize industries, AI tokens have emerged at the intersection of cutting-edge technology and decentralized finance (DeFi).
No, if you thought everything in AI world is revolving around ChatGPT or Midjourney, you are way, way off.
These tokens are designed to empower various AI-driven applications, from decentralized data analysis to machine learning platforms. This movement is a blend of AI's transformative potential and blockchain's promise of decentralization, security, and transparency.
Tokens representing artificial intelligence represent initiatives that provide a decentralized method of data sharing and computation by means of AI algorithms in order to address real-world issues. These tokens are paving the way for new ways for AI and blockchain to live and grow, whether it's AI for predictive modeling, machine learning protocols, or infrastructure built to support AI development.
The increasing demand for AI technology across sectors such as healthcare, finance, and automation has led to a surge in projects that marry AI with blockchain, enabling decentralized, permissionless innovation.
In recent years, the concept of decentralized AI—where AI tools are built on open, decentralized blockchain networks—has gained traction, offering new models of ownership and collaboration. Many AI coins focus on bringing AI technology to a broader, more decentralized audience by leveraging blockchain's transparent and secure infrastructure.
What sets AI tokens apart is not just their application but also their underlying philosophy. Quite a rebellious one, to say the least.
They aim to democratize access to AI tools and datasets.
The power of AI should not be concentrated in the hands of a few large corporations. Instead, by decentralizing AI infrastructure, these projects allow users and developers from around the world to contribute, build, and benefit from AI innovations.
Why Are AI Tokens Surging in 2024?
The recent surge in AI tokens can be attributed to several key factors that have created strong momentum in the sector.
Here are the top five reasons driving the rally in AI crypto tokens right now.
- Increased Adoption of AI Technology: The mainstream adoption of AI, particularly in applications like autonomous agents and machine learning, is one of the primary reasons behind the rise in AI tokens. Projects like Fetch.ai (FET) and SingularityNET (AGIX) are at the forefront of integrating AI with decentralized blockchain technologies. These platforms offer real-world applications, such as optimizing supply chains and facilitating data sharing in AI research. They are simly attractive to investors.
- Nvidia’s Influence on AI Growth: Nvidia, the leading provider of AI hardware, has been a significant driver of the AI boom. With their Q2 2024 earnings exceeding expectations due to demand for AI-powered services, the excitement around AI has spilled over into the crypto sector. Many AI tokens, including NEAR and Render, surged as Nvidia’s results fueled the broader tech market. And that boosted investor confidence in AI crypto projects.
- Institutional Interest: Institutional investment in AI-focused crypto funds has grown, reflecting increased confidence in the sector. Companies like Grayscale have launched AI crypto funds, providing exposure to tokens such as Near and Bittensor, while Binance Labs has heavily backed AI projects like Sahara AI. This inflow of capital from institutional investors signals growing long-term interest in AI and blockchain integration.
- Decentralization of AI Services: Decentralized AI networks are increasingly viewed as essential in addressing issues such as data privacy and the equitable distribution of AI resources. Projects like Ocean Protocol and SingularityNET offer platforms for decentralized AI services, where data can be traded securely and developers can build AI tools in a decentralized environment. This trend toward decentralization resonates with blockchain’s ethos, adding to the appeal of AI tokens.
- Speculation and Market Hype: While AI tokens have real-world utility, part of the current surge can be attributed to speculative hype. Many investors are drawn to the sector’s potential, driving up token prices rapidly. However, experts warn that while some projects will deliver on their promises, others may not live up to the hype, leading to potential volatility.
These 10 leading AI coins are shaping this space, so let’s talk about them in detail.
NEAR Protocol (NEAR)
Illia Polosukhin and Alexander Skidanov developed the NEAR Protocol in 2020; it is a layer-1 blockchain. It was designed with scalability in mind.
Beyond its original focus on decentralized applications (dApps), NEAR has lately branched out into artificial intelligence (AI).
By establishing NEAR AI, a research center for decentralized AI, the NEAR Foundation has further established itself as a frontrunner in the field of AI blockchain development. Project goals include developing tools to promote decentralized AI solutions and using AI to speed up Web3 growth.
Innovations such as sharding (Nightshade) and its block generation technology (Doomslug) have propelled NEAR's ecosystem to quick growth. Another feature that allows for smooth transactions between the two networks is NEAR's Rainbow Bridge, which is a bridge to Ethereum that enables cross-chain compatibility.
Inside the ecosystem, the NEAR token does a lot of work, like staking for validators and paying transaction fees. It's also an essential component for AI initiatives on the network.
As of September 2024, NEAR has a market capitalization of around $5.8 billion, with a circulating supply of over 1.11 billion tokens.
Prices have fluctuated, reaching an all-time high of over $20 in early 2022 but currently trading at around $5.3.
Artificial Superintelligence Alliance (FET)
Fetch.ai's FET token is one of the prominent players in the Artificial Superintelligence Alliance (ASI), formed in collaboration with SingularityNET and Ocean Protocol.
By introducing decentralized AI and ML to smart blockchain environments, Fetch.ai hopes to accomplish its stated goal of launching in February 2019. It runs a decentralized platform where users can hire autonomous agents to do their bidding. With the help of an AI and machine learning marketplace, these jobs can be anything from simple logistics to complicated computations.
The goal of the Artificial Superintelligence Alliance is to make the most of the AI features offered by all the participating platforms. Key to this operation are FET tokens, which allow machine learning services to be tokenized. With the rebranding of the ASI token, the partnership was officially established, allowing users to swap FET tokens for the new ASI token. This move is anticipated to further enhance the ecosystem. This change will allow Fetch.ai to grow along with AI technology.
Fetch.ai’s capacity to automate decentralized data processing is a major reason for its rising popularity. By forming partnerships with companies in the energy market and logistics industry, Fetch.ai makes it possible for autonomous economic agents to communicate and share data, as well as make predictions. Its decentralized nature is further enhanced by its open-source ecosystem, which allows for greater participation from developers globally.
Despite the market's ups and downs, FET has maintained a steady price history. The token is now trading at about $1.62, down from an all-time high of $3.45 in March 2024. Thanks to the surge in artificial intelligence and Nvidia's achievements in this space, the token's value has skyrocketed in 2024. FET is seen as a strong long-term player in the AI token space, especially as it becomes more integrated within the ASI ecosystem.
Internet Computer (ICP)
An innovative blockchain called the Internet Computer Project (ICP) was created by the DFINITY Foundation with the goal of making the internet a decentralized, open-access worldwide network.
An innovative new approach is proposed by this project, which launched in May 2021 and offers "World Computer" functionality. This allows decentralized applications (dApps) to be hosted entirely on the blockchain, doing away with the need for traditional cloud services. To drive this distributed computing infrastructure, the network employs a one-of-a-kind protocol called Internet Computer Protocol (ICP).
Canisters are an integral part of ICP. They are improved smart contracts that lets programmers create web services on the blockchain. In contrast to other blockchains, ICP uses a reverse-gas model that lets canisters pay for their own computation, eliminating the need for users to pay transaction fees. Because of this, ICP is among the most developer-friendly and scalable blockchain ecosystems.
Famous cryptographer and entrepreneur Dominic Williams, who founded DFINITY, is spearheading the project and sees ICP as the way decentralized internet services will evolve in the future. With ICP, users can take part in the network's configurations and upgrades directly thanks to the Network Nervous System (NNS), which enables decentralized governance.
The ICP token's value has fluctuated wildly since its release. Its initial offering price was over $600, but it fell dramatically as a result of market volatility. With a market cap of about $4 billion as of September 2024, ICP trades at around $8.50.
The developer community has taken notice of ICP, particularly for use cases such as DeFi, SocialFi, and even bridge-less cross-chain integrations. For a more transparent and decentralized web, ICP plans to take on established internet behemoths with the help of innovative technology and solid financial backing.
Bittensor (TAO)
Among AI-driven cryptocurrencies, Bittensor (TAO) stands out as a one-of-a-kind decentralized platform that focuses solely on machine learning.
Initiated in 2021, this blockchain project seeks to utilize a decentralized peer-to-peer network to completely transform the process of developing and deploying artificial intelligence.
At its heart, Bittensor aims to build a worldwide intelligence market where users can purchase TAO tokens according to the value they add to the network. Users can participate by contributing AI models and computing resources.
Jacob Steeves and Ala Shaabana, the founders of Bittensor, made use of their combined knowledge of artificial intelligence and computer science to construct the open-source protocol. Their system allows for the collaborative training and sharing of AI models through an emphasis on decentralized machine learning. This collaborative strategy democratizes the industry by speeding up innovation and allowing more people to contribute to AI development.
Its reward system is one of Bittensor's most distinctive features. In exchange for high-quality data and machine learning models, TAO tokens are given out to participants. The network's AI models are constantly being fine-tuned and improved by this system, which guarantees high-quality intelligence outputs. As an added bonus, TAO tokens provide users access to the network's collective intelligence.
The growth of Bittensor's finances is truly remarkable. As of September 2024, TAO was trading at about $547, down from an all-time high of $757.60 in early 2024. The token's value has risen and fallen dramatically, with a 67% spike in September alone. The market capitalization of Bittensor is still strong at around $4 billion, and there are around 7 million TAO tokens circulating, so it's not surprising that the market is volatile.
Bittensor is well-positioned to be a major participant in the AI-crypto space thanks to its decentralized AI approach and robust token incentive model. Its open-source framework and ongoing community-driven improvements keep it popular among AI enthusiasts and developers around the world.
Render (RENDER)
One of the biggest problems in digital graphics is the need for a lot of processing power to make high-quality 3D images, and Render aims to fix that.
Launched in 2017 by OTOY, Render is a decentralized GPU rendering network that utilizes blockchain technology.
Using RENDER tokens as a medium of exchange, it links creators in need of powerful rendering capabilities with those who have excess GPU capacity. This platform streamlines and reduces the cost of rendering complex animation, motion graphics, and VR projects by distributing them across a global network.
The Render project was conceptualized by Jules Urbach, founder and CEO of OTOY. Urbach aimed to address the increasing demands for 3D graphics by bringing cloud-based GPU rendering to the blockchain. The demand for powerful rendering services has increased dramatically due to the rise of AI and VR. Render aims to make this essential infrastructure accessible to everyone.
Major Hollywood studios already trust OTOY's technology, and Render's decentralized model scales GPU access globally, taking it to the next level.
Render has been able to increase its capabilities and decrease latency by operating on the Ethereum blockchain and, more recently, the Solana ecosystem.
Members of the network can pay for rendering services with the ERC-20 utility token known as the RENDER token. A decentralized marketplace where everyone can access high-quality graphics rendering is created when GPU providers earn tokens as compensation for their processing power.
In March 2024, RENDER hit a record high of $13.53, but by September of the same year, it had settled around $6.04. With a market cap of $2.4 billion and a circulating supply of around 517 million tokens, this project is among the top tokens in the artificial intelligence and digital rendering space.
More and more industries are incorporating AI and VR into their processes, which is driving interest in Render's real-world use cases.
The Graph (GRT)
A decentralized protocol that indexes and queries data from blockchains, The Graph (GRT) was launched in 2020.
Its open-source network of indexers scans and organizes data using APIs called subgraphs, with the main aim of streamlining access to blockchain data.
Notable decentralized applications (dApps) such as Uniswap, Audius, and Synthetix have embraced this network, which makes The Graph a crucial tool for retrieving data from on-chain sources.
Three people—Jannis Pohlmann, Yaniv Tal, and Brandon Ramirez—co-founded the project. Both Tal and Ramirez are electrical engineers with experience working together at MuleSoft, a company that Salesforce acquired.
Their research on immutable databases served as an inspiration for The Graph, an initiative that aims to construct immutable application programming interfaces (APIs) on blockchain networks.
Constructed on the Ethereum network, the Graph's native GRT token serves as a financial incentive for data indexing and curation on the network. A portion of the fees is distributed among curators and delegators according to the usefulness and accuracy of the data they manage, while indexers receive rewards for providing developers with data.
The Graph Foundation, which generated $12 million from a public token sale, is the backbone of the ecosystem.
In September 2024, there were 9.5 billion GRT tokens in circulation, and the price of one token is around $0.17. The market capitalization was around $1.87 billion. Despite the project's all-time high of $2.84 in February 2021, its price has since fluctuated significantly.
Akash Network (AKT)
Quicker, cheaper, and more efficient use of cloud resources is the goal of Akash Network, a decentralized marketplace for cloud computing.
Greg Osuri and Adam Bozanich started the project in 2020 with the goal of reducing reliance on centralized providers like Amazon Web Services by enabling a decentralized peer-to-peer network for cloud services using blockchain technology.
Akash provides a strong platform for efficiently deploying and managing applications, all while securing the network through its Tendermint Proof-of-Stake consensus model. It is built on the Cosmos SDK and powered by the AKT token.
Through the Akash marketplace, people all over the globe can rent out unused computer resources from data centers. This establishes a free market where programmers can rent computer resources at rates significantly lower than those offered by conventional cloud providers. The use of auditable smart contracts further increases the network's openness and security, and AKT tokens make transactions and governance easier.
Akash launched the first AI Supercloud in 2023, solidifying its position as a frontrunner in decentralized AI-driven cloud computing.
Supercloud optimization of cloud computing services through AI and blockchain makes them scalable and accessible to developers worldwide. As more and more developers and cloud providers join the Akash community, its size is expanding.
The price of AKT has been very volatile. Sometimes price swings were horrendous. With a market cap of about $703 million, it has been trading around $2.84 as of September 2024, down from an all-time high of $8.07 in April 2021. There are a maximum of 388,000,000 tokens in circulation, with 247,000,000 already out there.
Akash Network is poised to make a big splash in the cloud computing industry thanks to its decentralized approach and heavy focus on integrating AI and blockchain.
AIOZ Network (AIOZ)
The AIOZ Network is a decentralized platform that provides decentralized storage, streaming, and AI computation for the Web3 ecosystem.
It uses a distributed content delivery network (dCDN) that was launched in 2021 and is powered by individual nodes that share computational resources for digital content transcoding, storage, and streaming. Instead of depending on old-fashioned centralised platforms like YouTube or AWS, this architecture seeks to decentralize media delivery, making it quicker, safer, and more revolutionary.
The goal of launching the AIOZ project was to integrate AI computation and decentralize cloud-based media services. Its blockchain is compatible with Ethereum and other popular smart contract languages, and it is based on the Cosmos software development kit. An innovative feature of AIOZ is its AI Supercloud, which enhances AI processing power across a globally distributed network by using decentralized nodes for AI-driven computations.
The primary medium of exchange for all network transactions is the AIOZ token ($AIOZ). Developers can access decentralized computing and storage solutions with AIOZ tokens, while participants are incentivized to contribute resources. The token is also essential for the platform's security and governance.
Since its launch, AIOZ has seen substantial fluctuations in its financial performance. After hitting a record high of $2.61 in April of 2021, it has subsequently fallen. There are more than 1.12 billion AIOZ tokens in circulation as of September 2024, and the market cap is around $529 million. The token trades around $0.47.
Future advancements, such as the integration of AI computation and decentralized AI services, will be part of the platform's ongoing capability expansion.
Arkham (ARKM)
In 2020, Miguel Morel introduced Arkham (ARKM), a blockchain project that utilized cutting-edge AI technology to link blockchain addresses to actual entities. The goal was to increase transparency in the cryptocurrency market.
As a robust tool for research, compliance, and trading, Arkham's goal is to reveal the true nature of crypto transactions and give insight into on-chain activity. Buyers and sellers on the Arkham Intel Exchange, a decentralized marketplace for crypto intelligence, use the platform’s native ARKM token to transact in blockchain data.
A notable aspect of Arkham is its artificial intelligence engine, ULTRA, which provides users with a holistic perspective of the cryptocurrency ecosystem by aggregating data from various chains. Arkham is unique among blockchain analysis platforms due to its multi-chain integration, which opens up a wide range of potential uses, including institutional trading and compliance tracking.
With its $2.5 million in funding from the Binance Launchpad in mid-2023, ARKM has become a financial hot potato. The token's price has gone from $0.05 to around $1.45 as of September 2024, giving it a market cap of around $315 million. There are 225,000,000 tokens in circulation, with a total supply of 1,000,000,000,000 tokens.
A number of prominent investors, including those who helped found Palantir and OpenAI, have put their money into the platform, lending it even more credibility. Arkham is still in the works, but it will soon have features that allow you to explore data powered by AI and support DeFi data.
SingularityNET (AGIX)
SingularityNET (AGIX) was launched in 2017. It's a decentralized marketplace for AI services, truly one of its kind.
The platform was co-founded by a group of respectable scientist - Dr. Ben Goertzel, a prominent figure in the field of artificial intelligence and robotics; Simone Giacomelli; and Dr. David Hanson, father of the renowned Sophia humanoid robot.
The SingularityNET is essentially a decentralized marketplace for artificial intelligence development resources. As wide variety of AI-based solutions are available on the platform. Businesses and individuals can buy and use these AI services with ease thanks to the platform's native AGIX token. Which by the way also ensures that developers are paid.
The idea behind SingularityNET is to decentralize AI models and algorithms so that everyone can use them. Developers can build AI services and monetize them on the network, while users can interact with AI agents.
One of the network's strongest points is the ability of different AI agents to collaborate; this enhances the efficiency and quality of the services provided. This decentralized structure tackles ethical concerns while also promoting transparency and fairness in AI decision-making.
While AGIX's price peaked at $1.46 in September 2024, it is currently trading at approximately $0.70. Currently, 504 million tokens out of a total of 2 billion are in circulation.
Main exchanges for the token include Binance and KuCoin. A number of companies are contributing to SingularityNET's expanding ecosystem. These include the Artificial Superintelligence Alliance (ASI), Cardano, and Hanson Robotics.