Bitcoin (BTC) is taking a breather, but altcoins didn’t get the memo.
TL;DR…
- Altcoins surge: Altcoins rose 7.9% in market cap, while Bitcoin remained flat, its dominance falling to a monthly low of 57.3%.
- AI tokens outperformed: Many AI tokens saw over 20% weekly gains; Bittensor climbed 20% due to EVM compatibility hype.
- AI sector news: OpenAI secured $1.5B funding but suffered a major leak; Talus Network hit $150M FDV; ACT launched $1M for AI meme projects.
- Trending innovation: Truth Terminal integrates with Fi and S.A.N. to create Loria, boosting AI personality interactions.
Bitcoin (BTC) is taking a breather, but altcoins didn’t get the memo.
Over the last week, more than a few coins have gone parabolic and the AI sector is seeing renewed signs of strength.
Let’s dive in and see the state of play right now. Click here to check out last week’s AI recap.
Market Overview
Following last week's meteoric rise, Bitcoin (BTC) has cooled off somewhat this week. The token has been trading roughly flat over the past seven days, hovering around the $94,200 price point after a brief dip to around $91,000 yesterday.
Source: Bitcoin (BTC) Coin Page
In contrast, altcoins have returned to form over the last week.
The total market capitalization of the altcoin market has climbed from $1.125 billion to $1.22 billion over the last week, equivalent to a 7.9% increase.
Meanwhile, Bitcoin’s dominance has dropped to 57.3%—its lowest value in a month.
Source: CMC Altcoin Season Index
Overall, the market is skewing in favor of altcoins. Indeed, the CMC Altcoin Season Index now stands at 56—its highest value in over three months.
>> It’s looking good for altcoin holders right now.
AI Sector Recap
The last week has been a whirlwind for the AI sector.
The vast majority of AI projects have put on a stellar performance over the last seven days, with many projects stacking on more than 20% during this time.
Source: Top AI & Big Data Tokens page
Eight of the top 10 largest AI tokens are in the green over this period, with Render (RENDER) and AIOZ Network (AIOZ) being the only exceptions, down 4.7% and 5.2% respectively.
Fartcoin (FARTCOIN) still has its foot on the gas with a 63.7% gain over the last week.
>> Not sure whether to laugh or cry about that one.
Among the top 100 AI tokens by market capitalization, several have put on a particularly impressive show, while others… not so much.
Here’s a brief rundown of the biggest winners and losers (barring those with minimal trading volume).
Biggest winners:
- PaLM AI (PALM): gained 106%
- 0x0.ai (0x0): gained 95.3%
- Virtuals Protocol (VIRTUAL): gained 64.1%
Biggest losers:
- Turbo (TURBO): lost 14.5%
- HyperGPT (HGPT): lost 12%
- LimeWire (LMWR): lost 11%
This week, Bittensor (TAO) also returned to form. As the largest pure-play AI project, Bittensor is often considered the market leader.
Source: Bittensor (TAO) Token Page
The TAO token is currently trading at $564, up more than 20% in a week and close to its highest point in the last six months.
This surge appears to be partially related to the hype surrounding the launch of the permissioned EVM feature, whereby whitelisted parties can deploy smart contracts on the platform. This will eventually be made permissionless.
In terms of relative performance, the AI sector has outperformed most other token categories over the last seven days.
Source: DefiLlama
Per DefiLlama’s narrative tracker, it’s the sixth-best-performing category (out of 22). The sector has a mCap-weighted return of 21.6% over the last week.
For comparison, Liquid Staking Governance Tokens took the top spot with a 35.8% mCap-weighted return, whereas RWA tokens slipped down to 13th place with an 11% mCap-weighted return.
>> Looking to explore the AI sector? Start with the Top AI & Big Data Tokens page.
AI News Roundup
Keeping tabs on the sheer volume of AI sector news, updates and developments is quite the task.
Luckily for you, we’ve already trawled the net and filtered it down to only the most important stories to get you caught up pronto.
OpenAI Secures $1.5 Billion Investment Option: OpenAI has secured a $1.5 billion investment from a Japanese multinational investment holding company, SoftBank, through a tender offer, allowing current and former employees to sell their shares. This move strengthens SoftBank's position in the AI sector and offers liquidity to OpenAI's staff.
Talus Network Hits $150 Million FDV in New Funding Round: Talus Network, a high-throughput blockchain protocol for decentralized AI agents, raised $6 million in a Polychain Capital-led funding round, achieving a $150 million valuation. The company plans to launch "AI Bae," an AI dating experience linked to TikTok.
ACT Launches $1 Million Innovation Fund: Act I: The AI Prophecy (ACT), a Solana-based meme coin and community takeover project, has launched a $1 million innovation fund to support AI meme projects. The first grant of $50,000 was awarded to Dolos AI, an advanced language model.
OpenAI’s Sora Tool Leaked Early: Artists testing OpenAI's Sora video generator leaked the tool to protest unpaid labor and restrictive content approvals. OpenAI responded by shutting down access, emphasizing that participation was voluntary and that they support artists through grants and programs.
Truth Terminal To Integrate Other AI Models: Truth Terminal, an AI agent known for its provocative online presence and involvement in the Goatseus Maximus meme coin, is collaborating with AI models Fi and S.A.N. This partnership aims to create "Loria," a platform where these AI characters will interact, enhancing their personalities and storytelling capabilities.
>> That’s a wrap for this week’s AI recap. Join us next week for another dose of AI news, updates and developments.
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