Artificial intelligence, perpetual contracts, and trading bots are three major crypto stories to watch this week. AI-focused tokens like TAO and FET increased 61% and 71% respectively, while VIRTUAL reached a capitalization of $3.3 billion, making it the 2nd largest AI Token.
Perpetual contracts are also gaining traction, with Hyperliquid driving $98 billion in DEX weekly volume and the HYPE token becoming a top 20 cryptocurrency. Meanwhile, trading bots like Trojan, Banana and Bonkbot recorded hundreds of millions in weekly volume, positioning tokens like BANANA and BONK for further gains if the trend continues.
Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence has emerged as one of the hottest themes in crypto throughout 2024, with significant price growth and market milestones achieved by AI-focused tokens. Tokens such as TAO and FET have seen impressive growth of 61% and 71% respectively, demonstrating strong interest from investors.
Additionally, VIRTUAL has reached a market capitalization of 3.3 billion USD, positioning itself as the 2nd largest AI-focused coin, just behind RENDER. These developments show how AI-driven projects have captured a large portion of the market’s interest and investment, cementing their role in the broader crypto ecosystem.
Looking ahead, the rise of AI agents in crypto is fueling expectations of further growth for projects that align with this trend. Coins like VIRTUAL, ai16z, and ZEREBRO stand out as potential beneficiaries in the coming weeks as they position themselves to capitalize on the rising narrative not only about artificial intelligence but also about agents Specific AI in crypto.
Permanent Contract
The past few weeks have marked a notable period for perpetual contracts, largely driven by Hyperliquid’s explosive growth. Weekly trading volume for perpetual contracts on DEXs jumped to $98 billion on December 23, indicating a strengthening of narratives such as perpetual contracts.
Hyperliquid alone contributed significantly to this surge, reaching an all-time high of $51 billion in volume during the week of December 9-16, cementing its dominance in the sector.
Other key players such as DYDX, Drift and Injective continue to maintain their presence in the permanent contract market.
Following the airdrop, Hyperliquid’s native token, HYPE, quickly achieved a market capitalization of $9 billion, placing it in the ranks of the top 20 cryptocurrencies.
Trading Bot
The story of trading bots has attracted significant attention in 2024, especially those integrated with Telegram. These bots reached an all-time high of $482 million in daily trading volume on November 20.
Platforms such as Trojan, Banana, Photon, Maestro and Bonkbot have rapidly increased in popularity, together achieving hundreds of millions in weekly trading volume.
Much of this volume has been driven by Pumpfun, as the majority of these bots earn their revenue primarily from trading on Solana. If this trend continues, tokens like BANANA and BONK could benefit greatly.
