The market capitalization for artificial intelligence (AI) and big data cryptocurrency projects has experienced a remarkable surge, climbing by 79.7% over the past three weeks.
On August 6, the market cap for AI and big data crypto projects hit a yearly low of $18.21 billion, largely due to the broader struggles in the cryptocurrency market and the sharp decline in Bitcoin’s price. Bitcoin reached a low of $49,500 on August 5 following the surprise decision by the Bank of Japan to raise interest rates.
Despite the heavy influence of Bitcoin on the market, AI and big data tokens have shown resilience, mirroring Bitcoin’s recovery. Data from CoinMarketCap reveals that by August 25, the market cap for this sector had more than doubled, comfortably surpassing $38 billion.
As of August 27, the leading tokens in the AI and big data space include Near Protocol (NEAR) with a market cap of $5.5 billion, Internet Computer (ICP) at $3.8 billion, the Artificial Superintelligence Alliance (FET) at $3.4 billion, and Bittensor (TAO) at $2.8 billion.
Onchain analytics platform Lookonchain highlighted some unusual transactions amid the sector's recovery, particularly focusing on the movements of a large whale in the FET token. A whale appeared to regret an earlier decision to sell at a lower price. The investor subsequently spent $2.38 million in USDT to repurchase 1.79 million FET tokens from Binance at a higher price of $1.33 on August 25.
The rise of AI tokens has been fueled by the broader AI narrative, which has gained significant traction in 2024. This momentum has been partly driven by the strong performance of Nvidia’s stock, a key player in the AI hardware space. Nvidia’s positive earnings reports have often been followed by rallies in AI tokens, and with the chipmaker scheduled to release its quarterly results on August 28.