AI Agent-Based Coin Prices Surge… "Diversification Needed for Altcoins"

AI Coin Market Cap $4.9 Billion

Virtual Protocol Drives Uptrend

Beware of Short-Term Volatility Due to Trade War

Prices of virtual assets based on artificial intelligence (AI) agents are soaring. However, there are also suggestions to approach altcoin investments cautiously despite the strength in specific sectors.

According to CoinMarketCap, a virtual asset market status broadcasting site, the market cap of AI agent-based virtual assets was estimated at approximately $4.91 billion. Unlike existing AI bots, AI agents are software (SW) that learn, plan, and make decisions independently without direct human intervention, emerging as a hot topic in the virtual asset industry for the first time last year.

The uptrend was driven by Virtual Protocol. Virtual Protocol is trading at around $1.09 on CoinMarketCap today. The weekly increase exceeds 80%. It seems that the AI agent-exclusive launch pad 'Genesis Launch' recently introduced by Virtual Protocol has influenced the uptrend. Other AI agent-based virtual assets such as ai16z and aixbt also showed an increase of over 50% compared to a week ago.

There is growing anticipation that AI agents could become a key keyword in the altcoin market in the second half of this year. The market is dominated by the observation that the AI agent-based virtual asset sector will continue to grow steadily. Swiss-based virtual asset bank Sygnum Bank analyzed, "The integration of AI and virtual assets is progressing rapidly," and "(The AI agent industry) is still in its early stages, but various catalysts are supporting its future potential."

However, there are also concerns that the investment fever for AI agent virtual assets could quickly cool down. The AI agent sector already experienced a sharp price adjustment in the first quarter. The impact is significant as the AI agent sector surged at the end of last year, flooding the market with related virtual assets. The virtual asset analysis firm Messari pointed out, "If AI agents fail to prove 'Product-Market Fit (PMF),' they will face a lack of demand after peaking speculative demand in the first quarter," which is the context behind this background. Binance founder Changpeng Zhao also said, "AI agent projects are obsessed with token launches," and "The important thing is the actual usability of the AI model."

Experts unanimously say, "Altcoins should be approached with diversification." Given the growing global economic uncertainty due to the trade war originating from the United States, caution is needed regarding short-term volatility in altcoins. The CoinMarketCap Altcoin Season Index also recorded 15 as of today. Generally, if the Altcoin Season Index is below 25, Bitcoin is considered to yield higher returns than most altcoins.

An industry official said, "When investing in altcoins, it is necessary to diversify the portfolio into various sectors, not just AI agents," and "The fundamentals of individual projects, especially in sectors showing recent strength, should be carefully examined."

Lee Jun-hyung, Bloomingbit Reporter gilson@bloomingbit.io