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  • 05 Feb 25

Sygnum: Interest in AI Agents Grows, but Their Real Value Remains Uncertain

Interest in cryptocurrency projects related to artificial intelligence is rapidly increasing, yet their real value remains in question, says Sygnum Bank's the latest report.

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Interest in cryptocurrency projects related to artificial intelligence is rapidly increasing, yet their real value remains in question. A new investment report from Sygnum Bank states that AI agents have seen significant development but have yet to prove their practical utility beyond speculative trading.

Demand for AI Agents Grows, but Prospects Are Uncertain

Bank analysts note that more sustainable projects appear to be infrastructure-based, such as Bittensor (TAO), Artificial Superintelligence Alliance (FET), and Phala Network, which are attempting to integrate AI with decentralized applications (dApps). Meanwhile, AI research platforms, including aixbt, continue to gain popularity.

Experts also emphasize that the AI agent sector has more than doubled in size over the past quarter, with its market capitalization exceeding $10 billion. According to CoinGecko, by the end of 2024, this figure surpassed $15 billion.

Performance by sector, AI included in Web3 infrastructure. Source: Sygnum Bank
Performance by sector, AI included in Web3 infrastructure. Source: Sygnum Bank

AI Agents – A New Reality or a Bubble

Agentic AI technology promises process automation and decision-making without human intervention. These agents can understand complex tasks, perform multi-step operations, and operate autonomously. Their potential impact is already being discussed by leading market players:

  • Franklin Templeton expects AI agents to transform social media.
  • OpenAI’s Sam Altman predicts that AI will perform employee functions by 2025.
  • Google speaks of a "new era of agentic AI."
  • Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg believes AI assistants will reach an audience of one billion users.

The trend is also gaining traction in the cryptocurrency sector. Alvin Kan from Bitget Wallet told Cointelegraph that AI tokens and projects will grow in 2025 but warned that this market remains high-risk.

Sygnum cautions that the recent crash of AI crypto projects was triggered by increased competition from China. The launch of the new AI model DeepSeek in January caused a sell-off of AI company stocks in the U.S. and a drop in AI token prices. However, the market has managed to recover, and AI cryptocurrencies are leading the market recovery.

a16z Forecasts AI’s Role in the Crypto Economy

Investment giant Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) highlighted AI agents as one of the key areas in its 2025 cryptocurrency trends report. According to analysts, in the future, AI agents could participate in the economy without human intervention, using crypto wallets and digital signatures. These agents could manage decentralized energy grids, automate financial processes, and play a role in GameFi.

However, in practice, things are less rosy. Investors holding AI tokens report significant losses.

"Dynamic TAO? Yes, my portfolio is dynamically dropping. Virtuals? I have virtually nothing left. Grass – the future of AI? Yes, now I only eat it. Near – the blockchain for AI? Yes, I'm close to death’s door. Zerebro? Yes, it all flew to zero, bro," wrote a user named Ash, referring to the state of the tokens in his portfolio.

Moreover, even whales are losing tens of millions on AI tokens. One major market participant lost $40 million by not selling AI tokens ai16z and ZEREBRO in time. Both assets have been declining, losing 78.8% and 87.54% respectively over the past month.

On January 2, the unrealized gain from his investments was $40.8 million, but he did not sell the assets. On January 9, he exited ZEREBRO, realizing a loss of $1 million. Ten hours later, he sold 21.34 million ai16z for $9.18 million, losing an additional $1 million.

Prospects of the AI Crypto Market

Despite the growth in the capitalization of AI projects, their future remains uncertain. Competition from international AI companies, the high speculative nature of tokens, and the lack of real use cases currently limit the long-term potential of the market. Experts believe that the popularity of AI tokens may fade by 2026.

This post is for informational purposes only and is not an ad or investment advice. Please do your own research making any decisions.

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