Grayscale Adds AI Launchpads and Solana DeFi Apps to Top Tokens in Q1 2025
The asset manager has added tokens including HYPE, VIRTUAL, ENA, and JITO to its list of top 20 to watch.
Asset management firm Grayscale has added several AI platforms and decentralized finance (DeFi) applications to its list of top 20 tokens to watch in Q1 2025, in a research note released on Dec. 30.
The Q1 2025 watchlist, which Grayscale updates quarterly, now includes Hyperliquid (HYPE) and Ethena.
Ina
Low indicators
$0.9905
, Virtual, Jupiter
Job
Low indicators
$0.8244
, Jeet
JTO
Low indicators
$3.44
, and grass.
Grayscale said each new addition capitalizes on one of three trends in the industry: a friendlier regulatory environment in the U.S., breakthroughs in decentralized AI, or growth in the Solana ecosystem.
Virtuals and Grass are AI platforms, Hyperliquid is a high-performance layer 1 (L1) network, and Ethena, Jupiter, and Jito are DeFi applications. Jupiter and Jito are native Solana applications.
Source: Grayscale
“In addition to new topics [...] we continue to be excited about topics from previous quarters such as Ethereum scaling solutions, tokenization, and decentralized physical infrastructure (DePIN),” Grayscale said.
The company said these themes include Grayscale continuing to include Optimism, Chainlink, and Helium, respectively.
Grayscale said smart contract platforms — such as Ethereum, Solana, Avalanche and Sui — “may be the most competitive segment of the digital asset market.”
Grayscale added that the proliferation of alternative L1 blockchain networks partly explains why ETH is underperforming in 2024.
: Grayscale
Related: Bitcoin Return Opportunities Are Booming — Here’s What to Watch Out For
Industry Trends
Cryptocurrencies saw huge gains after Donald Trump won the election, with many saying his victory would benefit the industry, according to research site Cointelegraph.
Trump has promised to appoint industry-friendly leaders to key regulatory bodies and make the United States the “cryptocurrency capital of the world.”
DeFi will benefit from storage, real-world asset (RWA) tokens, and agent AI that will drive adoption, industry executives told Cointelegraph in December.
“In the US, with [President-elect Donald] Trump winning, I am very optimistic that the US will become a global leader in this space by the end of the year,” said Raj Brahmbhatt, CEO of Web3 settlement company Zippo.
This is especially true for DeFi applications on Solana, which saw their total value locked (TVL) rise from around $1.5 billion in January to nearly $8.5 billion as of December, according to data from DefiLlama.
Jito, a Solana investment group, generated over $100 million in monthly revenue from priority fees and tips in November and December.
Meanwhile, JD Seraphin, CEO of Web3 AI developer Raiinmaker, told Cointelegraph: “AI agents are expected to take on a more prominent role within decentralized communities.”
Cryptocurrency storage and on-chain trading will emerge as early use cases for AI, executives said.
#BtcNewHolder #2024withBinance #BitwiseBitcoinETF #ChristmasMarketAnalysis #Crypto2025Trends
