The article highlights the overall picture of the cryptocurrency market in 2024, where AI agents and related tokens emerge as a top investment narrative, while older areas like Layer 2 (L2) and Web3 struggle to maintain appeal. Here are some key points:
AI agents and the explosion of AI tokens
1. Market-leading profits:
• AI tokens achieve an average profit of 2,940% in 2024, surpassing meme tokens (2,185%).
• Strong growth from late November, with market cap increasing from 8.7 billion USD to over 13 billion USD.
2. Leading projects:
• The Virtuals protocol (VIRTUAL) reaches an all-time high of 3.79 USD, increasing over 300% in just a few weeks.
• New tokens like GOAT and FARTCOIN, despite having meme elements, still effectively leverage the AI trend.
3. Expanding ecosystem:
• DePIN (Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Networks), with 135% growth, supports the development of AI infrastructure and GPU sharing, indirectly benefiting from the AI wave.
Layer 2 and significant decline
1. Worst performance of 2024:
• L2 is the only story with an average loss of 20.7%, despite increased real-world usage.
• Reasons: token unlock pressure, unnecessary fundraising, and high-performance scrutiny.
2. Biggest losers:
• Chains that once promised like Scroll suffer major losses as traffic flow and airdrop activity decline.
3. Outstanding chains:
• Arbitrum, Optimism, and ZKSync lead the way, thanks to DeFi applications and the ability to attract liquidity from Ethereum.
Web3, GameFi, and NFT lose momentum
1. Average performance:
• DeFi tokens grow by 101%.
• GameFi only sees modest growth of 15%, reflecting the cooling of the sector.
2. NFT and Web3 Game:
• Top NFT collections like Pudgy Penguins make a comeback, but not enough to drive the entire industry.
• OpenSea and Magic Eden fail to meet expectations with new launches.
The 2024 landscape shows new areas like AI and DePIN continue to attract attention and capital flow, while older narratives struggle to create breakthroughs. This reflects a shift in investor priorities, focusing on new technologies and long-term potential.
