3 Crypto Narratives to Keep an Eye On This Week

Artificial Intelligence, perpetual contracts, and trading bots are three key crypto narratives to watch this week. AI-focused tokens like TAO and FET have risen 61% and 71%, while VIRTUAL reached a $3.3 billion market cap, making it the second-largest AI token.

Perpetuals have also gained momentum, with Hyperliquid driving $98 billion in weekly DEX volume and its token, HYPE, becoming a top 20 cryptocurrency. Meanwhile, trading bots like Trojan, Banana, and Bonkbot are recording hundreds of millions in weekly volume, positioning tokens like BANANA and BONK for further gains if the trend persists.

Artificial Intelligence

Artificial Intelligence emerged as one of the most prominent narratives in crypto throughout 2024, with significant price gains and market milestones achieved by several AI-focused tokens. Tokens like TAO and FET saw impressive increases of 61% and 71%, respectively, showcasing strong investor interest.

VIRTUAL Market Cap. Source: TradingView.

Additionally, VIRTUAL reached a market cap of $3.3 billion, establishing itself as the second-largest AI-focused coin, just behind RENDER. These developments highlight how AI-driven projects captured a significant share of market attention and investment, solidifying their role in the broader crypto ecosystem.

Looking ahead, the rise of crypto AI agents is fueling expectations of further growth for projects aligned with this trend. Coins like VIRTUAL, ai16z, and ZEREBRO stand out as potential beneficiaries in the coming weeks as they position themselves to capitalize on the increasing narrative not just around artificial intelligence but also on specific crypto AI agents.

Perpetuals

The past few weeks have been remarkable for perpetuals, largely driven by the explosive growth of Hyperliquid. Weekly trading volume for perpetual contracts on DEXs soared to $98 billion on December 23, highlighting the increasing hype around narratives such as perpetuals.

Hyperliquid alone contributed significantly to this surge, hitting an all-time high of $51 billion in volume during the week of December 9 to 16, solidifying its dominance in the sector.

HYPE Market Cap. Source: CoinMarketCap.

Other key players, such as DYDX, Drift, and Injective, continue to maintain their relevance in the perpetuals market.

Following its airdrop, Hyperliquid’s native token, HYPE, quickly achieved a market cap of $9 billion, propelling it into the ranks of the top 20 cryptocurrencies.

Trading Bots

The narrative surrounding trading bots gained significant traction in 2024, particularly those integrated with Telegram. These bots reached an all-time high of $482 million in daily volume on November 20.

Platforms like Trojan, Banana, Photon, Maestro, and Bonkbot have quickly grown in popularity, collectively achieving hundreds of millions in weekly trading volume.

Trading Bots Daily Volume. Source: Dune.

Much of this volume has been fueled by Pumpfun, as the majority of these bots derive their revenue primarily from Solana trades. If this trend continues, tokens like BANANA and BONK could benefit heavily.