Crypto AI agents gain traction with $10B market cap

Crypto-related artificial intelligence agents are emerging as a notable trend in 2025, according to a recent report from Sygnum Bank.

The Switzerland-based bank highlights that while interest in AI-driven crypto projects has surged, the actual value of these agents remains largely speculative.

Sygnum researchers noted that AI agents have gained “remarkable traction” but have struggled to demonstrate their worth beyond speculation.

The report emphasises that although the niche is still developing, infrastructure projects like Bittensor (CRYPTO:TAO) and Phala (CRYPTO:PHA) are addressing practical challenges by integrating AI services with decentralised applications.

The market capitalisation of the AI agent sector has more than doubled over the last quarter, reaching approximately $10 billion.

As of the fourth quarter of 2024, CoinGecko reported that this market cap soared above $15 billion.

Sygnum also pointed out that tokens from leading AI agent-creation protocols, such as Virtuals Protocol (CRYPTO:VIRTUAL) and ai16z (CRYPTO:AI16Z), may continue to see benefits as their potential for value creation is further explored.

Agentic AI is characterised by its ability to automate processes and decision-making, allowing agents to understand complex goals and execute multi-step reasoning with minimal human intervention.

The report also mentions that various industry leaders, including researchers from Franklin Templeton and OpenAI, have expressed optimism about the future of AI agents in transforming sectors like social media and workforce dynamics.

However, Sygnum cautioned that the rise of affordable and efficient AI technology from China has led to sell-offs among crypto AI projects.