AI Tokens Emerge as 2024's Standout Winners, Defying Market Turbulence to Close the Year on a High Note

After seeing their valuations plummet earlier this year, caused by the US government's expanded export restrictions on AI chips to China and global market turbulence, AI tokens are closing 2024 on a high note, emerging as the standout winners with triple-digit gains.

After a turbulent 2024 that saw their valuations seesaw amid the US government’s expanded export restrictions on AI chips to China and global market turbulence earlier this year, AI tokens are now closing the year on a high note, emerging as the standout winners with triple-digit gains and leaving behind the major crypto assets.

According to data presented by CryptoPresales.com, the combined market cap of AI tokens has soared by an impressive 208% in 2024 and hit $61.5 billion.

From Setback to Comeback: AI Tokens’ 2024 Journey

AI tokens experienced wild market swings this year. After reaching an all-time high of $44.9 billion in Q1, their market cap was slashed to $23 billion by mid-August amid the US government’s expanded export restrictions on AI chips to China, geopolitical tensions, and profit-taking. This was a huge hit after their impressive 1,870% gain in 2023.

However, renewed investor confidence, rising adoption of AI-powered blockchain solutions, and strong demand for utility-based AI tokens have driven a remarkable recovery in the past four months, turning 2024 into another successful year.

According to CoinMarketCap data, AI tokens' combined market cap jumped by almost 60% and hit $36.6 billion by mid-October. Still, that was nothing compared to their growth in November and December. During the past two months, their market cap soared by another 68% and hit $61.5 billion, revealing a remarkable 208% growth and turning 2024 into their second-best year on the record.

Virtuals Protocol is the Biggest Winner in 2024, with a 3,500% Growth

Although most major AI tokens have seen impressive triple-digit growth this year, none is even close to Virtuals Protocol, the best performer in the top ten group. Virtuals Protocol experienced remarkable growth in 2024, fueled by its innovative use of AI agents on the Base network and investor interest in its gaming and entertainment-focused ecosystem. The market cap of its native token, VIRTUAL, skyrocketed by a remarkable 3,500% in just six months and hit $2.7 billion, positioning it as the seventh-largest coin in this market.

Statistics show that the Fetch.ai (FET) saw the second-largest growth, with its market cap skyrocketing by 930% and reaching $4.2 billion. NEAR Protocol, Render, and Bittensor follow with just as impressive 256%, 221%, and 147% increase, respectively.

The CoinMarketCap data show The Graph and Filecoin saw the smallest gains in the top ten group, but their market caps still grew by a solid 75% and 82%, respectively. The market cap of the Ethereum token that powers The Graph, a decentralized protocol for indexing and querying data from blockchains, hit $2.6 billion, up from $1.4 billion in January.