Everyone has noticed the latest surge in the price and use of Bitcoin and Ethereum.  It’s partly because of the halving and partly because of the introduction of ETFs.  At the same time, another interesting trend has emerged, and it’s much less talked about.

AI cryptocurrencies are on the rise, and they are gaining both value and additional users every day.  This is more than a mere trend; it shows that the cryptocurrency market is capable of changing and adapting to new technology.

The State of the AI Token Markets

For the purpose of this article, AI tokens are all crypto tokens that utilize AI in one way or another to increase the scope of their services.  There are over 80 AI tokens currently in use, and they have all been experiencing growth lately as the interest in the technology is growing.

In February of this year, the market cap for the AI tokens was set at $10 billion, and in March, it stood at $25 billion.  This shows that the rise is fast and that there’s a lot of money to be made by making the right investment in this area.

What’s driving the Value?

 Cryptocurrencies and those that are based on AI don’t have a centralized authority that creates their value.  Instead, the value of those coins is based on the market forces alone.  The interest shown by the public is, therefore, the biggest driver of increased value, as is the case with most other cryptos.

There’s also a lot of enthusiasm for how AI can be used to improve the features that blockchain has provided.  The state of AI is much debated as it’s still in the early stages of mass use, but it’s clear that it will have a massive impact in the future.

How do AI tokens Work?

 AI tokens are based on the principles behind blockchain and, therefore, are similar to other cryptocurrencies.  The way AI is utilized in this regard differs from one token to another as it’s a widely open field, and many companies are experimenting with potential use cases.

Token creation

Projects create tokens on a blockchain platform.  In this regard, they are no different from any other crypto service, and they use the same chains to do so.  The most common of these are standards like Ethereum’s ERC-20 or BNB Smart Chain’s BEP-20.  Bitcoin is famously known for lagging in the smart contract department, so it’s less used in this field.

Creating Smart Contracts

Smart contracts are self-executing contracts in which the terms of the contract are written into the code itself.  They define how tokens are used in AI-related services.  That’s the most exciting thing about the new technology, as new ways to use AI and crypto combined are created by the day.

Issuing Tokens

The project behind the AI crypto token typically issues it during its token sale or genesis block.  The tokens created by the networks that utilize AI are usually created to stake the network and pay for the unique services that it provides.  These could range from streaming videos to gathering and organizing data.

Integration with AI Services

 AI platforms come in many different shapes and sizes, but the key to using AI tokens is finding ways to integrate the blockchain services with those created by AI.  Holders can use them to access ML models, data analysis, or other AI functionalities.  The full creative potential of AI is still to be unleashed by use.

Decentralization

One of the main features of AI tokens is decentralization.  That was also the initial goal of the blockchain network.  Many believe that cryptocurrencies have gone too mainstream and that they’ve wandered away from their initial purpose.  Now, when cryptos are a part of mainstream finance, they are more similar to traditional funds and stocks.  AI is, therefore, a way to bring cryptocurrencies to their initial use.

Incentives

 AI networks often use tokens as an incentive for using their services or providing a service essential for the network to run.  For instance, there are AI networks used for rendering videos that use the combined computing platform of all the users in the network.  The users are rewarded tokens simply for being a part of the network and lending their computing power in this regard.

What are the Top Five AI Tokens?

The field of AI tokens is wide, and new tokens are emerging every day.  We’ll outline five of the most interesting and potentially valuable AI tokens currently in the market.  These stand out not only by their price but also by the tech that they use.

Injective (INJ)

The Injective Chain is a layer-2 decentralized exchange and derivatives trading platform powered by the INJ token.  At the time of writing, INJ was the biggest AI token with a market cap of $1.418B.

The main advantage of this AI network is its use in the financial sector.  It empowers trading tools like margins/leverage, using AI for optimized order execution, strategy testing, and predictive analytics.

The Graph (GRT)

The Graph (GRT) is an indexing protocol for organizing blockchain data.  It’s the second largest AI token based on blockchain, with a market cap of $3.379B at the time of writing.  The Graph offers support to index data from 25 different blockchain protocols, including Ethereum, NEAR, Arbitrium, Optimism, Polygon, Avalanche, Celo, Fantom, and Moonbeam.

The network is used to analyze data by lending its collective computing powers to those who need it.  It’s one of the fastest-growing AI projects out there since it has found its market.

Render (RNDR)

Render Token enables a decentralized GPU cloud computing network for high-demand AI/ML training/rendering tasks.  The project rewards Render Farm suppliers in RNDR for leasing out graphics horsepower capacity.  RNDR has a market cap of $1.22B at the time of writing.

The market for this service is somewhat small but potent as it provides a service that is greatly needed by those involved in the design business.

Theta Token (THETA)

 Theta Network was created with the goal of decentralizing streaming services.  It’s a growing field and one that is in need of decentralization now that a few streaming services have taken over the industry.  The network has two cryptocurrencies: THETA, which governs the network by validating transactions, and the TFUEL token, which is used to power microtransactions.

Theta has also announced a new large project to roll out this year.  It will be a streaming platform called EdgeCloud.  It uses the Proof of Stake mechanism, known as multi-level Byzantine Fault Tolerance (BFT).

Oasis Network (ROSE)

Oasis network is an AI blockchain network focused on privacy. The network uses th Cosmos software development kit (SDK).  The platform is made to help AI apps and services that are focused on privacy connect and interact with each other.

The ROSE native token from Oasis Network is a capped supply token used for staking and delegating on the Oasis consensus layer. 

They are mostly used to pay for the services on the platform itself as well as for staking.  

While users are more focused on privacy online, the need for a platform such as this will grow in popularity.