The crypto AI agents market has taken a significant hit, with its total market cap dropping by 13% in the last 24 hours to $6.65 billion.
In the past week, all of the top 10 crypto AI agents have suffered losses, with notable coins like FARTCOIN plummeting by 61%, AI16Z down by 59%, and the largest player, VIRTUAL, experiencing a 40% drop in value.
This widespread downturn underscores the ongoing fragility within the AI crypto sector, as investors are continuously pulling out of positions during this correction phase, which has been escalating ever since DeepSeek's debut.
VIRTUAL, which was once the leading artificial intelligence protocol, briefly surpassed major contenders like TAO, FET, and RENDER when its market cap peaked at $4.6 billion on January 1.
However, it has since faced a severe slump, now valued at just $811 million. With this decline, only five crypto AI agents still command a market cap above $300 million, and only 15 remain above the $100 million mark, reflecting the extensive correction that has hit the entire sector.
While Solana continues to lead the pack in the crypto AI agents realm, with its AI-related coins boasting a combined market cap of $3.2 billion, its dominance has taken a blow, with the total value dropping by 18.6% in the last 24 hours.
Base chain follows as the second-largest player, with its crypto AI agents coins collectively valued at $2.74 billion. Notably, Ethereum is absent from the top ranks, while other chains collectively hold just $1.19 billion in market cap.
The future of crypto AI agents remains uncertain as growth has significantly slowed down following a surge in January. The number of new AI agents added has stalled, signaling a potential cooling phase in the sector.
Moreover, user engagement has sharply declined, with smart accounts interacting with these projects dropping by 60% from January 17. This drop in activity underscores waning enthusiasm within the ecosystem.
With new project creation and user participation on a decline, the road to regaining strong momentum appears challenging in the absence of renewed interest or market catalysts.