Traders say the token decline is more due to changes in market liquidity rather than fundamentals.
According to CoinGecko data, tokens related to AI Agent have fallen 90% from their 2024 highs.
CoinGecko data shows that the top AI Agent platforms - including AI Rig Complex (ARC), ElizaOS (AI16Z) and Virtuals (VIRTUAL) - have seen their market caps shrink by around 75% to 90% since January.
Agentic AI tokens saw massive gains in Q4 2024, but have been the biggest losers in the crypto market downturn since January.
According to CoinGecko, the total crypto market cap has fallen nearly 16% from its January high.
Crypto trader and researcher Elon Money wrote in a February 6 X post that "Looking at the charts of ai16z, $arc and even Fartcoin, the trend has clearly been downward, and many believe these tokens may never recover to their former levels."
Fartcoin is an AI-related meme coin that was one of the most talked-about tokens of 2024, and has fallen around 65% in the past 30 days, with a market cap of around $430 million as of February 6, according to CoinGecko.
According to CoinGecko data, AI Agent tokens have fallen 40% in the past week, from over $10 billion to around $6 billion.
Liquidity Shift
On January 18, Trump launched his eponymous TRUMP meme coin, which saw its market cap soar to around $80 billion in a single day.
Crypto traders say Trump has siphoned liquidity and attention away from other new tokens (including memecoins and AI agent tokens).
Crypto researcher Crypto Stream wrote in a January 31 X post that "The reason for the massive selloff (of AI tokens) is clearly narrative-driven, meaning liquidity is being drained."
At the same time, newly inaugurated US President Donald Trump threatened to impose a 25% tariff on Canada and Mexico, America's largest trading partners, sparking market panic.
In the crypto market, tokens related to small, emerging projects have been hit particularly hard.
Crypto Stream said: "Large Altcoins have performed well, while on-chain Altcoins have suffered devastating defeats."
Market cap of AI Agent tokens. Source: CoinGecko
Long-term Potential
However, traders remain optimistic about the long-term potential of AI tokens.
Elon Money said: "When it comes to frameworks like ElizaOS and Rig, they have very strong teams, multiple high-profile partnerships, and integrations with major projects and blockchains."
Agentic AI (autonomous agents pursuing complex goals) are reshaping the digital economy, contributing to Web3 applications, launching tokens, and autonomously interacting with humans.
Asset manager VanEck forecasts that over 1 million AI agents will join blockchain networks by the end of 2025.
