Although it may seem like crypto dominated world markets for the better portion of the last half year, it’s actually the artificial intelligence industry that took home a significantly large proportion of institutional funding.
According to Pitchbook, crypto venture funding in the US clocked in at around $861M in the first quarter of 2025. Impressive, right?
AI, however, saw nearly $20B in funding during the same time frame. That’s over 23x more than crypto.
Some headline AI deals include Anthropic’s $2B raise and Databricks’ scooping up a mind-boggling $15.3B in its funding round.
Crypto’s biggest deal, on the other hand, was Abu Dhabi’s MGX making a $2B investment into Binance.
The Markets Have Spoken: AI > Crypto
Don’t mistake this quarter’s investment numbers to be a one-off instance. This is a well-established trend.
For instance, where AI startups attracted $131.5B in 2024, crypto firms raised a mere $4.9B.
All in all, there’s no debate that AI is still getting more attention than crypto. But what about AI crypto projects?
The Rise of AI Cryptocurrency Projects
AI crypto coins are a relatively new niche, but given that they aim to make AI more accessible and useful by combining it with blockchain technologies, there’s a strong case to be made for them.
For example, there are AI-crypto projects offering decentralized platforms for safe data sharing for AI training.
Then there are AI agents that can analyze truckloads of data in a short period of time and churn out real-time crypto investment insights. The possibilities, quite frankly, are endless.
Plus, with AI successfully integrating into DeFi protocols and proving its mettle in performing complex on-chain operations, the AI-crypto collaboration certainly has a bright future ahead of it.
Not to forget that there are already multiple billion-dollar AI-crypto projects in the market right now.
Because this particular market segment is in its infancy, we might have a potentially once-in-a-lifetime opportunity on our hands.
Here are the best AI agent coins that can help you make the most of the upcoming boom in AI-crypto projects.
1. MIND of Pepe ($MIND) – Best AI Agent Coin Offering Real-Time Trading Insights
If you’re new to crypto trading – or you’ve given it an honest go but failed to generate profits – MIND of Pepe ($MIND) might just be the best crypto for you to buy.
$MIND is an anonymous and self-evolving AI agent capable of identifying high-potential cryptos.
In short, if you can identify a fundamentally strong crypto, you’re a good crypto trader. But if you can identify a utility token that also enjoys market hype before it explodes, you’re $MIND.
How does $MIND do it?
It constantly talks to crypto influencers and communities online (such as on X) and carefully soaks in all the bajillion pieces of information, including bias towards specific cryptos, an entire segment, and even the larger market.
Then, $MIND uses hive-mind analysis to join the dots and pinpoint tokens that could benefit as a result of all the chatter going around.
Additionally, MIND of Pepe is also set to one day launch its own tokens.
Combined with the AI agent’s upcoming ability to drive new crypto trends by swaying conversations and opinions online, these cryptos will enjoy a much higher likelihood of skyrocketing.
If you want to benefit from all that $MIND has to offer as well as from the project’s upcoming growth, become an investor in $MIND’s presale.
It’s currently ongoing and has already raised over $7.3M. One token is available for just $0.0035095 right now – here’s how to buy it.
2. Virtuals Protocol ($VIRTUAL) – Innovative Crypto Aiming to Revolutionize Virtual Interactions Through AI
Virtual worlds are likely going to be all the rage in the near future. This is why crypto projects like Virtuals Protocol, which aim at leveraging AI to simplify life in the virtual realm, have been gaining momentum.
For example, if you happen to use a crypto wallet in an online game, you can permit the AI agent to manage the wallet for you – as far as using it to spend money within that game is concerned.
It can also manage other digital asses, such as avatars, NFTs, and game items, and it can do so across multiple virtual environments.
$VIRTUAL, the project’s native token, is trading on some of the biggest crypto exchanges. These include BiKing, BingX, and Bitget. Such industry-wide integration is a strong sign of Virtuals Protocol’s potential.
After surging past the $4.6 mark in early 2025, $VIRTUAL has been in a steady downtrend. But that has been the case with almost every single coin.
The bottom line remains that this is a key player in the Metaverse’s evolution and, as such, is poised for massive growth.
OSpeaking of growth, $VIRTUAL is up over 4.7% today. It’s currently trading at $0.6510, which makes it one of the best cheap cryptos to buy right now.
3. LayerAI ($LAI) – First to Successfully Merge Blockchain and AI
LayerAI, previously known as CryptoGPT, has been built to decentralize the data economy that powers AI growth.
It’s an Ethereum-based Layer-2 protocol empowering users to monetize their AI data – you can earn rewards for sharing pristine training data.
Unlike ChatGPT, which is funded privately, LayerAI allows the public to get a piece of its success.
Also, while other AI projects don’t have the kind of numbers to challenge something like ChatGPT, LayerAI’s apps boast over 2M users at the time of writing.
LayerAI has been absolutely dominating the AI coin market for the past few days.
It bottomed out at $0.0016385 on March 4 and has since then risen by over 300%. It’s currently available for a low price of $0.006610.
We say ‘low’ because $LAI’s upside potential is huge.
If the current momentum holds, $LAI can easily reach previous monthly highs of around $0.0245985. That would be a nearly 400x climb from its current prices.
Bottom Line
There’s undoubtedly a lot of value in AI+crypto coins like the ones mentioned above. However, with AI agents flooding the market, there’s also the risk of scams and rug pulls.
So, it’s up to the investor (like you and me) to exercise caution while aiming to ride the growth of this highly lucrative segment.
As always, we recommend you do your own research before investing and only jump in with an amount that doesn’t hurt your tummy while sleeping.
Also, note that none of what’s said above should be considered a substitute for financial advice from a professional.
