Lately, the topic of AI × cryptocurrency has been seriously hot. When I heard that the market cap has reached about $30.6 billion, it really made me feel like this is a sector you can’t ignore.

When you see large asset management firms like Grayscale creating AI-focused funds, or a16z listing AI agents as a key trend for 2026, I think institutional investors’ interest in this field is genuinely increasing too.

So, why do AI and cryptocurrency come together? It’s because blockchain technology may be able to address the structural challenges of AI development—like the problem of GPU computing resources being concentrated among a small number of big companies, the problem of insufficient data transparency, and AI centralization. Against these issues, you can counter with a decentralized approach.

For tokens to watch, you can look at RENDER (currently $1.76), a decentralized GPU rendering; NEAR ($1.36), an AI-compatible Layer 1; and VIRTUAL ($0.67), an AI agent issuance infrastructure. In particular, BitTensor (TAO, $240.90) makes up the highest holding ratio in Grayscale’s AI fund, so it’s regarded as a representative project in this space.

Data infrastructure projects like Filecoin (FIL, $0.91) and The Graph (GRT, $0.02) also have clear use cases in terms of data management needed for AI training, so long-term demand seems definitely there.

That said, what concerns me is the risk side. Looking at an example where the entire market plunged sharply in January with the rise of DeepSeek, AI-related cryptocurrencies have an aspect that tends to move in tandem with developments in the AI industry even more than conventional crypto assets. And there was also an incident where AI agents accidentally sent a meme coin worth around $250k, which made security issues more apparent.

If you invest in AI-related cryptocurrencies, it’s important to properly investigate the technical reality of the projects. There are projects that only seem to have AI terminology lined up in their whitepapers but are not actually implemented. Checking the development team’s real identities, whether development on GitHub is active, and whether there are truly functioning products—these kinds of points can become effective ways to spot scam projects.

On domestic exchanges too, AI-related tokens like RENDER, NEAR, FIL, GRT, and WLD are increasingly becoming available for purchase, so even beginners can start investing in this sector more easily. However, since market volatility is still intense, you should aim to diversify across multiple tokens within the amount of funds you can comfortably afford.

The AI × cryptocurrency sector is definitely growing, and the technological potential is significant. But when you make an investment decision, you need to calmly assess both opportunities and risks at the same time.