AI Cryptocurrencies in 2023: Triple-Digit Returns and Market-Beating Performance
The year 2023 has been big for the AI industry and projects. Buoyed by the rapidly increasing interest in AI technologies, cryptocurrencies linked to this area have experienced unprecedented growth. As the year draws closer to an end, we are taking a look at the leading AI-focused cryptos and their performance since the beginning of 2023. As we look at the major AI coins, we are uncovering the story of head-spinning returns that leave Bitcoin’s performance in the shadow.
Top AI Cryptocurrencies
As of 12 November 2023, the following AI-focused cryptocurrencies make up the top five by market cap, as per the popular crypto data portal Coingecko.com.
1. Render (RNDR) – Market Cap: $934 million
2. Fetch.ai (FET) – Market Cap: $447 million
3. SingularityNET (AGIX) – Market Cap: $331 million
4. Golem Network (GLM) – Market Cap: $250 million
5. Akash Network (AKT) – Market Cap: $232 million
These projects leverage AI technologies in one way or another to a large degree to warrant their inclusion in the AI category of the crypto market. Some of them, such as Fetch.ai and SingularityNET, are using AI as the core part of their functionality. In other words, they can be described as “pure AI” projects. Others, like Render and Golem, may not have AI featured as prominently in their operational models but are still using AI algorithms extensively to power their functionality. In later sections, we will briefly describe these projects’ key functional models.
Crypto Market and AI Cryptos in 2023
Overall, the year 2023 has been remarkably good for the crypto market so far. As of 12 November, the market’s primary performance gauge, Bitcoin (BTC), has experienced year-to-date (YTD) growth of 124%, a rate of return that any stock market investor would kill for. Throughout the year, Bitcoin has shown its characteristic volatility, experiencing sharp ups and downs. Despite these fluctuations, the overall performance of the world's top cryptocurrency has proven to be remarkable.
How have the top AI cryptos fared during the same time? The answer is incredibly well and well beyond the overall market’s performance, with one exception – the Golem Network. Below are the YTD growth rates for the world’s top five AI cryptocurrencies as of 12 November:
1. RNDR – 521%
2. FET – 353%
3. AGIX – 482%
4. GLM – 40%
5. AKT – 450%
With the exception of Golem Network (GLM), the other four AI cryptos have achieved gigantic, triple-digit returns that make Bitcoin’s 124% result pale in comparison. Even Golem, with its 40% result, has achieved a very respectable ROI. The coin’s performance is simply dwarfed by the massive returns of the other four top AI cryptocurrencies. Considered individually, Golem has had a very successful year with an ROI of this kind.
Clearly, crypto investors love AI coins these days. Let’s now have a very brief look at what each of these cryptocurrencies offers to their users. Within the limits of this coverage, we will not be going in-depth into any of these projects. In our previous articles, we have had a dedicated coverage for RNDR and SingularityNET. In our future publications, we will be covering the other three major AI coins.
What Do Top AI Coins Offer?
RNDR
Render (RNDR) is a decentralised rendering platform designed to streamline and enhance the digital content creation process. Utilising blockchain technology, RNDR creates a decentralised network of rendering nodes, allowing users to access and share computational resources for rendering tasks. These rendering tasks are used for creating visually rich graphics, video, and animation.
By decentralising rendering capabilities, RNDR aims to address the resource-intensive nature of graphic rendering, providing a more efficient and cost-effective solution for artists, designers, and content creators. The platform enables users to render complex graphics and animations without relying on centralised servers, reducing processing times and costs associated with traditional rendering services.
FET
Fetch.ai (FET) operates as a decentralised platform focusing on the development of autonomous economic agents. These agents are digital entities programmed to perform specific tasks autonomously, facilitating decentralised machine learning and collaborative problem-solving. Fetch.ai envisions creating a decentralised digital world where these autonomous agents can interact, negotiate, and transact without the need for central intermediaries. The platform's goal is to enhance the efficiency of various industries by enabling machines to communicate, share information, and execute tasks independently. Using the platform, businesses and individuals can automate a wide variety of tasks, e.g., booking appointments or flights, paying for utility bills, and more. For businesses, the AI-based automation of business processes can also be a true game changer.
AGIX
SingularityNET (AGIX) functions as a decentralised marketplace for AI products and services offered via the cloud. The platform provides a space where AI developers can deploy, share, and monetise their algorithms and services. By creating a decentralised AI ecosystem, SingularityNET aims to democratise access to advanced AI technologies and foster collaboration among developers globally. AGIX employs blockchain technology to enable transparent and secure transactions within the marketplace, eliminating the need for centralised authorities. In essence, SingularityNET is a pay-per-access cloud platform for various modular AI products and services.
GLM
Golem Network (GLM) focuses on providing decentralised computing power by creating a global network of users who can rent out their computing resources or utilise others' resources for various computational tasks. The platform operates as a distributed supercomputer, allowing users to access additional processing power for any task that requires complex calculations. Golem's decentralised capacity-renting approach aims to democratise access to computing resources, making high-performance computing more accessible and cost-effective. Users can participate in the Golem Network by either contributing their idle computing resources or renting computing power from others in a peer-to-peer fashion. As you might note, Golem’s functional model is very similar to that of Render (RNDR). The difference is that while Golem focuses on a wider range of use cases, Render is heavily specialised in graphics rendering jobs.
AKT
Akash Network (AKT) is another decentralised cloud computing platform that facilitates the leasing and renting of computing resources. The platform aims to disrupt traditional cloud service models by providing a decentralised marketplace for computing resources. Users can access computing power on-demand, reducing costs associated with centralised cloud providers. Akash is quite similar to Golem with regard to its core functionality. The key architectural difference between the platforms is that Akash is based on its own blockchain network, while Golem is an Ethereum-based app.