Exploring the top AI coins: best picks for 2024
Explore the best AI crypto coins for 2024. Learn about top AI coins like NEAR, ICP, RNDR, INJ, and GRT, and understand why they are worth your investment.
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AI crypto coins are digital assets that back artificial intelligence-driven blockchain projects. Such coins not only facilitate transactions within their ecosystem, but they often provide governance rights to their holders.
The growth in AI-related crypto projects has been phenomenal, with their total market value currently standing at nearly $34 billion per data from CoinGecko.
Additionally, analysts have forecasted that revenue from AI-related blockchain projects could hit $10.2 billion by 2030, even going up as far as $51 billion in some scenarios.
While the potential in this field is huge, the presence of so many AI tokens raises the question: what is the best AI crypto? Identifying the most promising can be challenging, so we have prepared this easy guide exploring the top five AI tokens you could consider.
Near Protocol (NEAR)
- Market cap: $6,745,235,913
- Current price: $6.21
The NEAR Protocol (NEAR) is designed to make decentralized applications (dapps) more accessible to the general public.
The platform incorporates artificial intelligence and machine learning to automate functions such as smart contract deployment and network optimization. Its native token, NEAR, is used for transacting, staking, and voting within the NEAR ecosystem.
Some could argue that NEAR is the best AI crypto to invest in 2024, given that it has the largest market capitalization of any AI token. At the time of writing, NEAR had a price of $6.21, giving it an overall value of more than $6.7 billion.
Over the last year, as seen in the chart above, the price of NEAR has increased by at least 419%, a markedly better performance than Bitcoin’s (BTC) 162.6% uptick as recorded by CoinGecko.
Additionally, the coin has consistently registered daily trading volumes of upwards of $200 million, which is among the highest in the AI crypto space.
Furthermore, the NEAR Protocol is set to roll out several major upgrades, including stateless validation and zero-knowledge web assembly (zkWASM), which should boost its scalability and security. The platform has also added account aggregation and Ethereum (ETH) wallet support to attract more users.
NEAR has also entered several partnerships, including one with Ceramic, which aims to improve cross-chain identity management and dynamic data storage, further expanding its ecosystem. And to further boost NEAR as the best artificial intelligence cryptocurrency, Grayscale Investments recently introduced the Grayscale Near Trust, which focuses solely on investing in NEAR.
Internet Computer (ICP)
- Market cap: $4,890,786,988
- Current price: $10.53
The Internet Computer (ICP) is a set of protocols that enable independent data centers worldwide to collaborate and provide a decentralized alternative to traditional cloud providers.
It supports the development of decentralized web3 applications that cannot be tampered with, including social media, enterprise infrastructure, gaming, and virtual reality.
This network uses smart contracts, known as canisters, to host data, computing, user experiences, and content entirely on-chain. These bundles of web assembly code and memory pages store and execute applications more efficiently and cost-effectively than traditional smart contracts.
Its native utility token, ICP, is integral to the Internet computer network. It facilitates governance, compensates nodes for computations, and rewards participants for their engagement in the ecosystem.
At the time of writing, ICP was trading at $10.52. The price is the culmination of 186.7% growth across 12 months, although it’s still a whopping 98.5% below its ATH of $700.65 attained on May 10, 2021.
ICP is ranked #27 on CoinGecko, with a market cap of $4.89 billion, which is only second to NEAR among AI crypto coins. Its market valuation and the numerous projects built on it, ranging from defi, NFTs, games, social media, and the metaverse, make for compelling reasons to include ICP among the best AI cryptos to invest in 2024.
Render (RNDR)
- Market cap: $3,243,369,567
- Current price: $8.39
Render (RNDR) is a distributed GPU network built on Ethereum. It is designed to be a key platform for animation, visual effects rendering, and motion graphics. Its native token, RNDR, is used within the Render network to streamline the rendering process.
The network includes two main stakeholders: creators and node operators. Creators benefit from the network’s vast GPU power, enabling them to produce high-quality visuals quickly and at lower costs. Node operators lease their GPU processing power to creators and earn RNDR tokens as rewards.
In 2024, Render garnered significant attention due to its integration with Apple, particularly through Octane X, a GPU rendering feature developed by OTOY. This collaboration was showcased during an Apple event, causing an 11% surge in the price of RNDR.
It gets on our list of the best AI tokens because the project solves a real problem: powering the creator economy by making rendering less expensive and time-consuming.
Additionally, token holders can earn rewards when they rent out their computing power. It makes the project more attractive, and higher network participation could lead to greater token demand, which could, in turn, potentially boost its long-term value.
According to CoinGecko, while the current price of RNDR is 38% shy of its all-time high (ATH) level, it still represents a 331% growth over the last year. However, its value has declined 17.4% in the last 7 days, meaning it underperformed the global crypto market, which is currently down by 6.30%.
Regardless, Render’s continued innovation and its partnership with industry leaders like Endeavour, Stability AI, and OTOY to enhance AI training and inference capabilities while maintaining cost-effectiveness make it one of the top AI crypto coins of 2024.
Injective (INJ)
- Market cap: $2,812,518,858
- Current price: $29.26
Injective (INJ) is a layer-2 cross-chain ecosystem designed to allow users to securely trade derivatives across decentralized networks.
We think INJ is one of the best AI crypto coins for several reasons. First, the Injective protocol simplifies the creation of fast, secure, and user-friendly decentralized exchanges (DEXs), positioning itself as a cornerstone of the growing defi landscape. As defi gains popularity, Injective could become a go-to platform, driving demand for INJ tokens.
Second, its cross-chain functionality allows for seamless trading across different blockchains. As the crypto ecosystem becomes more interconnected, the ability to swap tokens between networks will become crucial, which could place INJ in a strong position for future growth.
Finally, INJ holders can stake their tokens to help secure the network, earning rewards in the process. This staking model boosts network participation, and as more INJ is staked, the available supply diminishes, potentially increasing the token’s value.
According to CoinGecko, in the last 12 months, the price of INJ went up by 404.5%. The same improvement has been noted across different time frames, with the coin up 7.2% in the last 24 hours and 18.6% over the previous 7 days. Currently, INJ is trading at $29.26, making it the highest-priced coin on our AI crypto list.
To further boost its value, Injective has made several significant upgrades, including the recent Ionic upgrade, aimed at improving the platform’s interoperability. Additionally, Injective’s integration with Polygon should improve its user experience and liquidity. These advancements, as well as INJ’s use cases and positive price performance, make it a standout project in the AI crypto space.
The Graph (GRT)
- Market cap: $2,384,514,427
- Current price: $0.2519
The Graph (GRT) is a decentralized, open-source global API that indexes and structures data using the GraphQL language.
It uses the GRT token to incentivize network participants, known as indexers, curators, and delegates, to contribute to its operations. GRT is an ERC-20 token, and it has seen a 153.9% price increase over the past year, underscoring its value as a time-saving tool for developers. Additionally, at its current price of $0.2519, GRT is the most affordable of the top AI crypto coins of 2024.
There are several reasons that make The Graph one of the best AI crypto projects to invest in: First, The Graph transforms disorganized blockchain data into searchable and usable information. As blockchain technology becomes more widespread and more projects and applications are built on it, the need for fast and efficient data access should grow, potentially increasing demand for GRT.
Additionally, The Graph is essential for the next generation of the internet, web3, which is decentralized and user-focused. If web3 adoption grows as anticipated, GRT could see significant price growth as a crucial tool for developers.
Finally, The Graph’s built-in demand mechanism requires users to utilize GRT tokens to access the platform, meaning that as its popularity and utility rise, so too will the demand for GRT.
Recently, The Graph has seen substantial growth in usage, with query volume increasing by 65% in Q4 2023 to reach nearly 1 billion queries.
The surge was partly driven by the expanding AI sector and The Graph’s integration with other blockchain projects like Moonriver and Arweave, widening its reach and improving its functionality.
These advancements should help cement the project’s position as a critical infrastructure provider in the web3 space and help push the growth potential of GRT in 2024.
Final thoughts
With hundreds of coins to choose from, deciding what is the best AI crypto can be daunting. However, the AI crypto projects mentioned above could be worth looking at, given they are among the top five in terms of market capitalization and daily trading volumes as per data from CoinGecko and CoinMarketCap.
The prices, currently ranging from $0.2519 to $29.26, also mean there should be an acceptable entry point for all types of crypto investors looking for the best AI crypto to invest in 2024.
As always, you are encouraged to do your own research to figure out what is the best AI crypto for your investment needs and financial capabilities. Furthermore, always seek professional advice, and make sure to only invest what you can afford to lose.
