Grayscale Identifies $15B AI Crypto Segment as Key Growth Area

Grayscale's analysis shows that cryptocurrencies tied to artificial intelligence (AI) outperformed the broader market in September. The rally suggests investors are beginning to value public blockchains as infrastructure for automated commerce, identity verification, and private computing.

The firm sees potential major AI crypto winners within five years. In September, AI tokens gained 54% versus a 24% increase for the broader market. NEAR led the highlighted projects with a 183% monthly increase.

Grayscale's thesis centers on blockchain infrastructure for AI within a segment worth roughly $15 billion, the smallest of its six crypto sectors. The firm's head of research, Zach Pandl, linked September's outperformance to the emerging economy of software agents, programs that perform tasks and transact on users' behalf.

Pandl wrote: 'We believe the AI sector could produce one or more major winners over the next five years.'