Alts fall into sluggishness again, market seeks new breakthrough points

Since the beginning of this year, the cryptocurrency market has shown overall weak performance, with insufficient sustained growth becoming a major characteristic. This phenomenon is not only reflected in the small coins on trading platforms; even the on-chain tokens that performed well in the fourth quarter of last year have encountered significant declines.

Data shows that the decline of major AI-related alts in 2025 is as follows:

• Virtual decreased by 79.2%
• Ai16z dropped 85.5%
• AIXBT fell by 68%
• Griffain fell by 80.3%
• Buzz dropped 72.4%
• Fartcoin dropped 67.5%
• ARC fell by 62%
• Swarms dropped 45%

In less than three months, the leading projects in once-popular sectors have seen a decline of up to 80%. Although it cannot yet be concluded that this field has completely failed, the loss of investor attention has become a foregone conclusion, and it will be difficult to regain interest in the short term.

At the same time, the celebrity coin wave led by Trump has also quickly receded. The decline of major celebrity coins since their peak is as follows:

• Trump dropped 77.1%
• Melania dropped 91%
• Vine dropped 92.7%
• jailstool dropped 93.5%
• Jellyjelly dropped 98%
• CAR dropped 98.5%
• Libra dropped 94.3%

The crypto market often says "invest in the new, not the old," reflecting a preference for chasing emerging narratives. However, compared to the AI sector, the decline in the celebrity coin field has been even more severe. In the current market, where new narratives are lacking, what exactly are the challenges facing these two sectors? Is there still a breakthrough opportunity in the market?

Current Narrative Dilemma: Concept Hype Prevails, Substance Implementation Lacks

In the field of AI, most projects are still at the stage of conceptual demonstration and future planning, lacking practical products that can be widely promoted. Even though some operable services have emerged in the market, there are issues such as complex interfaces and poor user experience, making it difficult for ordinary investors to develop loyalty. Worse yet, some project parties, in order to cater to the market's expectations for "AI + blockchain", often inflate prices through exaggerated promotions, while actual applications are repeatedly delayed. Over time, funds lose patience, attention shifts, leading to a significant decline in the prices of related tokens.

In terms of celebrity coins, although Trump has sparked a craze, he subsequently encountered the issue of "celebrity effect decay": it is difficult to find a public figure who can surpass Trump in terms of topic and influence. Although subsequent political leaders, internet celebrities, and stars attempted to follow suit, they were unable to replicate the initial influx of funds and market sentiment. The following effect weakened, and the celebrity coin sector showed a "flash in the pan" phenomenon, leading to a rapid loss of investor confidence and a subsequent drop in prices.

The deep reasons for the significant fluctuations in these tracks lie in the fact that many projects only stay at the level of hype concepts, lacking real and sustainable profit models. Whether it is the AI track or celebrity coins, their core narratives rely on the rapid influx of capital and popularity, yet they lack the motivation to keep users engaged long-term. Once the hype fades, the prices become difficult to sustain, making it even harder to attract new funds.

Finding genuine yield projects becomes key

In the current market environment where the narrative is weak, the key to standing out lies in finding projects that have "real returns" and are "willing to share with users." "Real returns" refer not just to short-term speculation at the time of listing on exchanges, but to the ability to continuously generate returns through actual business models and trading behaviors, and to feedback these returns to token holders or ecosystem participants.

Some projects have begun to adopt this model. For example, the business model of a certain decentralized trading platform is similar to that of centralized exchanges, with the main revenue coming from contract trading fees. The platform uses all the fees for repurchasing platform tokens, tying the coin price closely to product usage.

Data shows that the platform accounts for about 45% of the total 24-hour trading volume among all perpetual contract decentralized exchanges, with an average daily trading volume of $3.78 billion and daily revenue of approximately $1 million. Even in the current sluggish market, the platform remains highly active, and its token price continues to perform strongly amid the recent downturn in altcoins.

Conclusion

No matter how popular a narrative may be, it will eventually pass. The projects that can exist long-term in the crypto market are definitely those that find the product-market fit, have high user stickiness, and can generate real profits. In the current market environment, investors should pay more attention to the actual application and profitability of projects, rather than simply chasing short-term trends.