Since the November elections in the US, Bitcoin and top altcoins, including XRP and Solana, have continued their impressive market performance. Ripple’s XRP has been on a tear recently, breaking through $1 after three long years and powering onto the $3 mark in January. The truth is that XRP’s performance might just be a preview of the entire altcoin niche. Historically, altcoin season starts after Bitcoin’s halving and a surge of liquidity, and 2025 perfectly fits the narrative.
Some intriguing projects heading into a widely expected altcoin season are AI crypto projects—tokens at the intersection of meme coins and artificial intelligence. According to some consulting firms, including McKinsey & Company, 2024 saw many innovations in the generative AI space. With meme coin narratives dominating crypto, it’s only natural to see AI cryptocurrency projects leading the way.
Our picks for top AI coins to outperform Ripple’s XRP
With an estimated market cap of $37 billion per Forbes, the niche is set up for a bullish year. Three AI-based coins are expected to lead the charge: iDEGEN, ai16z, and Fartcoin:
- iDEGEN: Leveraging AI to pull content from chaotic social media conversations.
- ai16z: Solana’s first AI DAO.
- Fartcoin: Fart jokes go mainstream in the Fartcoin project.
iDEGEN: A sentient AI project for and by degens
iDEGEN is a sentient being on X powered by AI, ready to absorb data and conversations, posting viral, uncensored material every hour on the hour. iDEGEN does so without training guardrails and moderation, creating an unhinged yet utterly authentic representative for its market.
iDEGEN’s V2 update has allowed it to start engaging with other social media accounts and trending hashtags, building up its audience and adding to its 1.44 million impressions. And now, V3 has dropped, enabling iDEGEN to develop video content based on user-generated reactions and contributions and targeting Gen-Z platforms en route.
iDEGEN has been going viral since launch, helping send the project beyond expectations with an incredible $18m in total presale purchases.
In line with its generous tokenomics, 80% of its tokens are available under presale, with 10% for rewards. Staking will be introduced soon, and the remaining tokens will be used to run this program. Furthermore, all unsold iDEGEN tokens and their presale allocations will be burned, and the transaction ID will be shared with the community, adding credibility to the momentum.
iDEGEN (IDGN) is available exclusively via its official website.
Ai16z: Redirecting the direction of AI agents
Ai16z, a playful take on the influential venture capital firm a16z, is the first on-chain fund focused on AI memes. This project began in October 2024 and immediately gained traction, becoming Solana’s first AI DAO. This blockchain project’s heart is ElizaOS, a multi-agent simulation framework that allows users to deploy, create, and manage AI agents.
The project’s core model integrates AI-based analyses and comparisons of user recommendations, relying on performance and holdings to shape investment choices. With a market value of over $1 billion at press time, Ai16z is currently among the biggest winners in AI cryptocurrencies.
It’s also one of the top AI coins that outperforms XRP thanks to its reliance on user inputs and a virtual trust system, which creates massive community involvement. Furthermore, Binance recently announced on X that it plans to launch perpetual futures contracts for this digital asset alongside Griffain and Zerobro.
Fartcoin’s early investors smell success with fart jokes
Among the popular AI cryptos, Fartcoin (FARTCOIN) is a clear leader, both in its price and excellent prospects for huge gains.
This Solana-based project gained popularity in 2024 thanks to the surge in interest in AI agents and chatbots, and it comes with a playful narrative about flatulence humor. Recently, it surged above a $2 billion market cap, though a dip has now taken the project back into the discount range.
One data scientist has a simple thesis about why Fartcoin is popular: ”everybody farts,” and the simple and humorous idea of hot air rising is a crucial element in traders’ bull run narratives.
iDEGEN leads a chaotic field of AI cryptocurrencies, and it’s projected to surge
iDEGEN looks better positioned than its rivals to beat XRP and offer a potential price explosion. iDEGEN is currently in presale, and while waiting for its official listing on February 27th, it has managed to fend off and ultimately benefit from both challenges and criticisms.
The project’s unfiltered content and virality even led to a temporary ban on its posts on X. However, these disruptions didn’t deter degens and early adopters from participating in the AI crypto presale. The project remains virtually unscathed, reflected in its huge presale volume, allowing many to see impressive 75,000% gains. And at $0.0146, it’s still possible for more upside with days before its official listing.
