April 30, 2025 — Artificial intelligence-focused cryptocurrencies are once again capturing investor attention, with several tokens posting triple-digit rebounds from recent lows amid a resurgence of interest in the AI sector.
Among the notable movers are VIRTUAL and AI16z, both of which have delivered substantial weekly gains. VIRTUAL surged 125% over the past seven days to trade at $1.44, marking a remarkable 235% recovery from its earlier low of $0.43. AI16z followed closely, rising 92% in the same timeframe — now up 200% from its $0.10 bottom.
While these two tokens dominate headlines, Alchemist AI (ALCH) quietly led the charge earlier in the cycle. Despite a modest 3% decline this week, ALCH has climbed 134% over the past month and hit a new record high of $0.22 on April 24. From its February 24 trough of $0.015, the token has gained more than 10-fold, underscoring the speculative appetite building around AI-themed projects.
Despite the recent rally, these tokens still trade far below their all-time highs. VIRTUAL remains down 71% from its $5 peak, while AI16z is off 87% from its historical top of $2.34. Nevertheless, The Virtuals Protocol, which underpins VIRTUAL, has retained the top valuation in the AI crypto space — boasting a $900 million market cap and a fully diluted valuation of $1.4 billion.
Supporting the bullish sentiment, on-chain activity has picked up noticeably. On April 22, daily active wallets involved in trading AI-related tokens climbed to nearly 22,000 — the highest since February. Decentralized exchange (DEX) volume within The Virtuals Protocol ecosystem also surpassed $20 million that day, further indicating renewed traction.
As the broader altcoin market looks for clear sectoral leaders, the AI narrative appears to be regaining its footing — with data suggesting a potential second wave of growth for tokens linked to artificial intelligence infrastructure and applications.