The Next Big Crypto Thing … Or Just a Near-Term Fling?

Dear Subscriber,

From celebrity-backed cryptos and memecoin day trading to autonomous AI agents, the crypto market is flooded with projects vying for your attention.

Right now, the bull run may be on pause. But when the rally resumes and hype levels again, we can expect cryptos across the broad market — the good and the bad — to rise with the tide.

When this happens, it can be hard to separate projects with real potential … from the flash-in-the-pan crazes looking to loot your capital.

To help you sort through which is which, let’s dive into the top crypto trends of this bull market to see if they’re the next big thing … or just a fling.

Trend 1: Memecoins Going Mainstream

If the last bull cycle was dominated by NFTs, this cycle belongs to the memecoins.

Over the course of 2024, the market cap for memecoins skyrocketed by 500%, jumping from $20 billion to $120 billion.

That valuation has fallen in the latest correction. But memecoins are still the best performing narrative over the past year according to DeFi Llama’s Narrative Tracker.

But what exactly are memecoins? And should you be trading them?

Put simply, the memecoin phenomenon is the commoditization of internet culture.

Anyone can turn an image, character, idea or person into a token and put it on the blockchain.

Unlike precious metals, oil or even Bitcoin (BTC, “A”), memecoins lack intrinsic use and utility. And, unlike fiat currency, they lack widespread adoption for payments.

Memecoins are a case of form over function. Their value comes purely from cultural relevance, community hype and investor manipulation.

Robinhood — a mainstream investing app primarily associated with stocks — recently expanded its cryptocurrency offerings to include high-cap memecoins like Pepe (PEPE, Not Yet Rated), Dogecoin (DOGE, “C+”) and Shiba Inu ( SHIB, “C+”), among others.

The introduction of memecoins to a mostly TradFi audience gives the asset class as a whole a sense of legitimacy. And it promises big things for memecoin adoption in the future.

VERDICT: The Next Big Thing (But Proceed with Caution)

Memecoins are the hottest thing in crypto right now. And with apps like Robinhood legitimizing and bringing them to a wider audience, we are likely to see their momentum continue into 2025 and beyond.

Still, I urge caution. Without fundamental value, memecoins are incredibly susceptible to wild, stomach-churning swings that stand out even within the notoriously volatile crypto market.

They can go viral overnight and soar … only to be dumped the next day.

While any investment can go to $0, you’re more likely to see that happen with your average memecoin than projects in other sectors.

That level of risk exposure may not be for everyone.

That volatility also means they require more active attention. And not every trader has that kind of time.

Additionally, there are a lot of memecoins in the market now. Which means the odds of your memecoin of choice taking off — the way DOGE did last cycle — is less likely.

So, if pure speculation plays aren’t your thing, memecoins may not be your best bet.

The risk involved in trading memecoins comes with massive earning potential, but only if you are diligent (or lucky) enough to know when to get in and out and have the ability to act immediately.

Trend 2: AI’s Crypto Takeover

A hot new topic in crypto is the use of AI agents.

Tech expert Jurica Dujmovic says they are likely to be a large force in the future of AI.

And I agree with him.

I don’t believe it’ll be long before AI entities can exist autonomously on the blockchain. We can already see their potential to independently create and promote tokens, trade crypto, manage portfolios and much more.

Going further, they could be vital in operating and optimizing the blockchain in a way that’s impossible for humans to do if the system is truly decentralized.

Don’t believe it? Bitcoin itself is bullish on AI’s role in crypto’s future.

VERDICT: The Next Big Thing

Forward-looking investors can invest in the future of AI in crypto today through organizations like Artificial Superintelligence Alliance (FET, “D”) and ai16z (AI16Z, “B-”), whose tokens have a combined market cap of around $4 billion.

Or, you can review the tools Weiss’s own small-cap expert Dr. Bruce Ng has shown to narrow your search for top-performing AI agents.

Trend 3: AI Influencers

Branching off AI’s success are AI crypto influencers.

These represent a huge step toward truly autonomous AI agents.

Truth Terminal, an AI chatbot made by crypto researcher and developer Andy Ayrey, is widely regarded as the world’s first AI agent “key opinion leader,” a fancy term for influencer.

It’s a virtual personality built on a large language model AI which seems to have its own goals, hobbies and investing strategies. Truth Terminal has a website, posts music on SoundCloud and connects with its followers on X and Discord.

Truth Terminal even has its own wallet and, to some degree, manages its finances.

And within a week of Truth Terminal's launch, venture capitalist and fan of the project, Marc Andreessen, gifted $50,000 worth of BTC into the AI's personal wallet.

Other AI influencers include "Fi," a feminist crypto enthusiast chatbot, and one resembling the late John McAfee, tied to the AIntivirus coin.

Many more are sure to follow.

VERDICT: Just a Fling

If you’ve gone down the memecoin rabbit hole and reached the depths at which Truth Terminal lives, you’ve gone too far and it’s time to turn back.

While initial intentions with this AI agent may have been good, the space seems prone to dishonesty and manipulation.

Because of the popularity of Truth Terminal, I think we’ll see many similar agents that could find increasingly creative ways to pump silly tokens to the moon for their personal gain.

Trend 4: Influencer Coins

This bull cycle has seen an odd but not unexpected melding of internet denizens: crypto enthusiasts and online influencers.

Thanks to the success of the memecoin narrative, influencers began to see the benefit in launching their own crypto.

Haliey Welch’s name may not ring a bell off the bat. But you likely will recognize her as the “Hawk Tuah” girl.

She became an overnight viral sensation. Then she used that instant fame to help launch a memecoin with overHere Ltd. that capitalized on her 15 minutes of fame.

At launch, Hawk (HAWK, Not Yet Rated) soared to nearly half a billion dollars in market capitalization …

Then plummeted by over 90% within just a few hours …

And now, the entire project is blowing up in her face. A class-action lawsuit against the coin’s creators, overHere Ltd., has been filed by investors calling the project a classic pump-and-dump scam.

While Haliey isn’t named in the suit, she faces significant backlash for her support of the project.

This isn’t the first time we’ve seen influencer coins used this way. And it likely won’t be the last.

VERDICT: Just a Fling

Investing in a social media sensation’s crypto project just isn’t something I’d recommend. Viral influencers tend to look for any way possible to profit from their limited fame. And that can lead to predatory behavior that investors just shouldn’t get tied up in.

Even influencer coins that aren’t expressly scams pose significant risk.

President Trump recently launched a new memecoin to commemorate his inauguration.

Official Trump (TRUMP, Not Yet Rated) quickly garnered investor intrigue and shot up to a $14.94 billion market cap within just two days …

Before immediately falling by 70%. It’s moved sideways ever since.

While many public figures will try similar stunts and many of them will make loads of money, investors should be skeptical.

While some may see significant gains early on, these are likely nothing more than publicity stunts.

Most of the time, they will not offer long-term value opportunities for investors. And unless you’re able to time your trades perfectly, you’ll likely end up holding the bag when prices fall back to Earth.

Separate the Wheat from the Chaff

The crypto market is as exciting as it is unpredictable.

New trends and narratives constantly emerge and capture the imagination — and wallets — of investors.

But not all are worthy of your investment capital. You’ll need to be able to tell a fling from a real thing before you give any project your support.

That means you’ll need patience, diligence and skepticism to successfully navigate this market.

And to learn which sectors stand to outperform in the next rally — and how you can maximize your potential returns — I encourage you to attend Juan Villaverde’s exciting new summit …

The Great 245x Crypto Anomaly Emergency Summit

He’ll be going live tomorrow, Tuesday Feb. 18 at 2 p.m. Eastern.

Just click here, to tune in then.

Best,

Beth Canova
Crypto Managing Editor