The altcoin market is sluggish, how should investors respond?

Since the beginning of 2025, the cryptocurrency market has shown a continuous downward trend. This weakness has affected not only the small tokens on trading platforms but also the on-chain tokens that performed well in the fourth quarter of 2024.

The following are the decline data of several major AI-related alts in 2025:

• Virtual: down 79.2%
• Ai16z: down 85.5%
• AIXBT: down 68%
• Griffain: down 80.3%
• Buzz: Down 72.4%
• Fartcoin: down 67.5%
• ARC: down 62%
• Swarms: down 45%

In less than three months, the value of once-popular leading projects has shrunk by as much as 80%. Although it cannot yet be concluded that this sector has failed, the sharp decline in market attention is an undeniable fact, and it is likely difficult to reverse this situation in the short term.

At the same time, the celebrity coin craze initiated by Trump has also faced a similar fate. Other celebrities and even some countries have followed suit by launching their own tokens, but the results have not been satisfactory.

The following are the declines of some well-known celebrity coins since their peak:

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

There is a common viewpoint in the cryptocurrency market: "New coins are easy to trade, old coins are hard to follow." This reflects the tendency of funds to chase emerging narratives for speculation. However, compared to AI-related tokens, the decline in the celebrity coin sector has been even more severe. So, what are the main issues facing these two sectors right now? In the current context of a lack of new narratives in cryptocurrency, is there still a possibility for breakthroughs?

Current Narrative Dilemma: Concept Hype Prevails, Substantial Applications Are Scarce

In terms of AI-related projects, most are still in the "concept demonstration" and "future planning" stages, lacking practical and widely promotable products. Even though some operational services have indeed appeared on the market, they often suffer from complex interfaces and poor user experiences, making it difficult to attract ordinary investors for long-term use. Moreover, some project teams, in order to cater to investors' expectations of "AI + blockchain," often exaggerate their promotions to inflate token prices, while actual landing applications are repeatedly postponed. Over time, funds lose patience, market attention shifts, leading to a significant decline in the prices of related tokens.

In terms of celebrity coins, although Trump's involvement has brought great attention to this field, the "celebrity effect fading" issue that followed is also evident: it is difficult to find a public figure who can match Trump in terms of topic and influence. Although various political figures, internet celebrities, and stars from different countries have attempted to follow suit, none have been able to replicate the initial funding heat and market sentiment. The market's enthusiasm has gradually weakened, and the celebrity coin sector has shown characteristics of a fleeting phenomenon, with investor confidence rapidly eroding and prices subsequently plummeting.

The fundamental reason for the severe volatility in these tracks is that many projects only stay at the "hype concept" level, lacking real and sustainable profit models. Whether it is AI-related projects or celebrity coins, their core narrative relies on the rapid influx of capital and hype, but lacks the motivation for users to participate in the long term. When the hype fades, prices become difficult to maintain, making it even harder to attract new funds.

Finding Real Yield Projects Becomes Key

To stand out in the currently lackluster market, the key is to find products that offer "real收益" and can "share with users". The so-called "real收益" is not just about earning short-term gains when the coin is listed, but rather about continuously generating returns through actual business models and trading activities and feedback to coin holders or ecosystem participants.

Taking a certain decentralized exchange platform as an example, its business model is similar to that of centralized exchanges, with the main source of revenue being contract trading fees. The platform uses all the fees for repurchasing the platform's tokens, and the trading fees are directly related to the trading volume, thus closely linking the token price with the platform's actual usage.

According to statistics from a data platform, this platform accounts for about 45% of the 24-hour trading volume among all perpetual contract decentralized exchanges, with a daily trading volume of 3.78 billion USD and a daily income of about 1 million USD. Even in the current market downturn, this platform still maintains a high level of activity. This also explains why, in the recent environment where altcoins are generally declining, the token price of this platform remains strong.

Overall, no matter how popular a concept is, it will eventually lose its luster. What can exist in the crypto market for the long term are those projects that find a match between product and market, have high user stickiness, and generate real profits.