This week, the crypto market swapped fundamentals for FOMO as meme and AI-centric tokens stole the spotlight. While DeFi darlings took hits, new narratives dominated trader attention.
• Meme and AI-focused tokens significantly outperformed traditional DeFi tokens
• Traders are rotating capital into higher-beta, community-driven assets
• Social media sentiment has a growing impact on short-term price action
• Legacy tokens are losing speculative appeal unless tied to disruptive new narratives
The crypto market continues to defy linear explanations—one week’s laggards turn into the next week’s rockets, and the inverse is just as true. This week, the so-called ‘joke’ coins and AI-powered protocols led the charge with substantial gains, leaving legacy DeFi stalwarts scratching their heads in the red.
Leading the pack, KAITO topped the gainers chart with a 19.59% surge. As an AI-driven research assistant that’s been generating buzz on Crypto Twitter (CT), it’s benefiting from broader interest in utility-based AI tokens — plus a few influential retweets. Not far behind was WIF (18.43%) and DOG (17.79%), both riding the meme coin hype cycle that seems resistant to all logic, reason, or bear indicators. Meanwhile, GRASS (18.42%) and PI (12.07%) filled out the top five, with experimental tokenomics and whisperings of partnerships feeding into speculative buying.
Meanwhile, the market’s less glamorous spaces—DeFi and governance-centric tokens—continued their slide. AAVE dropped 4.36%, making it one of the week’s worst performers, alongside EOS (-4.11%) and KCS (-3.58%). Even recent favorites like SYRUP and LAUNCHCOIN couldn’t escape the downturn, dropping 4.71% and 6.33%, respectively. A rotational shift seems evident as traders exit “serious” protocols for high-momentum, low-narrative plays.
If Crypto Twitter is an oracle, it’s telling a tale of a market increasingly driven by vibes, virality, and short attention spans. Threads glorifying the potential of WIF as “the next SHIB” have gone viral, while some Twitter users are already calling DOG “the FLOKI of this cycle.” Even respected CT thought leaders are getting in on the action with tongue-in-cheek endorsements of both tokens—as long as the memes stay strong and the community keeps shilling.
In contrast, DeFi innovation is being met with crickets—or worse, snark. AAVE’s latest governance proposal barely made a blip, and while protocol updates for EOS promised scalability fixes, the developer community’s response varied from lukewarm to dismissive. The story is unmistakable: the market is gorging on narrative-driven trades, not fundamentals. For now.
While meme coins often defy reason, tokens like KAITO hint at a more transformative undercurrent in the market: the merger of AI and crypto. KAITO’s role as an AI-assisted research and alpha discovery tool has won favor among Web3 analysts and institutions alike. As data becomes more decentralized and research more fragmented, KAITO’s function has clear utility. This week’s price action could mark the beginning of a revaluation among AI-crypto hybrids, akin to the NFT explosion during the social media era.
One notable takeaway from this week’s movement is the clear shift in capital from traditional DeFi protocols into high-volatility, shorter-term plays. This often happens during uncertain macroeconomic environments where clarity on rate cuts or regulatory rulings is missing. Traders turn to meme coins and AI narratives for their high beta and the chance to outperform in short windows.
Using WIF, GRASS, and DOG as proxies for trader psychology, it's clear that the market is not looking for longevity right now—it’s looking for fun, speed, and virality. Correlated performance among these meme tokens suggests they’re being treated almost as a momentum basket, with performance being dictated by community strength and meme-virality on platforms like X (Twitter) and Discord.
This week’s leaderboard reads like a break from the norm.
On the flip side:
The crypto market continues to defy linear explanations—one week’s laggards turn into the next week’s rockets, and the inverse is just as true. This week, the so-called ‘joke’ coins and AI-powered protocols led the charge with substantial gains, leaving legacy DeFi stalwarts scratching their heads in the red.
Leading the pack, KAITO topped the gainers chart with a 19.59% surge. As an AI-driven research assistant that’s been generating buzz on Crypto Twitter (CT), it’s benefiting from broader interest in utility-based AI tokens — plus a few influential retweets. Not far behind was WIF (18.43%) and DOG (17.79%), both riding the meme coin hype cycle that seems resistant to all logic, reason, or bear indicators. Meanwhile, GRASS (18.42%) and PI (12.07%) filled out the top five, with experimental tokenomics and whisperings of partnerships feeding into speculative buying.
Meanwhile, the market’s less glamorous spaces—DeFi and governance-centric tokens—continued their slide. AAVE dropped 4.36%, making it one of the week’s worst performers, alongside EOS (-4.11%) and KCS (-3.58%). Even recent favorites like SYRUP and LAUNCHCOIN couldn’t escape the downturn, dropping 4.71% and 6.33%, respectively. A rotational shift seems evident as traders exit “serious” protocols for high-momentum, low-narrative plays.
If Crypto Twitter is an oracle, it’s telling a tale of a market increasingly driven by vibes, virality, and short attention spans. Threads glorifying the potential of WIF as “the next SHIB” have gone viral, while some Twitter users are already calling DOG “the FLOKI of this cycle.” Even respected CT thought leaders are getting in on the action with tongue-in-cheek endorsements of both tokens—as long as the memes stay strong and the community keeps shilling.
In contrast, DeFi innovation is being met with crickets—or worse, snark. AAVE’s latest governance proposal barely made a blip, and while protocol updates for EOS promised scalability fixes, the developer community’s response varied from lukewarm to dismissive. The story is unmistakable: the market is gorging on narrative-driven trades, not fundamentals. For now.
While meme coins often defy reason, tokens like KAITO hint at a more transformative undercurrent in the market: the merger of AI and crypto. KAITO’s role as an AI-assisted research and alpha discovery tool has won favor among Web3 analysts and institutions alike. As data becomes more decentralized and research more fragmented, KAITO’s function has clear utility. This week’s price action could mark the beginning of a revaluation among AI-crypto hybrids, akin to the NFT explosion during the social media era.
One notable takeaway from this week’s movement is the clear shift in capital from traditional DeFi protocols into high-volatility, shorter-term plays. This often happens during uncertain macroeconomic environments where clarity on rate cuts or regulatory rulings is missing. Traders turn to meme coins and AI narratives for their high beta and the chance to outperform in short windows.
Using WIF, GRASS, and DOG as proxies for trader psychology, it's clear that the market is not looking for longevity right now—it’s looking for fun, speed, and virality. Correlated performance among these meme tokens suggests they’re being treated almost as a momentum basket, with performance being dictated by community strength and meme-virality on platforms like X (Twitter) and Discord.
This week’s leaderboard reads like a break from the norm.
On the flip side:
KAITO’s double-digit rally is underpinned by serious institutional interest in AI-driven research capabilities. Meanwhile, meme coins are back in vogue with no clear catalyst beyond CT engagement and viral hashtags.
Don’t fight the meme—that's where the money and momentum are. But pair your meme trades with tighter stop-loss levels. Also, watch AI-hybrid tokens like KAITO for alpha beyond the noise.
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