Many formerly high-flying artificial intelligence (AI) cryptocurrencies are currently down anywhere from 70% to 95% from their 2024 highs. Not surprisingly, many crypto investors have given up on the AI investment thesis entirely.
However, there's one fast-charging AI crypto that is surging up the market cap rankings. Kite (KITE +0.00%) is up a staggering 140% over the past 90 days, and now ranks among the top 100 cryptocurrencies in the world with a market cap of nearly $450 million.
For crypto investors, the big question becomes: Can Kite maintain its upward trajectory, or will it crash back to earth, just like all the other AI cryptocurrencies?
Image source: Getty Images.
The first AI payment blockchain
Kite bills itself as "the first AI payment blockchain." That's because it provides the blockchain infrastructure for AI agents to operate and transact. Kite launched as a specialized Layer-1 blockchain purpose-built for the autonomous economy.
It's up to you to decide whether the AI agent investment thesis is overhyped, but I think it's just getting started. And plenty of high-profile investors seem to agree. Last September, Kite lined up $18 million in financing from PayPal Ventures and venture capital firm General Catalyst. Another high-profile investor in Kite is Coinbase Global.
The participation of Coinbase Global is interesting because CEO Brian Armstrong has been vocal in his support for AI payments using blockchain infrastructure. Last year, Coinbase launched a new payment protocol for AI agents and bots known as x402.
Recently, Coinbase experimented with AI agents, giving them their own blockchain wallets to invest in crypto. That's where I think Kite could be headed -- a brave new world of autonomous agents transacting with each other, with only limited human intervention.
Can investors trust the hype around Kite?
Before investing in Kite, just remember that plenty of other AI cryptos have seen similar levels of support and hype from the tech cognoscenti before eventually crashing in price.
Bittensor, my favorite AI crypto from 2025, is down a shocking 77% from its all-time high in April 2024. And Artificial Superintelligence Alliance, my favorite AI crypto from 2024, is down an even more shocking 95% from its all-time high in March 2024.
Going forward, then, investors should proceed with extreme caution. Most AI cryptos are down significantly since launch, and it could be just a matter of time before Kite joins them. Kite is a highly leveraged bet on the agentic future of artificial intelligence. If the investment thesis around AI agents runs out of air, so could Kite.
