Crypto World Rises Again with the Power of AI: Storage, Open-Source Models, and Memes Join Forces

May 11 — As the global AI market runs wild, the crypto industry—long starved of fresh narratives—has jumped on the AI bandwagon to reignite popularity. **The storage sector led the charge.** Last week, veteran decentralized storage tokens FIL and STORJ saw brief surges: FIL jumped from ~$0.9 to $1.3, then pulled back slightly to trade at $1.14 currently. The community even joked: “Those who bought mining rigs back in the day finally don’t need to fight for refunds—hard drive prices have gone through the roof.” **Open-source model concepts emerged as the biggest highlight.** Base ecosystem token VVV—backed by Venice AI—stood out sharply. Venice AI is a privacy-focused, censorship-resistant AI platform supporting chat, image generation, code writing, and integrating multiple cutting-edge open-source models. After consolidating through 2024, VVV’s price accelerated from $1.6 to $16. Its default model token, Dolphin, also skyrocketed, peaking at a market cap over $170 million at one point. Projects like ICP and NIL also posted significant gains due to direct or indirect AI ties. **The Solana ecosystem is taking the “Lightning-fast Meme + AI” route.** Goblin—up 137% today—is a prime example. The token blends meme traits with the AI Agent concept, plus an on-chain Agent autonomous buyback mechanism. Meanwhile, pure AI meme project ZEREBRO recently jumped from a $7 million market cap low to $50 million. Notably, AI-focused crypto projects from two years ago—like ACT, FARTCOIN, and GOAT—are now relatively quiet, seemingly forgotten by the market. BlockBeats notes that the crypto industry’s current AI hype is essentially a “redemption in the narrative desert”—lacking real innovation and effective adoption. The current flashy scene looks more like a capital frenzy fueled by a short-term liquidity window.