AI, RWA: Two token classes to watch next after meme coin and staking market drive rally

Source Fxstreet
  • Crypto markets rallied on the back of DeFi and NFT narratives in 2022 before recent meme coin and staking mania.
  • The focus is expected to change soon as Santiment identifies rising crowd interest for AI and RWA tokens.
  • AVAX, LINK, ICP, FET and AGIX are possible candidates for expected rallies amid changing climate of trader interest.

Cryptocurrency markets are known to be driven by different themes that help influence customer investment behavior. Asset prices run on these narratives, and a sector’s tokens can generally outperform the rest of the community for a period of time. A behavior analytics platform now says a new narrative may be setting in soon.

Also Read:  Top three altcoins trending in crypto social media: Ethereum, Dogecoin, Ondo

AI and RWA tokens likely to drive markets soon

Data, according to analytics platform Santiment, points to increasing attention for AI and Real World Assets (RWAs). The behavior analytics tool detected growing crowd interest over the last six months, recorded as spikes in social volume. This means the amount of mentions on crypto-related social media has increased significantly relative to a pool of other cryptocurrencies.

AI tokens to look out for include The Graph (GRT), Fetch.ai (FET), SingularityNET (AGIX), Ocean Protocol (OCEAN), and Bittensor (TAO) among others. On the other hand, the RWA sector tokens to look out for include Avalanche (AVAX), Chainlink (LINK), Internet Computer (ICP), Maker (MKR), and Synthetix (SNX). Notably, MKR led RWA tokens on transaction volume metrics only recently, according to on-chain aggregator IntoTheBlock.

RWAs are established commodities from traditional finance, tokenized, and brought over into the DeFi space using blockchain technology.

The news comes after meme coins, specifically the ones running on the Solana blockchain, have dominated markets since December. It started with Bonk Inu (BONK), whose rally was associated with the Solana Saga phones before Myro (MYRO) and Wen (WEN) tokens began making headlines.

Besides the meme coin asset class, staking has also been a recent theme driving markets as investors chase annual yields or returns for assets locked. The Lido DAO (LDO) staking platform is expected to drop details on rewards, penalties, staking allocation, and validator exit soon, ahead of the mainnet debut of the module planned for the second half of 2024. 

These are some of the narratives that have provided trading opportunities for traders over the months after the decentralized finance (DeFi) and non-fungible token (NFT) era in the pre-2022 period. 

While the NFT theme may have topped out, the DeFi narrative remains at the core of the crypto revolution, with DeFi yields becoming increasingly attractive as alternative investment forms. It comes as new ecosystems and new generations of protocols continue to introduce fresh financial primitives into the space.

Disclaimer: For information purposes only. Past performance is not indicative of future results.
placeholder
Markets in 2026: Will gold, Bitcoin, and the U.S. dollar make history again? — These are how leading institutions thinkAfter a turbulent 2025, what lies ahead for commodities, forex, and cryptocurrency markets in 2026?
Author  Insights
Dec 25, 2025
After a turbulent 2025, what lies ahead for commodities, forex, and cryptocurrency markets in 2026?
placeholder
ECB Policy Outlook for 2026: What It Could Mean for the Euro’s Next MoveWith the ECB likely holding rates steady at 2.15% and the Fed potentially extending cuts into 2026, EUR/USD may test 1.20 if Eurozone growth proves resilient, but weaker growth and an ECB pivot could pull the pair back toward 1.13 and potentially 1.10.
Author  Mitrade
Dec 26, 2025
With the ECB likely holding rates steady at 2.15% and the Fed potentially extending cuts into 2026, EUR/USD may test 1.20 if Eurozone growth proves resilient, but weaker growth and an ECB pivot could pull the pair back toward 1.13 and potentially 1.10.
placeholder
Silver Price Forecast: XAG/USD dips to near $72.50 as CME raises marginsSilver price (XAG/USD) has lost its nearly a 4.5% gain registered in the previous session, trading around $72.50 during the Asian hours on Wednesday.
Author  FXStreet
Dec 31, 2025
Silver price (XAG/USD) has lost its nearly a 4.5% gain registered in the previous session, trading around $72.50 during the Asian hours on Wednesday.
placeholder
Gold Price Forecast: XAU/USD climbs to near $4,350 on Fed rate cut bets, geopolitical risks Gold price (XAU/USD) rises to near $4,345 during the early Asian session on Friday. Gold finished 2025 with a significant rally, achieving an annual gain of around 65%, its biggest annual gain since 1979.
Author  FXStreet
Yesterday 00: 55
Gold price (XAU/USD) rises to near $4,345 during the early Asian session on Friday. Gold finished 2025 with a significant rally, achieving an annual gain of around 65%, its biggest annual gain since 1979.
placeholder
EUR/USD Price Forecast: Keeps bullish vibe, first upside barrier emerges above 1.1800The EUR/USD pair trades in positive territory around 1.1755 during the early European trading hours on Friday.
Author  FXStreet
19 hours ago
The EUR/USD pair trades in positive territory around 1.1755 during the early European trading hours on Friday.
Related Instrument
goTop
quote