Cryptocurrency investors who chased the AI ​​hype may be left holding out as their prices fall and smart money investors sell off.

virtual protocol (hypothetical), one of the best-performing cryptocurrencies of 2024, has collapsed to below $3 after falling 43% from its high this year.

Likewise, ai16z (AI16Z), the third largest Solana (Sol) The meme coin is down more than 50% from its January high. Combined, the tokens lost more than $2 billion in market value.

While this free fall coincides with the current Encryption crash, A closer look at their on-chain metrics shows that savvy money investors and dividend leaders have begun selling their positions.

Profit leaders at Ai16z are selling tokens

According to Nansen, the most profitable ai16z trader made more than $39 million. This individual essentially sold all of their tokens.

Likewise, the third most profitable buyer made $19 million and sold almost all of his tokens at a huge profit.

While most profitable traders still hold their ai16z tokens, many have sold most of their profits to take profits.

Other important Nansen data shows that smart money investors have also dumped their tokens. There are now only 80 smart money investors in ai16z with 934 million tokens.

There were 124 such investors holding over 1.24 billion tokens in December. Nansen defines smart money investors as those touting a long track record in the cryptocurrency industry (Bitcoin was first mined in... 2009, marking the first decentralized cryptocurrency).

The default price collapses as top leaders sell

The same sale happened for the VIRTUAL token as most of the revenue leaders sold their tokens. LVT Capital, the most profitable investor with over $5.5 million in profits, sold all of its holdings, achieving a 4,082% return on investment. Many virtual investors also exited, while smart money investors sold.

This investor behavior is common in the cryptocurrency and stock market industries. Many retail investors embrace Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) when a token starts going parabolic. Initial investors sell, leaving many holding the bag.

A good example of this is the recent performance of many of the most popular meme coins, such as PNUT, GOAT, Mother Iggy, Kikios Maximus. As the chart below shows, these symbols initially rose and then fell as the hype ended.

AI client tokens have been hyped in the past few months as the topic of AI continues to boom.

Studies show that the AI ​​agent industry is growing and has more room to take off soon. One of These reports It is estimated that the industry will be worth $5.29 billion in 2024, and that it will have a compound annual growth rate of 40% until 2035.

Virtuals Protocol hosts hundreds of projects such as GAME, which has a market capitalization of $212 million, as well as a valuation of $411 million, and Luna's $65.2 million.