The most notable feature of the crypto market this year has been the persistent lack of growth, reflected not only in the performance of altcoins traded on exchanges, but also in the significant declines of on-chain tokens that performed well in Q4 2024.

The following are the price changes of major AI Agent tokens in 2025:

• Virtual: -79.2%
• Ai16z: -85.5%
• AIXBT: -68%
• Griffain: -80.3%
• Buzz: -72.4%
• Fartcoin: -67.5%
• ARC: -62%
• Swarms: -45%

It can be seen that within less than three months, the top projects in the narrative have plummeted by 80%. While it cannot be directly concluded that this sector is false, the loss of attention is an objective fact, and it will not be easy to regain it.

Next, let's look at the celebrity token narrative, which was first initiated by Trump, followed by other celebrities and even countries.

The following are the major celebrity token projects and their declines from their peaks:

• Trump: -77.1%
• Melania: -91%
• Vine: -92.7%
• jailstool: -93.5%
• Jellyjelly: -98%
• CAR: -98.5%
• Libra: -94.3%

In the crypto market, there is a saying "buy new, not old", which represents the willingness of capital to choose newer narratives for speculation. Compared to AI Agent, the celebrity token sector appears to be more bloodthirsty and cruel. What are the current problems in these two sectors? In the face of the scarcity of new narratives in the crypto market, is there a way to break through?

Reference: dexscreener

Current Narrative Dilemma: Rampant Speculation on Concepts

In the AI Agent sector, many projects are still at the stage of "concept demonstration" and "future blueprint", lacking actual usable and scalable products. Even if several operable services have been launched in the market, there are still problems such as complex interfaces and poor user experience, making it difficult for ordinary investors to truly engage with them. Worse, project parties often resort to exaggerated narratives to cater to investors' expectations of "AI + blockchain", while the actual applications are repeatedly delayed. Over time, capital loses patience and attention begins to shift, leading to a significant price decline of related tokens.

In the celebrity token sector, although Trump was a highly topical starting point, the problem is also quite evident when the token market encounters the "celebrity end effect": there is probably no other public figure in the world who can surpass Trump in terms of topic and influence. Subsequent national leaders, internet celebrities, and stars have tried to follow suit, but they have been unable to replicate the initial capital enthusiasm and market sentiment. As the market's following weakens, the celebrity token sector has also presented a "fleeting" phenomenon, where the tokens rise quickly and fall quickly, and investor confidence is quickly lost, leading to price declines.

However, the deeper problem behind these sectors' significant volatility is that many projects are still at the "concept speculation" level, lacking a real and sustainable revenue model. Whether it's AI Agent or celebrity tokens, their core narratives rely on capital and hype to quickly enter the market, but lack incentives for users to participate in the long term. When the hype fades, the price becomes difficult to sustain, and it is also unable to attract new capital to re-enter.

Seeking Real Yield Projects

To stand out in the current market with a lack of narratives, the key is to find products with "real yield" and are "willing to share with users". The so-called "real yield" is not just the speculative bubble from exchange listings, but the ability to continuously generate returns through actual business models and trading activities, and then distribute them to token holders or ecosystem participants.

Hyperliquid, for example, fits this model. In its business, it is similar to a centralized exchange, with revenue mainly from contract trading fees. However, Hyperliquid allocates 100% of the trading fees to repurchase its Hype token, and the trading fees are determined by trading volume, so Hyperliquid has tightly bound the token price to its product.

According to data from defillama, Hyperliquid processes around 45% of the total 24-hour trading volume of all Perps DEXes, currently around $3.78B per day, generating an estimated daily revenue of around $1 million. Even in the current market downturn, it has maintained extremely high activity, and as a result, the Hype token price has remained strong during the recent altcoin winter.

No matter how hot the narrative is, it will eventually fade. The projects that can truly persist in the crypto market are those with product-market fit and high user stickiness, with real yield.