The Virtuals Protocol price rose for three consecutive days amid robust investments in the artificial intelligence industry. VIRTUAL token rose to $3, up from this month, giving a market cap of over $3 billion. So, will the VIRTUAL price continue rising this year?
AI investments are rising
The main catalyst for the ongoing VIRTUAL price surge is the ongoing investments in the artificial intelligence industry.
Softbank, OpenAI, and Oracle announced a $100 billion investment in the US that could scale up to $500 billion over time. This investment will include building large data centers and technology campuses in the country.
Another major AI news this week was that ByteDance, parent company of embattled TikTok, announced that it planned to spend $12 billion on AI infrastructure this year. It has already budgeted to buy chips worth $5.5 billion in China and then invest $6.8 billion globally to beef up its AI models.
Most of the company’s chip purchases will go to Chinese companies like Huawei and Cambricorn. Some of them will go to American companies like NVIDIA, which has been barred from selling its most advanced chips to Chinese firms.
There have been other notable AI news this year. For example. Shield AI, a company using AI in the defense industry, raised $200 million from Palantir, Airbus, and L3 Harris at a $5 billion valuation. The company makes AI-powered software for autonomous aircraft and drones.
Google also invested $1 billion in Anthropic, the maker of Claude, a popular rival to ChatGPT. The new fundraising gives it a valuation of $60 billion.
All these events mean that the AI industry is booming, even as some experts warn of an impending slowdown.
Virtuals Protocol is a top player in crypto AI
These investments are benefiting Virtuals Protocol, a company that has built a platform for developers to launch AI agents in industries like productivity, entertainment, and creativity.
Virtuals hosts some of the most valuable players in the sector. For example, it hosts G.A.M.E by Virtuals, which has accumulated a market cap of over $153 million in market cap.
Aixbt has a market cap of over $664 million, while VaderAI is valued at $90.26 million, and Acolyte has a valuation of $60 million.
Analysts are optimistic that the AI agent industry will continue to thrive and that Virtuals Protocol will play an important role in it. This is because Virtuals Protocol offers technology that enables users to create AI agents within hours.
The developers have also started to buyback the VIRTUALS token. In a recent note, the developers noted that they will use the 12,990,425 VIRTUALS token worth about $39 million to buyback and burn agent tokens.
VIRTUAL price forecast
VIRTUAL token chart by TradingView
The daily chart shows that the VIRTUAL token peaked at $5.2520 on January 2, where it formed a shooting star candlestick pattern. It then retreated sharply and landed a bottom at $2.2310 on January 13.
The coin has moved above the 50-day and 100-day moving averages, a positive sign. There are also signs that it has formed a double-bottom chart pattern whose neckline is at $4.1237, its highest swing on January 15
Therefore, there is a possibility that the VIRTUAL token price will bounce back and possibly retest the all-time high of $5.2520. A drop below the key support at $2.2310 will point to more downside in the near term.
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