Utility-Driven Tokens Are Stepping into the Spotlight

The crypto and decentralized tech markets have undergone a clear shift in the past month. For most of the year, memecoins and speculative assets have been the darlings of the headlines.

The crypto and decentralized tech markets have undergone a clear shift in the past month. For most of the year, memecoins and speculative assets have been the darlings of the headlines.

Now, utility-driven tokens are stepping into the spotlight—especially those tokens that exist at the intersection of AI and decentralized infrastructure.

A few tokens are emerging that seem to be winning, with $VVV, $LAYER, and $HOOK capturing most of the investor attention.

That said, $TANK and $CYBER also have momentum building behind them, and if they keep moving in the direction of upward price action, they could be next in line to garner the serious interest of investors.

This shift is occurring for reasons that are very much tied to artificial intelligence and infrastructure.

Venice Protocol ($VVV) Dominates the AI Infrastructure Narrative

At the forefront is $VVV, the native token of the Venice Protocol—also known by its handle @AskVenice. This decentralized generative AI platform empowers a multitude of possibilities, spanning text conversations, image and code generation, and more. In contrast to AI services of the traditional Web2 era, Venice resides in a computational layer that is decentralized, censorship resistant, and redefining the contours of value capture in AI infrastructure.

What’s been dominating mindshare?

Over the past month, there’s been a noticeable rotation into $VVV, $LAYER, and even $HOOK. $TANK and $CYBER climbed the ranks toward early May. pic.twitter.com/EBKtqb3bD4

— Nansen 🧭 (@nansen_ai) May 9, 2025

In the course of just a week, $VVV has rocketed upward by more than 80%, and now has a market cap of $135 million. Its growth isn’t just hype; it’s being driven by some impressive numbers. Venice now has over 50,000 daily active users (DAUs), strong evidence that its adoption is being driven by real utility and not just a bunch of speculators.

What differentiates Venice is its unique model of ‘stake-for-access.’ Users don’t pay a subscription fee or burn tokens to use the generative AI capabilities of the platform. Instead, they stake $VVV to access them. This is a clear value proposition to stakers, and it creates an interesting value loop. The more people using the tokenized service, the more demand there is for the token, which is designed to strengthen the network. If this model works, it might give AI and tokenomics something to talk about.

A Broader Rotation into AI and Infra-Focused Tokens

$VVV may be at the head of the pack, but it hardly runs alone. Tokens like $LAYER and $HOOK have seen mounting interest and an inflow of capital, too. Both are linked to infrastructure layers that, in the case of both tokens, aim to serve the next generation of decentralized applications, especially those driven by AI.

$LAYER is all about a modular, scalable, global compute layer. It’s letting developers build highly customized, high-performance environments. And at the same time, it lets those developers rely on standard primitives, or building blocks, for the kinds of applications they’re creating.

These assets reflect a more extensive market understanding: as AI becomes further incorporated into our digital existences, the infrastructure underpinning it has to be decentralized, resilient, and open. The platforms that furnish this backbone seem most primed to gain, both in user numbers and in goodwill from investors.

From Speculation to Substance: Real Utility Becomes the Key Driver

Right now, more than just another hype cycle is happening. With the platforms like Venice rising and the tokens that power them, the crypto market is showing signs of maturing. The way things are playing out, the story is shifting from a purely speculative rotation into something that’s more about real, long-term sustained use cases.

Platforms providing decentralized AI that can’t be censored, is accessible to everyone, and are able to capture their economic value on-chain, are something I’m increasingly seeing as a very important component of the modern digital world. In that context, we’re looking at tokens like $VVV not as ephemeral, here-today-and-gone tokens, but as basic building blocks of an economic layer for decentralized AI.

If the current momentum continues, expect further inflows into tokens that are based around AI and those that are in the infrastructure layer. These tokens have not only good fundamentals, but they also have the kinds of good fundamentals that are leading to them having a user base that is growing quickly. So these tokens, in particular, are not just winning “mindshare”; they are well on their way to winning “market share” as well.

Disclosure: This is not trading or investment advice. Always do your own research before buying any cryptocurrency or investing in any services.

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