Alts have once again fallen into a cold winter, how can the market break through the predicament?

Since the beginning of 2025, the cryptocurrency market has shown weak performance, with not only the small coins on exchanges struggling to gain momentum but also the on-chain tokens that performed well in the fourth quarter of last year experiencing significant declines.

Observing the performance of AI-related tokens this year, the decline generally ranges from 60% to 85%. Among them, Virtual fell by 79.2%, Ai16z fell by 85.5%, AIXBT fell by 68%, Griffain fell by 80.3%, Buzz fell by 72.4%, Fartcoin fell by 67.5%, ARC fell by 62%, and Swarms fell by 45%.

In just three months, the market value of these once-popular projects has evaporated by 80%. While we cannot conclude that the AI sector is dead, it is clear that investors' attention has shifted, and attracting funds again will not be an easy task.

On the other hand, the performance of celebrity coins in the market has been more devastating. After falling from their peak, the main alts have dropped as follows: Trump down 77.1%, Melania down 91%, Vine down 92.7%, jailstool down 93.5%, Jellyjelly down 98%, CAR down 98.5%, and Libra down 94.3%.

In the crypto market, new concepts are often favored over old ones. However, compared to the AI sector, celebrity coins have performed worse. So, what problems are currently facing these two areas? In the absence of emerging concepts, is there still a breakthrough for the market?

Current Narrative Dilemma: Concept Hype Prevails, Substantive Applications are Scarce

The main problem in the AI track is that most projects are still stuck in the concept demonstration and future planning stages, lacking practical and scalable products. Even when some services are online, there are issues such as complex operations and poor user experience, making it difficult to attract ordinary users for continued usage. Worse, some project teams, in order to cater to investors' expectations for "AI + blockchain", exaggerate their promotions, while actual implementation continues to be delayed. Over time, funding loses patience and attention shifts, resulting in a significant drop in the prices of related tokens.

In the case of celebrity coins, although the entry of a certain political figure initially sparked a frenzy, it subsequently encountered the problem of "celebrity effect decay." Other politicians, internet celebrities, and stars followed suit, but they could not replicate the initial influx of funds and market sentiment. As the number of followers decreased, the celebrity coin sector showed characteristics of a fleeting moment, with investor confidence rapidly eroding and prices plummeting as a result.

The fundamental reason for the severe fluctuations in these sectors is that most projects remain at the level of hype concepts, lacking real and sustainable profit models. Whether it's AI or celebrity coins, their core narrative relies on the rapid influx of capital and popularity, but there is no motivation to attract users for long-term participation. Once the hype fades, it becomes difficult to maintain prices, and even harder to attract new funds.

Finding Real Yield Projects: The Key to Overcoming Market Challenges

In the current market environment with a weak narrative, the key to standing out is to find projects that have "real yield" and are "willing to share with users." What is meant by "real yield" is not just the short-term price increase at the time of listing, but rather the ability to continuously generate returns through actual business models and trading activities, and to provide feedback to token holders or ecosystem participants.

Taking a certain decentralized derivatives trading platform as an example, its business model is similar to that of centralized exchanges, with the main revenue coming from contract trading fees. The platform uses all fees to repurchase the platform tokens, closely linking the coin price with product usage. According to data statistics, the platform holds about 45% market share in the perpetual contract DEX market, with a daily trading volume of 3.78 billion USD and a daily income of approximately 1 million USD. Even in the current market downturn, the platform still maintains a high level of activity, and its token price remains relatively strong.

No matter how hot a concept is, it will eventually recede. What can exist in the crypto market for the long term are those projects that find product-market fit, have high user retention, and offer real returns.