VIRTUAL and AI16Z Lead the AI Token Rally, but Whale Takes $1.92M Loss Amid Volatile Turnaround

The cryptocurrency sector that is driven by artificial intelligence is showing signs of returning to health, with tokens such as $AI16Z and VIRTUAL recovering nicely along with the rest of the market.

In the last week, $AI16Z has surged 78%, including a 22% spike in the last 24 hours. This sudden rise has brought the niche within the crypto market that focuses on AI tokens back to life after a near-death experience since early 2023.

Nevertheless, not every player in the space has been able to surf this profit-tidal wave. One prominent investor, or “whale,” recently took a big loss in our AI16Z seat, even as the overall sentiment has been quite bullish. To be fair, this investor didn’t take a loss on any of our other investments; they just made a big write-down on a big position.

Three months ago, a whale invested heavily in $AI16Z, a token noted for its integration with AI-powered infrastructure and decentralized machine learning networks. According to blockchain data, the investor spent 18,000 SOL—worth about $3.68 million—to acquire 6.51 million $AI16Z tokens at an average price of $0.57.

The buy-in took place when optimism was prevailing around AI tokens, as many projects were attracting the interest of both crypto-native funds and traditional venture capitalists. $AI16Z was coasting on a wave of hype not only because of its slight affiliations with AI infrastructure scaling and virtually decentralized data provisioning, but also because of its speculative support from communities that seem tied to platforms like VIRTUAL.

However, in the months that came after, the price of $AI16Z plunged, mirroring the overall market sentiment that turned bearish in early 2025. Even though there were a few instances of the token rallying, it was an inability to go back up and reclaim where it was price-wise. Instead, it was tumbling down, and that sent the message to both the newcomers and OG holders that $AI16Z was not a token to buy and hold.

This week, after months of seeing the position shrink, the whale at last sold 4 million $AI16Z at a steep loss. The dump netted just $1.05 million at a market price of $0.26 per token. This move locked in an approximate $1.92 million realized loss, effectively cutting their initial investment by more than half.

Even after this significant exit, the whale is still in possession of 2.51 million $AI16Z, values of which currently hover around $702,000. The decision to either maintain or offload the remaining tokens will be contingent upon the next set of market moves—and the probability of this most recent rally to continue holding upward momentum.

The capitulation of the whale denotes the harsh realities associated with high-risk investing. But what we’re seeing in $AI16Z and VIRTUAL is a renewed surge of interest in AI tokens that seems to be multiplying with each passing week.

If 2025 Q1 was the ‘whatever’ phase for AI-related tokens, 2025 Q2 is the ‘oh, wow!’ phase. After a quiet first quarter, these tokens are climbing once again, and this uptrend is apparently being driven by some new technological developments (i.e., new chat systems being multiplied, and so on) and by apparently revived interest from both the crypto community and AI researchers.

VIRTUAL, recognized for its immersive, AI-integrated metaverse frameworks, is rapidly gaining attention, which in turn is pulling the AI token segment upward. “Market analysts believe that the broader trend toward integrating blockchain with AI tools—ranging from decentralized data curation to on-chain model inference—is gaining momentum.”

Additionally, there are those who say that the recent surge could also be a part of capital moving from meme coins and other altcoins that aren’t doing so great into the more utility-focused areas like artificial intelligence and DePIN. With speculative money flowing once again into these higher-conviction stories, tokens that are AI-based seem ideally structured to be the leading narrative of this next bull cycle.

Yet, the tale of the cetacean that swallowed down a hit of $1.92 million serves as a sharp inset in the reminder of just how much this sector can still rock and roll. It’s the same old story, really—timing, conviction, and risk management define outcomes more than ever, even with the returning tide of market optimism.

Still, the story of the whale who took a $1.92 million hit serves as a stark reminder of this sector’s volatility.

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

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