The cryptocurrency market is continually evolving, and a new contender has emerged that is making waves: VIRTUAL, the native cryptocurrency of the Base-based Virtuals Protocol designed for creating and owning AI agents. Over the past four weeks, VIRTUAL has outperformed all major cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin (BTC), marking a significant rally that is hard to ignore.
According to on-chain data tracked by Nansen, this surge is characterized by increased participation from ‘smart money’ wallets, which are typically owned by institutional investors, funds, and influential whales. In just 30 days, VIRTUAL has seen a remarkable rally of 207%, reaching a price of $1.66, making it the top performer among the 100 largest tokens by market capitalization, as reported by CoinDesk. During the past week alone, the token’s price has increased by 11%. In contrast, bitcoin has shown only a 13% gain over the same four-week period, with a notably flat performance in the past seven days.
VIRTUAL’s impressive performance is underscored by its status as the most actively traded token among smart money, as identified by Nansen. The token attracted inflows of $14.2 million over the last 30 days, with $8.56 million coming in during the past week alone. Other favorites among smart money include EBTC, LINK, and PEPE.
This chart illustrates the top tokens traded—purchased or sold—by smart money wallets on decentralized exchanges (DEX) or transferred from centralized exchanges. As outlined in Nansen’s explainer, buying activity is represented in green while selling activity appears in red.
The recent excitement surrounding VIRTUAL is likely fueled by the debut of the Genesis launchpad two weeks ago. This innovative system has been designed to reward genuine contributors as opposed to mere speculators, utilizing a ‘proof of contribution’ points system. Participants can earn Virgen points through activities such as staking or engaging in AI projects.
Since its launch, most tokens introduced via the Genesis platform have doubled in value or more, further driving demand for Virgen Points and underscoring the remaining potential for innovative token designs. As commented by Bankless on X, this indicates a healthy appetite for creativity within the token ecosystem.
Key features of this new system include contribution-based allocations, automatic refunds in case set goals are not achieved, and transparent vesting schedules. Bankless has stated that the Genesis system injects new vitality into the Virtuals landscape while presenting a novel approach to token launches. While they acknowledge that the contribution-based system is not devoid of flaws, they also indicated that it serves as a strong contender against traditional systems that are more susceptible to manipulation.
