# Winning the AI Gold Rush

*Author: Bankless*
*Published: Jan 17, 2025*
*Source: https://www.bankless.com/fr/read/winning-the-ai-gold-rush*

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[![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/e4/b7/e4b77544-5a37-4f0b-8824-8440aa348476/content/images/2025/01/Frame-50567--11-.png)](https://www.bankless.com/sponsor/frax-1737128738?ref=read/ai-x-cryptos-picks-shovels-trade&email=true)

  

Winning the AI Gold Rush  

  
  Published on Jan 17, 2025

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  View in Browser

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[**Sponsor: Frax**](https://www.bankless.com/sponsor/frax-1737128738?ref=read/ai-x-cryptos-picks-shovels-trade&email=true) — Fraxtal Ecosystem: Where DeFi Meets AI.

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.  .  .

 
  
    
      
      NEED TO KNOW
    
    
  
  
    
Pectra in March
  

  

 

[![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/e4/b7/e4b77544-5a37-4f0b-8824-8440aa348476/content/images/2025/01/Group-14--75-.png)](https://www.bankless.com/dashboard)- 🚀 **Ethereum Pectra Upgrade Targets March Launch**. Ethereum developers aim to roll out the Pectra upgrade [by March 2025](https://www.theblock.co/post/335357/ethereum-pectra-march), with testnet hard forks on Sepolia and Holesky expected next month. The upgrade includes wallet UX enhancements, validator staking limit increases, and more. 
- ⚖️ **DCG Settles SEC Charges for $38M**. Digital Currency Group (DCG) and former Genesis CEO Michael Moro have [settled SEC allegations](https://decrypt.co/301595/digital-currency-group-settles-sec-charges-38-million) of misleading investors about Genesis Global Capital’s financial health. DCG will pay $38 million, while Moro will pay $500,000. 
- 📈 **XRP Surpasses Bitcoin Volume on Coinbase**. XRP has overtaken Bitcoin (BTC) as the most-traded cryptocurrency on Coinbase, [accounting for 25%](https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2025/01/17/xrp-volume-overtakes-bitcoin-on-coinbase-as-u-s-investor-interest-grows) of the exchange’s $6.86 billion trading volume over the past day.
📸**Daily Market Snapshot: **Bitcoin climbed past $105k today, its highest price yet in 2025, putting the OG crypto 3% shy of its $108k all-time high. We've seen similar strength in memes ahead of Trump's inauguration next week, too, as Dogecoin's open interest just reached a new $5.5B record. 

Prices as of 2pm ET
24hr
7d

 

       ![](https://banklesspublic.b-cdn.net/cmc.png)
    

  **Crypto**
   
          $3.62T
       

  
    
    ↗ 3.1%
    
  

   
    
    ↗ 11.1%
    
  

       ![](https://banklesspublic.b-cdn.net/btc.png)
    

  **BTC**
   
          $104,859
       

  
    
    ↗ 5.3%
    
  

   
    
    ↗ 10.5%
    
  

       ![](https://banklesspublic.b-cdn.net/eth.png)
    

  **ETH**
   
          $3,413
       

  
    
    ↗ 2.7%
    
  

   
    
    ↗ 3.8%  

 

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ANALYSIS

  
  

AI x Crypto's 'Picks & Shovels' Trade
  
  
   
     
     Bankless Authors: 
     
       [
       
      Jun](https://www.bankless.com/author/arjun)
     
    
 

[![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/e4/b7/e4b77544-5a37-4f0b-8824-8440aa348476/content/images/2025/01/image---2025-01-17T105132.540.png)](https://www.bankless.com/read/ai-x-cryptos-picks-shovels-trade)If you’ve been tracking the AI x Crypto wave, it’s felt like living through a full economic cycle in the span of months. It started with projects like Truth Terminal (GOAT) and quickly cycled through a series of booms and busts. Each cycle packed a mini rise-and-fall narrative into weeks.

To outsiders, it looks chaotic — like an onchain fish market where people are inexplicably paying premiums for "cutting-edge" tech. But this is how crypto markets always work: in the short term, they reward projects that market novelty well. Over time, though, substance wins out.

So let's take a thesis-driven approach to the AI x Crypto meta and find a way to navigate it without getting lost in the noise. Let's examine how to bet on the broader trend rather than chasing which agent will succeed. In other words, bet on the "casino." The house always wins.

*See how to win the AI x Crypto trade👇*

[Read on Bankless.com](https://www.bankless.com/read/ai-x-cryptos-picks-shovels-trade)
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