A cluster of AI-focused cryptocurrencies surged on May 22, defying broader market weakness, as anticipation mounted that OpenAI would soon file its initial public offering (IPO) paperwork with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). NEAR Protocol (NEAR) led the charge, spiking 21% to around $2.20, while Worldcoin (WLD) added 12% to $0.2947, Artificial Superintelligence Alliance (FET) rose 9% to $0.2105, Internet Computer (ICP) and Venice Token (VVV) also posted double-digit gains. According to CoinGecko, NEAR was the top trending coin of the afternoon.
The rally, which came as Bitcoin struggled below $78,000 and bitcoin ETFs saw five consecutive days of outflows totaling nearly $1 billion, was driven primarily by the OpenAI IPO narrative. OpenAI, creator of ChatGPT, was last valued at $850 billion in a funding round that included Softbank and NVIDIA. Analysts expect its post-IPO market cap could top $1 trillion. Worldcoin benefited directly from the association with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, who also co-founded the iris-scanning identity project, even though Worldcoin is not currently integrated with OpenAI’s products. Rumors persist that such integration may happen in the future.
Other catalysts included the upcoming SpaceX IPO at a $1.5 trillion valuation—SpaceX operates xAI and Grok—and news that AI rival Anthropic expects $10 billion in second-quarter revenue, double that of the first. Venice AI reported nearly 10 million monthly website visitors and 3 million active users, with token burn accelerating. The AI token surge also mirrored gains in traditional AI hardware stocks like SanDisk, Micron, and Seagate.
Worldcoin’s rally was further supported by a planned tokenomics overhaul that will cut daily emission rates by 43% from July 24, reducing unlocks from roughly 5.1 million WLD to 2.9 million per day. FET’s gain followed renewed attention on the Artificial Superintelligence Alliance formed by the merger of Fetch.ai, SingularityNET, and Ocean Protocol, now powered by the single FET token. NEAR Protocol has repositioned itself as a high-speed, AI-native execution layer for autonomous agents.
