Grayscale’s Artificial Intelligence Crypto Sector posted a 54% return in September, more than doubling the broader crypto market’s 24% advance, according to a report published October 2, 2026. The rally was led by NEAR, which surged 183%, followed by Venice (VVV) up 70%, World (WLD) up 47%, and Bittensor (TAO) up 37%.
Grayscale Head of Research Zach Pandl said the performance reflects growing investor interest in blockchain infrastructure for artificial intelligence. He pointed to public blockchains as potential complements to centralized AI systems, especially in areas such as machine-to-machine payments, decentralized identity, private computation, and verifiable records.
Despite the gains, the AI crypto sector remains the smallest of Grayscale’s six crypto sectors, with an estimated market value of about $15 billion. Pandl noted the sector could produce one or more major projects over the next five years, while cautioning that this is the firm’s outlook rather than an established outcome.
Among the highlighted projects, NEAR is developing infrastructure for agentic commerce; Bittensor operates an open ecosystem of specialized AI networks spanning inference, AI agents, data and computing; World provides a proof-of-human network co-founded by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman; and Venice offers a privacy-focused consumer AI chatbot that does not store user prompts or responses.
