Here we go again. A hot new artificial intelligence (AI) crypto — Venice (VVV +3.90%) — has seemingly appeared out of nowhere, and is absolutely on fire right now. It’s up 460% for the year, and now ranks among the top 100 cryptocurrencies in the world with a market cap of $430 million at the time of this writing.
For crypto investors, Venice has become the hottest new way to play the AI investment thesis in 2026. But does this crypto have any realistic chance to become a millionaire-maker over the long haul?
Venice is a highly volatile AI crypto
Venice, the crypto token for Venice AI (a privacy-focused uncensored AI platform for chat, image generation, and code creation), soared to stratospheric heights as soon as it started trading in January 2025. Right out of the gate, Venice rallied from a price of $0.50 to a price of $22.45.
For a brief moment, Venice looked like a no-brainer, instant millionaire-maker. All you had to do was ride the AI investment wave and wait for your Venice crypto holdings to soar in value.
Image source: Getty Images.
But then came the crash. All the hoopla, buzz, and speculation over AI turned out to be exactly that — just a lot of hoopla, buzz, and speculation. Within days, the price of Venice cratered back down to the $3 level. Then, for a long stretch of time, Venice did absolutely nothing.
However, the hype for Venice has once again in motion. In March, reports circulated that Venice AI had been chosen as a recommended AI model provider for OpenClaw, a new AI agent project.
Today’s Change
(3.90%) $0.34
Current Price
$9.11
Key Data Points
Market Cap
$414M
Day’s Range
$8.69 – $9.67
52wk Range
$0.92 – $9.90
Volume
21M
That brings us to now. You can view Venice in one of two ways. If you’re a glass-half-full type of investor, you’re probably raving over the fact that Venice is up 460% this year. If you’re a glass-half-empty type of investor, you’re probably lamenting the fact that Venice is down 60% from its all-time high in 2025.
The problem with AI cryptos
The big caveat here is that AI cryptos tend to soar in value, only to crash later. Trends go in and out of vogue, and prices can zigzag wildly. That has been the case with some of the most popular AI cryptos of the past three years: Bittensor (TAO +0.80%), Render (RENDER +0.74%), Artificial Superintelligence Alliance (FET 1.78%), and Virtuals Protocol (VIRTUAL +1.66%).
Today’s Change
(0.74%) $0.01
Current Price
$1.77
Key Data Points
Market Cap
$916M
Day’s Range
$1.72 – $1.81
52wk Range
$1.17 – $5.51
Volume
85M
At one time or another, all of these have been promoted as the one AI crypto you needed to have in your portfolio. Unfortunately, none of them have lived up to their initial hype. Bittensor, for example, is down 70% from its all-time high in 2024. Render is down 85%. Artificial Superintelligence Alliance is down 95%.
If history is any guide, Venice is unlikely to be a millionaire-maker. Instead of hunting for the next big AI crypto, it might be more productive to invest in an AI-themed ETF. You’ll be able to diversify your risk, and you’ll still be able to capture a significant amount of upside from growth in the AI sector.
