Crypto markets jolted awake as analyst Michaël van de Poppe declared the AI sector's unstoppable momentum, predicting NEAR Protocol soaring to $3, Fetch.ai's FET hitting $0.30, and Bittensor's TAO climbing to $500. This bold call arrives amid a week-long price correction that van de Poppe dismisses as routine volatility, emphasizing the unprecedented scale of this hype cycle.

Why AI Protocols Defy the Dip

Van de Poppe highlights stunning growth rates in AI-driven crypto projects, outpacing the short-term hype decay seen in previous months. Over the last six months, AI tokens have captured investor frenzy, blending blockchain with machine learning innovations that echo the explosive DeFi surge of late 2025. Strategic partnerships and regulatory nods in the EU have fueled this vertical, positioning it as crypto's most reliable bet for upward legs.

Investors eye these protocols for their real-world applications, from decentralized AI computing to scalable data processing. NEAR's focus on user-friendly blockchain tools and TAO's decentralized machine learning network underscore the sector's resilience, even as broader market jitters from U.S. inflation data linger. This narrative aligns with Bloomberg's tracking of AI-crypto integrations, where adoption rates spiked 40% in Q1 2026.