WOO X (@_WOO_X): Struggling bull market: Where’s the breakthrough?

Struggling bull market: Where’s the breakthrough? AI Agents lack power, celebrity tokens face significant credibility issues, and major narratives are paused Since the beginning of this year, the biggest feature of the cryptocurrency market has been its lack of sustained growth. This is evident in altcoins on exchanges and blockchain tokens that performed well in Q4 of 2024 but are now facing significant downturns. Below are the percentage changes in the prices of major AI Agent tokens in 2025: Virtual: -79.2% Ai16z: -85.5% AIXBT: -68% Griffain: -80.3% Buzz: -72.4% Fartcoin: -67.5% ARC: -62% Swarms: -45% In less than three months, these leading projects in the AI Agent sector have experienced up to 80% decline. While it may be premature to label this sector as fraudulent, it is clear that attention has been lost, and regaining it in the short term may prove challenging. Next, let's look at the narrative of celebrity tokens. It started with Donald Trump, followed by other celebrities and even countries jumping on the bandwagon. Here are the major celebrity tokens and their price drops from their highs: Trump: -77.1% Melania: -91% Vine: -92.7% Jailstool: -93.5% Jellyjelly: -98% CAR: -98.5% Libra: -94.3% In the crypto world, there's a saying: "Invest in the new, not the old," meaning that investors tend to support emerging narratives. Compared to the AI Agent sector, the celebrity token sector is even more ruthless, with a faster rise and fall. What’s behind the current problems in these two sectors? And, in the face of the lack of new narratives, is there any way out? 🖼️ https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GkTpR_SWkAA42ZY.jpg (Ref:dexscreener) Current narrative dilemma: The rise of speculation based solely on concepts In the AI Agent sector, many projects are still in the stage of "concept demonstration" and "future blueprint" stages, lacking practical, scalable products. Even when some operational services are launched, they often face issues such as complex interfaces and poor user experience, making it difficult for average investors to develop genuine engagement. Worse yet, in an attempt to meet investor expectations for 'AI + blockchain,' project teams often resort to exaggerated narratives to inflate prices, while real-world applications have been consistently delayed. Over time, investors lose patience and shift their attention. As a result, the prices of related tokens drop sharply. In the celebrity token sector, while the $Trump token was a highly discussed start, the decline in celebrity-driven momentum becomes evident in the token world: there is likely no public figure who can surpass Donald Trump in terms of influence and attention. Subsequent attempts by political leaders, influencers, and celebrities to follow suit have failed to replicate the initial excitement and market sentiment. As market interest wanes, the celebrity token sector has shown a temporary surge followed by a rapid decline, where interest rises quickly and fades just as fast. Investor confidence dissipates rapidly, and prices naturally follow the decline. The deeper issue behind these sectors' major volatility is that many projects are still stuck at the "concept speculation" level, lacking a real, sustainable revenue model. Whether it's AI Agents or celebrity tokens, their core narratives rely on fast-moving capital and hype, but they lack incentives for long-term user participation. When the hype dies down, the price may not be sustainable, and attracting new capital becomes increasingly challenging. Finding real revenue-generating projects To stand out in the current market with limited new narratives, the key is to find products that offer "real revenue" and are willing to "share it with users." Real revenue doesn’t just come from the price surge when a token is listed on an exchange but from continuous returns generated through actual business models and transactional behaviors. These returns should be fed back to token holders or ecosystem participants. Hyperliquid is an example that fits this model. Much like centralized exchanges, its revenue is primarily generated from contract trading fees, but Hyperliquid uses 100% of those fees to buy back its Hype token. Since transaction fees depend on trading volume, Hyperliquid closely links its token price to the product's performance. According to DefiLlama data, Hyperliquid processes around 45% of all Perps DEX's 24-hour trading volume. It currently handles $3.78B daily and generates approximately $1 million in revenue daily. Despite the market downturn, Hyperliquid continues to experience high trading volume, which has helped keep the Hype token price strong during the recent altcoin winter. No matter how hot a narrative may be, it will eventually fade. What will endure in the crypto market are projects with real product-market fit (PMF), strong user retention, and genuine revenue generation.