Grayscale has taken an exciting step forward by enhancing its quarterly watch list for the first quarter of 2025, showcasing a variety of artificial intelligence (AI) and decentralized finance (DeFi) tokens that investors might find intriguing. In a research note released on December 30, the asset management firm highlighted six new tokens: Hyperliquid (HYPE), Ethena (ENA), Virtuals (VIRTUAL), Jupiter (JUP), Jito (JTO), and Grass (GRASS).
Key Trends in the Industry
These new additions reflect three key trends currently shaping the industry: a more positive regulatory environment in the United States, groundbreaking developments in the decentralized AI space, and the ongoing growth of the Solana ecosystem. Grayscale pointed out that two of the fresh entries—Virtuals and Grass—are dedicated to AI solutions. In contrast, Hyperliquid stands out as a high-performance layer-1 network. Ethena, as well as Jupiter and Jito, are positioned within the DeFi sector, with both Jupiter and Jito rooted in the Solana blockchain.
Ongoing Market Themes
Beyond these newcomers, Grayscale remains committed to themes that continue to resonate in the market, such as the evolution of Ethereum scaling solutions, the increasing trend of tokenization, and advancements in decentralized physical infrastructure (DePIN). Such ongoing interests are evident in the sustained presence of Optimism (OP), Chainlink (LINK), and Helium (HNT) on their watch list.
Emerging Competitors
Furthermore, Grayscale noted that smart contract platforms like Ethereum (ETH), Solana (SOL), Avalanche (AVAX), and Sui (SUI) are becoming more competitive in the digital asset space. The firm highlighted that the emergence of alternative layer-1 blockchain networks has played a significant role in Ethereum’s underwhelming performance against its rivals throughout 2024.
Overall, Grayscale’s updated watch list not only showcases its new picks but also reinforces its commitment to staying abreast of significant trends within the evolving landscape of digital assets.
Source: Cointelegraph
