Is This Hot New AI Crypto a Millionaire-Maker?

By Dominic Basulto – Apr 20, 2026 at 2:30AM ESTKey PointsVenice is up more than 400% this year, largely on the basis of new hype around AI agents.While the performance of Venice this year has been impressive, it is still down more than 60% from its all-time high in 2025.Other hot AI cryptos have followed the same pattern of boom and bust, making Venice a highly speculative investment.Here we go again. A hot new artificial intelligence (AI) crypto -- Venice (VVV +0.22%) -- 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. ExpandCRYPTO: VVVVenice TokenToday's Change(0.22%) $0.02Current Price$9.16Key Data PointsMarket Cap$418MDay's Range$8.69 - $9.6752wk Range$0.92 - $9.90Volume20M 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 +0.43%), Render (RENDER +1.00%), Artificial Superintelligence Alliance (FET 2.66%), and Virtuals Protocol (VIRTUAL +0.99%). ExpandCRYPTO: RENDERRenderToday's Change(1.00%) $0.02Current Price$1.78Key Data PointsMarket Cap$921MDay's Range$1.72 - $1.8152wk Range$1.17 - $5.51Volume87M 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.Read NextApr 20, 2026 •By Dominic BasultoWhy Some Investors Are Buying Gold-Backed Cryptocurrency Instead of BitcoinApr 20, 2026 •By Alex CarchidiBetter Store of Value: Bitcoin vs. ZcashApr 20, 2026 •By Alex CarchidiCould This Under-the-Radar Cryptocurrency Set You Up for Life?Apr 19, 2026 •By Alex CarchidiThis Cryptocurrency Has Quietly Outperformed Bitcoin Over the Last YearApr 19, 2026 •By Dominic BasultoShiba Inu vs. Dogecoin: Which Meme Coin Is the Less Risky Bet?Apr 19, 2026 •By Alex CarchidiThe Crypto Market's Fear Index Is Flashing Red. Here's What Smart Investors Are Doing About It.About the AuthorDominic Basulto is a contributing Motley Fool crypto analyst covering cryptocurrencies, digital assets, and crypto-related companies. Prior to The Motley Fool, Dominic was a technology and innovation journalist at The Washington Post and Fortune. He holds a bachelor’s degree in politics from Princeton University and an MBA in finance from Yale School of Management.TMFCryptoDomX@dominicbasultoStocks MentionedVenice TokenCRYPTO: VVV$9.16(+0.22%)+$0.02FetchCRYPTO: FET$0.21(-2.66%)-$0.01RenderCRYPTO: RENDER$1.78(+1.00%)+$0.02Virtuals ProtocolCRYPTO: VIRTUAL$0.69(+0.99%)+$0.01BittensorCRYPTO: TAO$244.95(+0.43%)+$1.05*Average returns of all recommendations since inception. Cost basis and return based on previous market day close.