Crypto AI token rally persists, ignited by NVIDIA AI conference

Crypto market participants have their eyes peeled as NVIDIA kicks off its annual GPU technology conference (GTC) on Monday. Traders are looking for information on NVIDIA’s Artificial Intelligence (AI) initiatives, partnerships and details on its B100 Blackwell, the most capable AI GPU, which could be relevant to miners as they boost the efficient processing of blockchain transactions. 

Crypto AI tokens are rallying, with some assets such as Render (RNDR), Bittensor (TAO), SingularityNET (AGIX), Fetch.AI (FET), and AIOZ Network (AIOZ), yielding double-digit gains on the day. 

Also read: Altcoins to restart the uptrend with Nvidia's AI conference

What is NVIDIA GTC/AI conference 

NVIDIA GTC conference is scheduled for March 18 to 21. This three-day event, which is key to the Artificial Intelligence narrative and crypto traders, will feature workshops and, keynote addresses. It is also likely to include details of NVIDIA’s partnerships and information on upcoming product releases. 

AI-related tokens have been closely following developments and updates from NVIDIA since the firm’s Q4 earnings report. The so-called AI narrative in the crypto market has been gathering steam ahead of the conference, with AI tokens like AGIX, RNDR, TAO, OCEAN and AKT registering further gains amid the anticipation surrounding details on the B100 Blackwell GPU. 

Several industry leaders like OpenAI, Microsoft, Amazon, and Google are participating in NVIDIA’s conference and this could help identify the firm’s initiatives and partnerships this year and in 2025.

NVIDIA’s B100 Blackwell GPU-related announcements could impact crypto mining

NVIDIA’s influence on crypto has deepened with the relationship between GPUs from the firm and their impact on crypto mining profitability. The firm’s GPUs boost miner’s ability to process transactions and tackle cryptographic computations. 

The latest chips from NVIDIA can help enhance miner profitability and operations, contributing to the security of blockchain networks.

The chipmaker’s B100 chip could be the most capable AI GPU in the industry, leaving Chinese competitors behind, according to a Reuters report. The project is an upgrade of the H200 chip that will be available in 2024, as per the firm’s development roadmap released in October 2023. 

The H200 GPU, when paired with HBM3e memory chips, will boost computational power for miners, one of the key features that determines mining profitability. Subsequently, smart contract networks and the Bitcoin blockchain could benefit from the chip’s release. 

Will GTC feature any discussions or presentations related to crypto projects using AI?

NEAR Protocol and Render Network’s executives are expected to attend the NVIDIA conference and speak at the event. 

RNDR price hit a new all-time high on Monday, at $13.60. Data from crypto intelligence tracker Spotonchain shows that three large wallet addresses deposited their RNDR token holdings to centralized exchanges, likely to take profits. 

A whale wallet deposited 1 million RNDR tokens, worth $11.3 million, to Binance less than a day ago. The estimated profit of the whale is $24.08 million, a nearly 387% gain. The second and third wallets tracked by SpotonChain jointly deposited 1.5 million RNDR to Coinbase; these holdings are worth $19.5 million. 

What experts expect from AI and its impact on crypto

Analysts from Wedbush Securities commented on the NVIDIA AI conference. Analysts said,

We expect NVDA’s new Blackwell architecture will provide significant performance gains vs. Hopper. NVDA presented the H100 as delivering up to 9X faster training and 30X faster inference performance vs. the A100 (the previous version.)

According to these analysts, the management has characterized demand for B100 will exceed supply capabilities significantly. 

Meltem Demirors, crypto proponent and investor said in a recent tweet on X,

...I would LOVE to see closer, more formal alignment between NVIDIA and the crypto ecosystem - 2017 was a banner year for NVIDIA thanks to GPU demand from ETH miners.

Crypto influencer behind the X handle @rektfencer shared a list of AI projects that he is watching ahead of the conference.