A brief post by Elon Musk claiming Tesla would be among the first companies to build artificial general intelligence sent a wave through the decentralized AI token market this week.
Musk posted the remark early Tuesday on X, saying Tesla “will be one of the companies to make AGI and probably the first to make it in humanoid/atom-shaping form.”
Markets were swiftly moved by the post. Data from NS3 shows that a number of blockchain-based AI tokens had increased significantly in just one day. Virtuals Protocol and Bittensor (TAO) both increased by 7.4%. Kite increased 6.6%, and Internet Computer (ICP) increased 6.4%. A lesser increase of 4.7% was reported by the Artificial Superintelligence Alliance (FET).
Not all tokens connected to AI participated in the rally. The sector’s overall performance was uneven, with some tokens experiencing little to no movement. The advantages have mostly diminished since then. As of right now, the total market cap for AI and Big Data tokens sits at $15.09B while the volume has dropped by 8.10%.
A $6 billion token unlock is on the way
However, more cautious onlookers are interested in what will happen next. The cryptocurrency market is about to enter what might be the biggest token unlocking month of the year. The entire value of tokens that are set to become openly tradable in March 2026 is predicted to surpass $6 billion, according to data from CryptoRank. It is the largest unlock event of the year thus far because that number is about three times the usual monthly average.
Large unlocks can also unsettle investors. Early backers who have been waiting for their tokens may choose to lock in profits once they can finally sell. That kind of selling, if it comes in volume, can push prices down even in projects with strong reputations.
For professional traders, moments like this, when retail enthusiasm is running high on news like Musk’s AGI post, can look like a chance to exit positions. Some analysts see this kind of overlap between hype cycles and large supply events as a signal that a distribution phase may be underway, where early holders offload holdings to later buyers. However, the result is still up in the air since prices do not always decrease when tokens are unlocked.
Demand might be sufficient to absorb the new coins with minimal disturbance if the market as a whole is doing well when the unlocks in March. The increased supply could exacerbate downward pressure in a weaker market. It’s likely that traders, institutional players, and investors are already keeping an eye on the calendar to see which particular projects are issuing tokens and how much liquidity is available at any given time.
