"DeepSeek AI's R1 Model Shakes US Tech, Boosts Crypto's AI Hopes"

DeepSeek AI, a Chinese AI lab, has made waves in the global AI race with its R1 model, which boasts impressive performance and minimal capital expenditure. This has led to a significant drop in US tech stocks, with NVIDIA ($NVDA) experiencing a 15% decline since the model's launch. The crypto market has also seen initial price corrections in correlation with US tech equities, but experts anticipate that the intensifying AI race will ultimately benefit the crypto market, particularly for AI-related coins.

Tech-savvy crypto investors are already leveraging DeepSeek R1 to hunt for market alpha, and the AI model has been put to the test to identify the next 100x cryptocurrencies. DeepSeek considered factors such as innovative technology, strong use cases, developer and community support, partnerships and adoption, market timing, regulatory compliance, and market capitalization when selecting its candidates.

One of DeepSeek's top picks is Optimism ($OP), an Ethereum layer-2 token that has underperformed other altcoins during the current bullish phase. Despite this, DeepSeek believes that Optimism's focus on scalability, ecosystem growth, and community governance makes it a project worth watching. Although $OP's market capitalization is already close to $2 billion, it could still become an attractive investment in the coming months, potentially serving as a beta play on Ethereum.

Another large-cap asset selected by DeepSeek is Render ($RENDER), the leading provider of decentralized GPU-based rendering solutions. Smart money investors are also bullish on Render, with experts predicting that it could reach a $30 billion market cap in the long run, representing 10x returns for new buyers. However, it is still unlikely that a $3 billion asset could be the next 100x crypto.

DeepSeek also considered low-cap crypto assets and picked Meme Index (MEMEX) as a potential candidate for 100x returns. MEMEX is the first decentralized index fund for meme coins, allowing holders to tap into the broader meme coin market while spreading the risk. The project will soon launch four baskets with different risk-reward ratios, catering to a wide variety of investors. Prominent crypto influencers are also bullish on MEMEX, with many considering it the next 100x crypto due to its low market capitalization and