"Chinese AI Giants Shake Crypto Market: DeepSeek Models Spark Sell-Off"

The cryptocurrency market has witnessed significant fluctuations in the AI sector over the past 24 hours, with the market capitalization of AI altcoins declining by 10.4%. This downturn is attributed to the launch of two large models, DeepSeek-V3 and DeepSeek-R1, by the Chinese startup DeepSeek. These models are positioned as direct competitors to major players like OpenAI, offering superior performance at significantly lower costs. Market analysts have expressed concerns over the potential impact of these developments, leading to drops in US stock index futures during early Asian trading sessions.

Several AI-related cryptocurrencies have experienced notable declines. RENDER, for instance, has dropped 10.4% and is currently trading at $6.28. VIRTUAL has seen losses of 18.3%, now priced at $2.05. GRIFFAIN fell 25.7% to $0.3094, and ARC reported a decrease of 27.1%, now valued at $0.2631. The AI Agents subsector has seen a drop of around 20% in total market cap, with ai16z down 15.6% to $0.6976, COOKIE down 18.4% to $0.2734, and LMT down 29.5% to $0.1033.

The release of DeepSeek's models has raised concerns about the potential disruption of the tech market by Chinese AI models. As a result, US stock index futures experienced a sharp drop in early Asian trading on Monday. Market participants are closely monitoring the situation as the AI sector continues to evolve and adapt to new developments.