Bitcoin held near $63,600 after the latest US inflation figures aligned with expectations, pushing the total cryptocurrency market capitalization to approximately $2.18 trillion as traders assessed signals from the Federal Reserve. While major digital assets remained range-bound—Bitcoin trading between $63,500 and $64,000 and Ethereum hovering around $1,880—selective strength emerged in AI-linked tokens. The outperformance of AI-themed tokens during a low-volatility period for majors reflects a pattern observed throughout 2024 and 2025, where narratives tied to artificial intelligence have repeatedly drawn speculative capital even when broader market direction remains unclear.

Velvet (VELVET) climbed more than 19% over the past 24 hours to trade near $0.67, with its price reaching as high as $0.75. Virtuals Protocol (VIRTUAL) advanced 10.3% to $0.59. The gains stood out against a broader market showing little directional follow-through and underscore how AI-crypto crossover projects continue to attract attention as major AI platforms see accelerating enterprise adoption.

Velvet: AI-Powered On-Chain Operating System

Velvet is an AI-powered operating system for on-chain research, trading, and portfolio management. The platform operates across BNB Chain, Base, Solana, Ethereum, and Sonic, and supports more than 100,000 users. It offers a multi-agent AI co-pilot that enables participants to discover and execute strategies using natural language. This multi-agent architecture aligns with a broader industry trend in which teams are moving beyond single-chatbot models toward systems where specialized agents handle distinct tasks such as research, execution, and risk monitoring.

VELVET's 24-hour trading volume surpassed $25 million as the token rose nearly 20%, peaking at $0.75. Technical price action showed signs of consolidation, with buyers defending the $0.65 zone and attention focused on whether a sustained move above $0.70 could enable further upside.

$VELVET /USDT Price is consolidating in a tight range after a strong recovery, with buyers defending the $0.658–$0.660 support zone. Bulls are trying to reclaim the $0.70 resistance A clean breakout above $0.704 could open the path toward $0.75. But losing $0.658 could… pic.twitter.com/qmGfEYyK6Q — Crypto With Gopal (@cryptowithgopal) August 13, 2026

Virtuals Protocol: Infrastructure for Co-Owned AI Agents

Virtuals Protocol focuses on infrastructure for co-owned AI agents and virtual interactions, operating primarily on Base and Solana. The VIRTUAL token's recent 10% advance was accompanied by elevated trading activity, reflecting continued interest in projects that allow users to deploy and own AI agents with on-chain economics. The concept of tokenized, co-owned AI agents has emerged as a distinct subsector within the AI-crypto category, where ownership and revenue rights are represented on-chain rather than through traditional equity or subscription models.

The selective momentum in AI and DeFi tooling has also directed attention toward Web3 infrastructure projects that remain in early fundraising stages.

LiquidChain Layer 3 Project Approaches $1 Million Presale Milestone

LiquidChain (LIQUID) is developing a Layer 3 execution environment designed to connect Bitcoin's capital, Ethereum's DeFi liquidity, and Solana's transaction speed within a single high-performance virtual machine. The architecture relies on trust-minimized state verification and cross-chain proofs, intended to allow assets to move and interact without traditional wrapping. Cross-chain interoperability remains one of the most active areas of infrastructure development in crypto, with multiple teams—ranging from established bridging protocols to newer Layer 2 and Layer 3 networks—competing to reduce the friction and risk associated with moving assets between chains.

Unified liquidity pools are planned to provide traders with access to deeper markets across all three chains, while developers could deploy once and reach users across all supported networks. The design targets real-time DeFi applications, meme coins, and prediction markets that currently face fragmented liquidity and elevated bridging friction.

Ethereum. Solana. Bitcoin. Different worlds. United. ⟁ pic.twitter.com/Rc12mn0zTp — LiquidChain (@getliquidchain) August 9, 2026

The ongoing LIQUID presale has raised more than $938,000 toward a target just above $1 million. Tokens are currently priced at $0.01489, with the sale advancing through successive stages. An optional staking feature is available at purchase, offering rewards at approximately 1,204% APY drawn from a dedicated 10% allocation of LIQUID's 11.8 billion total supply. The project reports that 49 million LIQUID tokens have already been locked through staking. Presale-stage projects typically carry heightened risk relative to established tokens, as their networks and token utilities are often not yet fully deployed.

With major cryptocurrencies range-bound and capital rotating toward projects demonstrating concrete technical progress, LiquidChain's Layer 3 interoperability model positions itself as a response to the fragmentation that currently limits capital efficiency across leading blockchains. Whether such unified-liquidity architectures gain traction will depend on execution, security auditing, and the ability to attract sustained developer and user activity across each connected chain.