Over the past week (October 27 to November 2, 2025), the crypto market has been trending lower amid volatility despite mainstream funds flowing back into the emerging narrative sector. Concepts such as AI, privacy tokens, and layer 2 have seen significant momentum shifts, with several small- and mid-cap tokens delivering impressive performances.
Multiple sectors listed on HTX are thriving simultaneously, driving a sustained increase in trading activity on the platform. Specifically, the AI narrative regained momentum amid the x402 protocol boom, while the privacy space has seen a strong comeback led by veteran investors. AI and privacy have simultaneously emerged as two growth engines in this market cycle.
The resurgence of AI narratives: Dark, gaming, and virtual take the lead
The AI sector was definitely the focus this week. The rise of the x402 protocol has reignited on-chain enthusiasm for AI narratives. The protocol, launched by Coinbase, aims to give AI agents direct access to services through on-chain micropayments, laying the foundation for an “AI self-pay economy.” Its rapid emergence has fueled a market frenzy around a series of projects dubbed “AI & x402.”
● DARK (Dark Eclipse): As one of the few projects in the Solana ecosystem that integrates both AI and x402 applications, DARK surged 110% this week, making it the top gainer. The recent breakout of AI-related assets in Solana has seen DARK’s trading volume more than triple, making it the leading asset in the current wave of AI stories.
● GAME (GAME by Virtuals): Base AI sector GAME continued its strong momentum with an 80% rise this week. As Virtuals Protocol’s AI agent token, GAME is built on the Base ecosystem and has dual “AI” and “x402” tags, combining strong trading activity with substantial conceptual potential.
● VIRTUAL: 30% increase and stable performance. As the x402 ecosystem matures, VIRTUAL is poised to become a flagship project in the AI + virtual assets space.
This Thursday, HTX will launch a limited-time spot trading carnival, distributing 20,000 USDT via airdrop to reward active traders. This campaign covers the hottest AI and x402 ecosystem tokens this week. Users can share 20,000 USDT in airdrops by trading popular spot pairs including GIGGLE, VIRTUAL, KITE, PAYAI, BLUAI, PING, PALU. I
Hot Token List Winners—October 27 – November 2, 2025
Privacy stands out: DASH and ZEC make a strong comeback
●DASH: Up 77% this week, leading the privacy sector. Known for its “hybrid privacy + instant payment” model, DASH has distinct advantages in payment network restructuring and on-chain payments. The recent community-driven DASH Evolution upgrade has rekindled market confidence in the project’s long-term potential.
● ZEC (Zcash): Up 20% this week, marking a strong rebound for this veteran privacy token. One of the pioneering privacy tokens, ZEC is built on zero-knowledge proofs (zk-SNARKs) technology and continues to provide foundational support for on-chain privacy protection.
Layer 2 and derivatives: ZK and ASTER make steady progress
● ZK (ZKsync): Soared 70% this week and represents Layer 2. The ZK ecosystem has made strides in rollups, cross-chain interoperability, and privacy enhancements, and infrastructure improvements like zkEVM and zkBridge have facilitated capital inflows. As Ethereum’s scaling roadmap enters a new phase, investors are reevaluating the medium- to long-term value of ZK-related assets.
● ASTER (Aster): Up 20% this week, an outstanding performance in decentralized perpetual trading (PerpDEX). The PerpDEX sector is primarily driven by trading volume and market volatility. As activity in the derivatives market increases, ASTER steadily expanded its user base through its low-commission, high-leverage product mechanism.
AI and privacy resonate, intensifying structural market rotation
Overall, AI and privacy emerged this week as two key factors driving market recovery. The former represents an effort to push the boundaries of innovation and efficiency, while the latter represents both a firm commitment and return to a decentralized ethos. From the explosive rise of DARK to the resurgence of DASH and ZEC, the market is witnessing the convergence and resonance of new and traditional narratives.
About HTX
Founded in 2013, HTX (formerly Huobi) has evolved from a virtual asset exchange to a comprehensive ecosystem of blockchain businesses spanning digital asset trading, financial derivatives, research, investment, incubation, and other businesses.
As the world’s leading gateway to Web3, HTX has global capabilities that allow us to provide secure and reliable services to our users. HTX adheres to the growth strategy of “Global Expansion, Thriving Ecosystem, Asset Effectiveness, Security and Compliance” and is dedicated to providing quality service and value to virtual asset enthusiasts around the world.
To learn more about HTX, visit https://www.htx.com/ or HTX Square, and follow HTX on X, Telegram, and Discord. For further inquiries, please contact (email protected).
