DeepSeek’s R1 AI model has taken the world by storm. Its performance and small capex have caused a seismic shift in the global AI race, plummeting US tech stocks. In particular, NVIDIA ($NVDA) is down 15% since DeepSeek R1’s launch. The Chiene AI lab has also caused significant volatility in the crypto market, with prices initially correcting in correlation with the US tech equities. However, experts anticipate that the intensifying AI race will be beneficial for the crypto market in the long run, particularly for the AI agent coins. Tech-savvy crypto investors are already using DeepSeek R1 to hunt for market alpha. To test the new AI model, we asked the best candidates for the next 100x crypto and received some interesting responses. DeepSeek’s Next 100x Cryptos DeepSeek considered innovative technology, strong use case, developer and community support, partnerships and adoption, market timing, regulatory compliance and market capitalization while picking its candidates for the next 100x crypto. Here are DeepSeek’s picks. Optimism ($OP) Ethereum layer-2 token Optimism turned out to be the Chinese AI’s top pick, a surprising selection considering it has underperformed other altcoins during this bull run. Regarding Optimism, DeepSeek claims “Optimism is a strong contender in the Layer 2 space, and its focus on scalability, ecosystem growth, and community governance makes it a project worth watching.” Despite $OP’s underperformance, it could be an attractive investment in the coming months. Smart money investors may view it as a beta play on Ethereum, which would bode well for its upside potential. For instance, MN Trading’s Michael van de Poppe is bullish on Optimism, citing the formation of a bullish divergence on its higher timeframe chart. However, it is unlikely OP could be the next 100x crypto, considering it already has a market capitalization of just under $2 billion. Render ($RENDER) DeepSeek picked another large-cap asset, Render (RNDR), as one of its top candidates for the next 100x crypto. Render is the leading provider of decentralized GPU-based rendering solutions, which is one of the key reasons why the new AI model is bullish on it. Indeed, smart money investors are bullish on Render as well — being a global marketplace of GPU computing power, the project has strong demand and could be one of the best long-term investments. Experts believe Render could reach a $30 billion market cap in the long run, which would mean 10x returns for new buyers. However, it is still unlikely that a $3 billion asset could be the next 100x crypto. Meme Index (MEMEX) We asked DeepSeek to consider low-cap crypto assets, considering they may have a better chance of delivering 100x returns. The AI picked several innovative projects with high upside potential. For instance, it picked Meme Index (MEMEX) , considering it is the first decentralized index fund for meme coins. The project allows MEMEX holders to tap into the broader meme coin market while spreading the risk. It will soon launch four baskets — Titan, Moonshot, Midcap and Frenzy — each with a different risk-reward ratio and designed for a wide variety of investors. Considering only MEMEX holders get to invest in the baskets, it is no surprise why the new meme coin is in high demand. Moreover, holders will get to vote on which tokens to include in each basket, which means they could potentially benefit from coins they otherwise would have missed out on. Besides DeepSeek, prominent crypto influencers are also bullish on MEMEX, with many now considering it the next 100x crypto. After all, it is a low-cap crypto that is still in the early stages of its presale .
