ChatGPT bandwagon fueling new crypto fad

Count on crypto fans to jump on any burgeoning trend as fast as they can.

Since OpenAI’s artificial intelligence chatbot known as ChatGPT became an internet phenomenon, little-known artificial intelligence-related cryptocurrencies such as SingularityDAO, SingularityNET and Artificial Liquid Intelligence have skyrocketed — for no apparent reason except their tenuous ties to AI.

ChatGPT has shown its prowess in everything from writing poems in the style of Shakespeare to creating stock portfolios. And while Microsoft is investing billions in OpenAI, Google has demonstrated its new artificial intelligence chatbot Bard after coming under pressure from ChatGPT’s popularity.

For market watchers with long memories, the new mania around AI-related cryptocurrency is reminiscent of other obsessions in the sector. This includes the phase when a bunch of companies jumped on the “blockchain” bandwagon by reinventing themselves — at least on paper — into crypto-related firms. Perhaps the starkest example was Farmingdale beverage maker Long Island Iced Tea, which changed its name to Long Blockchain in December 2017 to invest in blockchain technology and bitcoin mining equipment. While its stock initially surged, shares soon crashed and the stock was delisted.

“We have seen it repeatedly throughout history from adding dot-com to your name, or more recently employing a variation of Bitcoin or crypto,” said Michael O’Rourke, chief market strategist at JonesTrading. “Now to combine the fad tactics of the equity market with already uber-speculative crypto market is a recipe for disaster for those speculating.”