$PAYAI Explodes to $10M Market Cap Amid Rumors of Visa Backing and Surging Inflows

The altcoin market is starting to show renewed strength, and $PAYAI is one of the few tokens that is making that shift very clear. In the last 24 hours, $PAYAI has had a sharp move upward and even briefly reached a $10 million market cap. There seems to be a combo of probable reasons behind the rally: 1. Speculation 2. Growing on-chain momentum 3. Rumors of institutional interest This is wild. $PAYAI just wicked to $10M market cap because the head of crypto @Visa has followed them and apparently is backing them (rumours). Altcoin markets are heating up, and this is just the start of the madness we’ll see when altseason hits. @PayAINetwork pic.twitter.com/lAurQCtQZb — nordin.eth (@nordin_eth) May 18, 2025 The best known of those institutions is reportedly Visa, since its Head of Crypto is now said to be following and possibly supporting the project. Fueled by an intriguing payments-focused AI narrative, $PAYAI has not only snared traders’ attention but also built up some significant capital inflows across decentralized exchanges and private wallets. The force of this surge has been applied just as investors have started rotating back into small-cap plays, with an eye to a grossly inflated next altseason, if some in the space are to be believed. Visa Connection Fuels Speculation as Capital Floods In A big part of what has caused $PAYAI to shoot up recently looks to be rumors that Visa, if not the payments giant itself, is backing the project. Speculation on this front started after the Head of Crypto at Visa followed the $PAYAI account on social media. Traders interpreted this as a possible endorsement, at the very least, of $PAYAI and an indicator that Vice may be aware that $PAYAI exists. While no official announcement has verified Visa’s engagement, the mere implication was enough to create forward movement. Investors rapidly started to enter the token, with decentralized exchange (DEX) data showing total inflows of $193,620 over the past 24 hours. That number is 24 times the project’s recent average daily inflow and signifies much improved market perception. In early-stage cryptocurrency projects, as is often the case, it is not only fundamentals that can influence price but also the narratives that are associated with a project. In this regard, the story that $PAYAI has and its direct and indirect connections to real-world payment infrastructure — especially pertaining to AI-powered settlements — puts it in a pretty good place to take advantage of current market opportunities. On-Chain Data Shows Heavy Accumulation by Key Wallet Segments Apart from the speculative storyline, blockchain analysts see influential market players backing $PAYAI. Accumulation across different wallet types has jumped in the past 30 days, indicating a widespread show of confidence in the project. The top 100 holders increased their allocations by 70.8%. This shows that either backers who are in it for the long term or early whales continue to accumulate. Also, wallets that are often labeled as “smart money” — meaning professional or algorithmic investors — have upped their exposure to this token by 50.7%. That is a signal that sophisticated actors are starting to see the token’s potential upside. In the same period, wallets tied to well-known people and influential figures registered an astonishing 425% increase in holdings, which could account for some of the inflated social media chatter. And then there are the whales — those wallets that hold an inordinate amount of the crypto asset. Over the last six months, they increased their holdings by 198% — usually a signal that retail interest is right around the corner. $PAYAI had a DEX inflow of $193.62K in the last 24h (24x the recent average). What are holders doing in the last 30d? – Top 100 holders: +70.8% – Smart Money: +50.7% – Public Figures: +425% – Whales: +198% Meanwhile, price has more than 5x’d from April lows. pic.twitter.com/DEcywr9Zzm — Nansen (@nansen_ai) May 19, 2025 This appearance of confidence is increasingly held not just by retail investors, but by large institutions, influencers, and other big holders. This is a clear sign that Bitcoin is becoming more than just a speculative asset — that it is maturing, in some way, into something much more structurally significant in the altcoin space. Price Action Reflects Momentum: Over 5x Since April Lows Capital flowing in, combined with a powerful narrative and the accumulation of holders, has driven the price of $PAYAI up. Since it hit its lows of the month in April, it’s up more than 500%, which translates into some significant gains for anyone who was along for the ride from the very start. At this point, with the kind of gains indicated above, $PAYAI very much looks like it’s emerging from the niche into the breakout performer category. Although the swift appreciation invites skepticism about its sustainability, the altcoin market as a whole is once again attracting attention, and small-cap tokens boasting solid use cases are enjoying renewed interest. $PAYAI links to AI, real-world payments, and plausible institutional recognition in a way that places it among the small-cap coins with the best shots of reaping the benefits of crypto gaining risk-on status again. Nevertheless, just as with all nascent plays, volatility is a prime risk factor. Traders and investors are likely to keep a close eye on whether the whispers about the potential involvement of Visa might be coalescing into something more substantial and whether the project has the wherewithal to keep a rising profile amid intensifying scrutiny. At present, $PAYAI is very much on the radar — not merely as a speculative vehicle, but as something that could actually emerge as a frontrunner in the developing nexus between artificial intelligence and worldwide payments infrastructure. Disclosure: This is not trading or investment advice. Always do your research before buying any cryptocurrency or investing in any services. Follow us on Twitter @nulltxnews to stay updated with the latest Crypto, NFT, AI, Cybersecurity, Distributed Computing, and Metaverse news !

Source: NullTx