Why Crypto Enthusiasts Should Shift Their Focus to Artificial Intelligence

The crypto industry has long positioned itself as the next major technological revolution. However, with the rapid rise of artificial intelligence, it's time for crypto to acknowledge the truth: AI is the true technological revolution of our era, and crypto will play a secondary role. This doesn't diminish the importance of the crypto industry or the quality of its innovations. As someone who has pioneered institutional investing in Bitcoin and operated and invested in numerous on-chain companies, as well as earned a Ph.D. in AI, I believe that building intelligent systems to solve real-world problems should be the primary mission, regardless of whether blockchain technology is involved. DeFi is the only segment of the crypto industry that has demonstrated real value, with its better engineering, programmability, and composability. Stablecoins and tokenization have shown exceptional product-market fit and remain crypto's most tangible demonstration of value to date. As a result, institutions are taking notice, and companies like BlackRock, Robinhood, and Coinbase are building out crypto products in anticipation of imminent regulatory clarity. Meanwhile, the demand for AI products and services far exceeds that of pure crypto applications. This is why the meme 'if you're in crypto, pivot to AI' has gained traction. AI is already improving productivity and transforming industries worldwide, whereas crypto has struggled to find mainstream use cases beyond speculation and gambling. The disconnect between token values and actual technological utility has been a sobering reality for crypto, with recent memecoin activity and 'crime szn' highlighting the weakness of crypto as a standalone industry. However, this doesn't mean crypto is doomed. Blockchain and crypto protocols may become essential components of a future AI tech stack, serving as infrastructure underlying AI-first products and services. Consider ways to make AI more affordable, such as distributed computing power for training and inference, verifiable computation and data provenance, tokenized access to computational resources, decentralized storage of training data, and transparent reward mechanisms for contribution. For founders and teams currently focused on crypto-native applications, this represents both a challenge and an opportunity. The challenge is expanding beyond the crypto ecosystem, while the opportunity is participating in the genuine technological revolution that AI represents. Teams need to start thinking bigger, asking themselves how AI can transform their target market and how crypto technology can help enable that transformation. This means fundamentally changing how we approach building and marketing crypto products. Instead of starting with tokenization or blockchains, begin with real-world problems that AI can solve, and then identify where decentralized systems can enhance the AI. Leverage crypto where it makes sense, but keep the focus on delivering value through intelligence and automation. Companies can use blockchains to create decentralized marketplaces for critical processes, making AI more accessible and cost-effective. Agents can use cryptographic verification or privacy systems to safely and securely act on our behalf online. In both cases, crypto serves the larger goal of making AI systems more effective and trustworthy. The companies that will thrive in this new landscape are those that understand the dynamic between crypto and AI. They will either build AI-first products that incorporate crypto where it adds value or build crypto services designed to improve AI-based products or services. Ultimately, this is about properly understanding the relationship between crypto and AI. The future belongs to AI as the primary framework, with crypto playing a supporting role. For the crypto industry, this is a moment of truth and a profound recalibration. We can either cling to the narrative of crypto as a standalone revolution or embrace its supporting role in serving AI. The latter may be less glamorous, but it's ultimately more likely to create real lasting value and impact. The sooner we accept this reality, the better positioned we'll be to contribute meaningfully to the technological transformation that's already underway. It's time for the crypto industry to think bigger than itself.