AI and Crypto: A Long-Term Showdown Ahead

Summary:
In a recent discussion on the PondTalk podcast, crypto researcher Murad Mahmudov articulated his views on the inevitable competition between artificial intelligence (AI) and cryptocurrencies. He predicts that the future economic landscape will be marked by an ongoing struggle between AI-driven centralization and blockchain-based decentralization, creating both conflict and opportunities for coexistence.

Key Takeaways

Murad Mahmudov sees an ongoing battle between AI and blockchain technologies shaping the future economy.
He believes this struggle will create significant challenges, including higher unemployment rates, particularly affecting young people.
Recent venture capital trends indicate a convergence between AI and crypto, suggesting they will work together in the future.
The core conflict focuses on the centralizing tendencies of AI versus the decentralizing nature of blockchain technology.
Mahmudov emphasizes that this technological evolution may extend over several decades.

The Dual Future: AI Agents Trading While Humans Protest

In his conversation, Mahmudov discussed two distinct paths emerging from the interaction between AI and cryptocurrencies. He explained, “AI agents themselves, AI-driven machines, robots, they’re going to be using these rails to kind of trade with one another and kind of send value to one another.”

However, he also highlighted the challenges faced by humans, indicating that without a universal basic income, society could see significant job losses. He referred to this situation as a “transitionary period,” projecting that it could last for several decades.

Mahmudov stated, “Blockchains will be a place where people will go to express their dissatisfaction, protest if you will, by way of voting with their money, so to speak,” emphasizing that this movement is still in its early stages. His assertions link advancing technology to increasing wealth inequality, underscoring that we are experiencing the “highest wealth inequality in 100 years, highest income inequality in 100 years.”

He warned that “young people are going to suffer disproportionately in the next 10 years,” noting the already elevated youth unemployment rates around the world. He pointed out generational disparities, suggesting that older generations have reaped the benefits of globalization, while younger people are facing job losses due to AI just as they graduate from school.

“Who’s going to be on the hook for this ultimately? Young people,” Mahmudov said, referencing the long-standing debt and declining interest rates that have favored older generations.

Venture Capital Validates AI-Crypto Convergence Theory

Recent investment trends lend credibility to Mahmudov’s theory of a technological intersection rather than a direct confrontation. Crypto venture funding witnessed a remarkable 290% increase in Q3 2025, totaling $4.65 billion, marking the most substantial quarter since early 2023, based on data from Galaxy Digital.

AI-driven crypto tools attracted a significant share of this investment, in addition to stablecoins and blockchain infrastructure. Notably, investment was heavily weighted towards established companies, with just seven transactions accounting for half of the total capital invested across 414 venture deals.

Coinbase Ventures recently highlighted AI-powered on-chain development tools as a focal investment area for 2026, referring to them as the smart contract development’s “GitHub Copilot moment.” The firm also acknowledged AI robotics data collection as a long-term goal, suggesting decentralized physical infrastructure networks could provide means for improving training data collection for robotic systems.

General Partner Jonathan King noted that these tools might enable non-technical founders to launch on-chain businesses within hours, thanks to automated code generation and security reviews.

Centralization Versus Decentralization: The Core Conflict

The essential conflict identified by Mahmudov centers on the control dynamics between AI and blockchain technologies. He explained, “The coming decades in some ways will be somewhat of an arms race between the centralizing forces of AI on one side and the decentralizing forces of cryptography on the other.” This illustrates AI as a technology that tends to concentrate power and blockchain as a technology that facilitates its distribution.

Mahmudov rejected oversimplified views of technological collaboration, recognizing an inherent structural opposition between systems designed to accumulate power and those crafted to disperse it. He framed this ongoing battle within a broader economic context he describes as “hyperfinancialization,” a trend that emerged in the 1970s.

“Everything is getting hyperfinancialized,” he stated, pointing out that this phenomenon goes beyond traditional assets. He finds interest in the prospect of tokenizing or financializing intangible concepts such as community, spirituality, and culture. “The biggest market in the world, in my opinion, isn’t food derivatives, transport, or energy. It’s the market dedicated to reducing psychological suffering,” he argued.

The timeline Mahmudov proposed suggests we are in the early chapters of a long saga. “I think that story is still unfolding, and we’ll see more of it in the coming years,” he concluded.