The future of cryptocurrency is taking a new shape. Traditionally, blockchain networks were designed with human users in mind, but according to some in the industry, the next wave of adoption might come from artificial intelligence $AI agents, not people.
With AI technologies advancing rapidly, especially after significant announcements like NVIDIA's at CES 2025, many in the crypto world are starting to envision a transformative shift where machines, not humans, dominate blockchain networks. This prediction hinges on the idea that AI agents could outnumber human users onchain long before the billion-human mark is reached.
One of the main reasons behind this shift is the inherent friction in crypto's user experience (UX). Unlike humans, AI agents don't mind navigating complex interfaces and technical barriers that typically deter everyday users. "Crypto has inherently unfriendly UX for human users. Agents do not care about this friction," says Evan, an ecosystem lead at Monad. His perspective reflects the growing confidence in AI's ability to drive blockchain adoption in ways humans might struggle with.
Projects like Virtuals have already shown signs of this shift, with AI-driven initiatives generating significant revenue—$60 million, to be exact. Meanwhile, tokenized AI agents, such as those tied to AI16z, have seen a meteoric rise in demand.
However, this change could also impact the larger socio-economic landscape. Delphi Labs, a Web3 research group, argues that while AI holds the potential for transformative benefits, it could also be monopolized by big tech companies or governments. By integrating AI into crypto, the decentralized nature of blockchain could prevent such centralization, offering users and developers more control.
A glimpse of this transformation is already visible with projects like Wayfinder, which enables AI agents to autonomously interact with blockchain networks, indicating that the future of crypto could indeed be powered by machines more than people. As the industry continues to explore this emerging paradigm, the collision of AI and blockchain could reshape the crypto landscape in profound ways.
