Bitwise CEO: AI Achieves 'A Quarter's Roadmap Every Two Weeks'
At the NEARCON 2026 conference in San Francisco, Bitwise CEO Hunter Horsley positioned artificial intelligence as the most significant tailwind for the crypto industry. He described AI as an “unstoppable freight train” whose development pace outstrips anything seen in previous technology cycles. “AI is accomplishing a quarter’s worth of roadmap every two weeks right now,” Horsley stated, arguing that the rapid proliferation of autonomous AI agents will create immediate demand for new financial infrastructure.
Horsley's core thesis is that these agents will require crypto-native tools to operate effectively. He reasoned that users would not authorize an AI with direct access to a credit card, but would instead provision it with stablecoins to transact on public blockchains. “If there’s one space that will be an unmitigated benefactor of the adoption proliferation of AI, it will be public blockchains and crypto assets,” he concluded, framing the trend as a direct driver for crypto adoption.
Haun Ventures Questions if Crypto Rails Are Essential for AI
Pushing back on this bullish outlook, Diogo Monica, General Partner at Haun Ventures and co-founder of Anchorage Digital, challenged the premise that AI requires crypto to function. He argued that it's a logical leap to assume a highly advanced intelligence could not navigate and utilize existing financial systems. “You are telling me that a superhuman intelligence cannot use the current payment rails, the current credit cards, the current instant settlement, to pay for things and to figure it out on their own,” Monica questioned.
While expressing caution, Monica did not dismiss the relationship entirely, noting the two technologies are complementary. “AI creates digital abundance and crypto versus digital scarcity,” he acknowledged, suggesting that blockchain's verification and privacy features could help solve problems introduced by AI. However, his remarks temper the narrative that crypto is the default financial layer for an AI-driven future, presenting a more nuanced view for investors weighing the convergence thesis.
Edgen Crypto·Feb 25 2026, 01:36