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AI + Crypto, these four words seem to be the strongest narrative magic of 2024. The AI boom led by OpenAI and Anthropic, combined with the gaming scenarios of crypto assets, has led countless projects, KOLs, and investors to place their bets; the AI narrative has instantly become mainstream. However, we must calmly ask: Is AI + Crypto a speculative collage of pseudo-demand, or a structural entry to the next bull market?
1. Do AI and Crypto really need each other?
From a fundamental perspective, AI and Crypto are essentially two completely different technological systems:
AI is a centralized learning system: It gains advantages through data concentration, model stacking, and computing power monopoly, essentially representing a trend towards centralization.
Crypto is a decentralized incentive system: It emphasizes individual trust, resistance to censorship, and on-chain transparency, essentially representing a decentralized structure.
This opposing structure leads to a non-natural fusion of the two. Many AI + Crypto projects simply layer a blockchain over an AI model or add an 'AI recommendation system' to a Crypto protocol, more for the sake of storytelling than substance.
2. What are the real necessities?
Even though most projects are being hyped, there are still three types of scenarios that have actual value:
1. Decentralized computing power market (DePIN): Projects like Render and io.net, which combine GPU resource needs in AI training with crypto incentives, are directions with significant practical value;
2. Data labeling and verification economy: AI training relies on massive amounts of data, and on-chain incentives (like AIOZ, Gensyn) can guide the crowd to participate in labeling, verification, and training;
3. On-chain model ownership and inference records: Ensuring model usage transparency and version immutability is a real necessity for fields such as finance and healthcare.
These are not 'AI tokens'; rather, Crypto truly fills the structural gaps of AI.
3. Why does it still have narrative value?
Whether you are an investor or a builder, you cannot ignore one fact: Bull markets are a game of narrative. As long as there is a 'storytelling' ability, the market will pay.
The technological dividends of AI have not yet been fully realized in Web3. Before capital finds 'the next Ethereum,' AI + Crypto is one of the grand narratives that best fits the context of the era. It captivates humanity's imagination of the future rather than practical application scenarios.
This is also why we see projects like Bittensor (TAO), Fetch.ai, Numerai, etc., achieving high market values despite their complex structures—they meet the dual standards of speculative narrative and grand vision.
4. How to participate in this wave?
1. Don't focus on narrative, focus on structure: Prioritize studying whether projects truly integrate AI as a foundational model into their systems;
2. Choose 'protocol layer' rather than 'application layer': Instead of investing in AI-generated content apps, it's better to invest in protocols that provide computing power, data, and reasoning infrastructure;
3. Pay attention to the lateral expansion of tech giants: Will OpenAI, Google, and NVIDIA layout on-chain through collaboration or investment in the future? This could be a key trigger point.
The proposition of AI + Crypto is not inherently valid. But it resembles an unsolved math problem; the bigger the question, the stronger the attraction.
Pseudo-demand? Perhaps. The entry to the next bull market? Possibly. The real winners will not be those who blindly chase the AI label, but those who understand 'which types of AI problems need Crypto to solve.'
