The cryptocurrency market is not losing to artificial intelligence, and comparing their development dynamics is incorrect — this opinion was expressed by Hasib Qureshi, managing partner of the venture firm Dragonfly. According to him, the redistribution of venture investments in favor of AI is a typical manifestation of market logic, rather than evidence of a crisis in the digital assets sector.
This is reported by Business • Media
Comparing AI and Cryptocurrencies: Why It Is Misleading
During his speech at the NEARCON 2026 conference, Qureshi emphasized that the growth of AI users cannot be directly compared to the crypto market. He stated that less than 1% of artificial intelligence users pay for services, whereas in the crypto sector, there has never been an option to use without financial costs.
“There is no such thing as free Bitcoin. There is no free Ethereum either,” he stressed.
The expert noted that about 15% of U.S. citizens already have experience owning crypto assets, which is an example of mass adoption. At the same time, according to his estimates, approximately 80% of the U.S. population has tried various AI-based tools, but this does not indicate a similar level of engagement or monetization.
Qureshi paid special attention to the stable growth of stablecoins: their volume increases by about 50% annually, regardless of price changes in Bitcoin or Ethereum.
Venture Capital and Market Cycles
Qureshi acknowledges that a significant portion of venture investments is currently directed towards AI-based projects. However, he considers this a natural reaction of investors to the latest technological trends.
“Money is a leading indicator. People react to money, not to reality,” he noted.
In the expert’s opinion, the market capitalization of cryptocurrencies remains at around 2 trillion U.S. dollars. Most startups in the sector are created by small teams, which indicates the industry’s efficiency compared to large AI companies, which often require thousands of employees.
In January 2026, Dragonfly launched a new venture fund worth $650 million. Qureshi emphasizes that investing during a price decline is more justified than during a market peak.
He also skeptically commented on claims that artificial intelligence can “save” the cryptocurrency market. In his view, the integration of AI agents into the blockchain ecosystem will take some time, and hasty attempts to combine these trends often have a speculative nature.
Qureshi emphasized that the current situation is just another market cycle. In his opinion, the price decline and reduced optimism are a natural market correction after a period of excessive funding, rather than a sign of weakness in the fundamentals of the crypto market.