At NEARCON 2026, Bitwise CEO Hunter Horsley portrayed artificial intelligence as an unstoppable driver for blockchain adoption. Haun Ventures partner Diogo Monica countered that AI agents might rely on existing payment systems. The discussion highlighted both optimism and caution regarding crypto's role in an AI-driven future.
The panel discussion at NEARCON 2026 featured contrasting views on artificial intelligence's potential to accelerate blockchain infrastructure into mainstream use. Bitwise CEO Hunter Horsley emphasized AI's rapid progress, calling it “an unstoppable freight train” with a development pace unmatched in crypto's history. He noted, “AI is accomplishing a quarter’s worth of roadmap every two weeks right now,” and advised discarding the past six years of data in favor of the most recent six months for projections.
Horsley argued that public blockchains and crypto assets stand to gain significantly from AI's expansion. As autonomous agents handle tasks for users, he suggested crypto tools like stablecoins would be preferable for funding and confidential transactions. “Agents, obviously, you're not going to want to authorize OpenClaw with your credit card… You're gonna want to fund them with stablecoins. They're gonna want to transact confidentially,” he stated.
Diogo Monica, general partner at Haun Ventures and co-founder of Anchorage Digital, challenged the idea that AI-driven commerce necessitates new blockchain-based systems. He remarked, “There is a chance that the agent payments commerce looks exactly like the current payment commerce for the foreseeable future.” Monica questioned why superintelligent agents could not navigate existing credit cards and instant settlement options, adding, “You can’t tell me that AGI is coming and agents are going to be super smart… and tell me that they’re not going to be smart enough to figure out different systems.”
Despite his skepticism, Monica recognized synergies between the technologies. “AI creates digital abundance and crypto versus digital scarcity. These are actually complementary technologies,” he said, pointing to crypto's privacy and verification features as ways to address AI-related risks. The debate underscores ongoing questions about whether blockchains will become essential for autonomous commerce as AI advances.
