TLDR
- Hunter Horsley from Bitwise described AI as an “unstoppable freight train” poised to accelerate crypto adoption at NEARCON 2026
- According to Horsley, AI agents conducting autonomous transactions will naturally gravitate toward stablecoins and blockchain payment infrastructure
- Diogo Monica from Haun Ventures countered that advanced AI systems will likely master traditional payment methods without blockchain
- Despite differing views on payments, both executives acknowledged that AI and crypto serve complementary purposes—one creating digital abundance, the other digital scarcity
- Late February 2026 saw Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) register gains while the Fear & Greed Index reflected extreme fear at 11
A spirited debate unfolded at NEARCON 2026 in San Francisco as two influential cryptocurrency executives presented contrasting visions for how artificial intelligence will interact with blockchain technology.
Hunter Horsley, who leads Bitwise, painted AI’s advancement as unprecedented in its velocity. He characterized the technology as “accomplishing a quarter’s worth of roadmap every two weeks,” suggesting that traditional frameworks for understanding crypto adoption no longer apply in the AI era.
Horsley’s thesis centers on the emergence of autonomous AI agents—sophisticated software programs capable of independently executing tasks and financial transactions on users’ behalf.
His core argument is that public blockchain networks represent one of the primary beneficiaries of AI’s explosive growth. The reasoning hinges on payment mechanics: users will be reluctant to give AI agents unfettered access to credit cards and bank accounts, he contends. The alternative, according to Horsley, is funding these agents with stablecoins, enabling private transactions without conventional financial gatekeepers.
Diogo Monica, who serves as general partner at Haun Ventures and co-founded Anchorage Digital, offered a contrasting perspective during the same discussion. His skepticism centered on whether AI agents truly require novel payment architecture.
“There is a chance that agent payments commerce looks exactly like current payment commerce for the foreseeable future,” Monica stated during the panel. His logic was straightforward: if artificial intelligence reaches superintelligence levels, navigating existing payment infrastructure should pose no challenge.
“You can’t tell me that AGI is coming and agents are going to be super smart and tell me they’re not going to be smart enough to figure out different systems,” Monica elaborated.
Common Ground in the Debate
While the two executives diverged on payment infrastructure, Monica recognized important synergies between artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency. He characterized AI as generating digital abundance while crypto establishes digital scarcity, describing them as “complementary technologies.”
Monica further suggested that blockchain’s privacy features and verification mechanisms could mitigate certain risks associated with AI development. This intersection may ultimately prove more consequential than the payments question.
The panel concluded without consensus on whether blockchain will become the dominant infrastructure for AI-powered commerce. That question remains unresolved.
Cryptocurrency Market Snapshot: Late February 2026
Concurrent with the panel discussion, digital asset markets recorded positive momentum despite depressed investor sentiment. Bitcoin advanced 2.74% to reach $65,961, while Ethereum gained 4.01% to trade at $1,917.63, per CoinGecko figures.
Solana posted a 5.27% increase to $81.91, and Monero jumped 7.30% to $330.56. The aggregate cryptocurrency market capitalization reached $2.34 trillion with 24-hour trading volume totaling $112.69 billion.
The Fear & Greed Index registered 11 during this period, signaling extreme fear among market participants even as prices climbed.
Bitcoin commanded 56.31% market dominance, with Ethereum accounting for 9.87%.
