AI to Drive Crypto's Next Phase, Not Altcoins: BlackRock
BlackRock's head of digital assets, Robbie Mitchnick, made some telling remarks about the crypto market at the Digital Asset Summit in New York. He stated that artificial intelligence is a more important long-term force for crypto than the growth of new tokens.
Mitchnick noted that most institutional investors are no longer seeking broad exposure across many tokens. Instead, they're focusing on Bitcoin and Ethereum, with little appetite for anything beyond those two assets.
He described turnover among top tokens as 'pretty ferocious' and said that most newer tokens fail to maintain relevance long enough to attract sustained institutional interest. Mitchnick referred to the overall token landscape as 'nonsense.'
Mitchnick argued that AI represents a larger structural theme than crypto on its own. He stated that existing financial infrastructure is not built for AI-driven activity, and that crypto fills this gap by being 'computer-native money.' AI, in his view, is 'computer-native data and intelligence'.
This connection positions Bitcoin and crypto infrastructure as functional components of the AI economy rather than standalone speculative assets. Some Bitcoin miners have already begun redirecting computing resources toward AI workloads, with listed miners such as Hut 8, Core Scientific, and Iren either converting data centers or signing hosting agreements tied to AI and high-performance computing.
Mitchnick also suggested that Bitcoin can serve as a diversifying asset during periods of rapid technological change. He pointed out clear 'intersection points' where crypto can play a role in the AI economy going forward.