Grayscale Sees $15B Sector for AI-Complimenting Blockchain Infrastructure
Grayscale, a digital asset manager, has identified a $15 billion sector where blockchain infrastructure is complementing the development of artificial intelligence (AI). According to Zach Pandl, head of research at Grayscale, the sector outperformed the broader market in September, with AI tokens gaining 54% versus 24% for the broader market.
One of the standout performers in this sector was NEAR, which led the highlighted projects with a 183% monthly increase. The firm believes that public blockchains are providing infrastructure for automated commerce, identity verification, and private computing, and that this sector could produce one or more major winners over the next five years.
The analysis by Grayscale highlights the potential applications of blockchain infrastructure for AI, including agent payments, identity, verifiable records, and private computing. The firm's Decentralized AI Fund allocations also include NEAR and Bittensor, alongside Render and Filecoin.
However, the use of blockchain infrastructure for AI also raises challenges, including verification and security. Rodrigo Coelho, CEO of blockchain development company Edge and Node, argued in an October 2025 interview that blockchain infrastructure for autonomous agents could make actions auditable, but also identified transaction capacity and shared reputation systems as scaling challenges.