Palantir Technologies co-founder Joe Lonsdale has asserted that AI agents will “probably” use crypto when making transactions.
In an interview on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” talk show, Lonsdale touched on the future of AI and its potential usage of crypto.
When Squawk Box host Joe Kernen suggested that savvy investors who entered the market at the early stages of Bitcoin, when its value was $800 or even $8,000, made a wise move, implying it might be too late for others, Lonsdale countered by alluding to the potential emergence of an unexpected buyer. He specifically mentioned autonomous AI agents as a factor that could influence crypto’s market dynamics.
“There’s not going to be a whole new financial story driving it from the side of buyers necessarily,” the Palantir co-founder said. “Although, there’s one type of buyer that’s very important here — AI agents are going to start to do a lot of things in our economy and AI agents that coordinate with incentive systems are probably going to use crypto. So, if this AI story works out in consumer areas … everything to AI.”
Squawk Box co-host Andrew Ross Sorkin responded saying that AI agents would most likely not be using Bitcoin, and would instead prefer to use other cryptocurrencies such as Ethereum or Solana.
“Those are the three they might use, and they’re probably all correlated at the end of the day,” Lonsdale replied to Sorkin.
Earlier on the show, Lonsdale expanded on AI’s tangible advantages, highlighting its potential to enhance profit margins.
He specifically pointed to the healthcare billing sector, emphasizing that AI has the capability to double the margins in that area.
“AI is going to be able to double the margins in that area, which means you pull $100 billion of spend out of the economy,” Lonsdale predicted.
Grayscale Weighs In
Crypto asset manager Grayscale has also contributed to the discussion of the growing convergence between AI and crypto. The company recently published a study highlighting the possible benefits of the intersection between artificial intelligence and cryptocurrencies.
The company stated that future societal challenges related to AI, including issues like the proliferation of deepfakes, apprehensions surrounding data privacy, and the concentration of power, could be mitigated by developments in the relationship between AI and crypto.