Overview
- On a NEARCON 2026 panel in San Francisco, Bitwise CEO Hunter Horsley called AI an “unstoppable freight train,” saying its pace makes past crypto adoption models obsolete.
- Horsley argued autonomous agents will be funded with stablecoins and transact on public blockchains to avoid handing credit-card access to software.
- Haun Ventures’ Diogo Monica countered that agent payments could mirror today’s commerce, with superintelligent systems using existing card networks and settlement rails.
- Both panelists said the technologies align conceptually, with AI creating digital abundance and crypto enforcing digital scarcity while offering privacy and verification tools.
- The discussion ended without consensus on default payment rails for agents, as coverage also noted recent crypto price gains despite a Fear & Greed Index reading of 11.