Dan Tapiero Predicts Blockchain Will Power the AI Economy

Dan Tapiero, founder of 50T Holdings, believes the next major technological revolution will emerge from the fusion of artificial intelligence and blockchain. In an interview with CoinDesk, Tapiero stated, “Blockchain is the money of AI,” suggesting that as autonomous AI agents proliferate, they’ll rely on blockchain-based smart contracts rather than traditional banking systems.

Tapiero’s crypto-focused growth equity firm, managing $2 billion in assets, is allocating about 20% of its next fund—currently raising capital through early 2026—to companies working at the intersection of AI and blockchain. Although he admits such firms “don’t even exist yet” at scale, he expects this sector to become a dominant investment category within five years.

Despite market volatility, Tapiero remains bullish on Bitcoin, maintaining his $180,000 price target since early 2023. He expects Bitcoin to consolidate around $100,000 before rallying toward his target by mid-2026. “Markets move toward round numbers,” he noted, calling $100K a key psychological milestone.

With limited competition in the crypto growth-equity space, Tapiero sees undervalued opportunities. His firm has already realized six exits this year, including IPOs for Circle, Gemini, and eToro, as well as Coinbase’s acquisition of Deribit. While public crypto valuations are soaring, private market prices remain attractive, offering strong potential upside.

Tapiero expressed skepticism about the hype surrounding tokenized real-world assets, noting that adoption has lagged behind expectations. However, he highlighted decentralized finance (DeFi) as a maturing and undervalued sector, already outperforming 2021 levels.

Ultimately, Tapiero sees the convergence of blockchain and AI as the next foundational layer of the digital economy. “I don’t even know who those companies are yet,” he said, “but I’m sure that’s where this is going.”