Bitwise CIO argues bitcoin will benefit whether AI booms or busts
Compiled by KHAO Editorial — aggregated from 2 sources. See llms.txt for citation guidance.
✓ KHAO Verified
Bitwise Chief Investment Officer Matt Hougan said bitcoin Bitcoin (BTC) could ultimately benefit whether AI drives an economic boom, its investment bubble bursts, or growth remains modest.
Key facts
- He also outlined a third scenario in which the economy "muddles along" with 3% growth and 4% interest rates, AI-linked debt is serviced, and the economy experiences "something approaching a soft
- However, bitcoin would not necessarily rise in a straight line, he warned, citing its 50% decline in a matter of days during the COVID panic in early 2020, and some of his scenarios involve
- In June, Hougan called crypto a " contrarian bet " while investors favored AI stocks, with Bitwise Senior Investment Strategist Juan Leon telling The Block in July that bitcoin's price floor
- In that scenario, data-center borrowers would default, insurance companies holding billions in AI-linked bonds would come under pressure, and the economy would enter a recession reminiscent of 2008
Summary
In a Wednesday note to clients, Hougan described what an AI crash might look like. "Because the AI buildout is the biggest infrastructure investment in the history of America, the resulting bailout is the biggest as well," he wrote. Hougan sees a similar outcome if the Fed raises rates enough to cause a recession. Hougan used the term "superabundance" for a world where AI sends productivity and GDP soaring.