In a recent interview during CNBC’s Squawk Box, Joe Lonsdale discussed the current rapid development of AI and whether Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies may find future use cases from AI-focused companies.
In a recent interview during CNBC’s Squawk Box, Joe Lonsdale discussed the current rapid development of AI and whether Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies may find future use cases from AI-focused companies.
Lonsdale is a founding partner of 8VC; He also founded Palantir Technologies, Addepar and the University of Austin in Texas. Right now, he seems passionate about the next era of artificial intelligence.
Lonsdale on possible future interaction between Bitcoin and AI
When asked by host Joe Joe Kernen about Bitcoin, the current price drop following the approval of Bitcoin Spot ETFs, Joe Lonsdale first agreed with the host that “Bitcoin is real.” Kernen believes that now that anyone can buy Bitcoin through an ETF, it would be difficult for the price to rise quickly again.
In response to this, Lonsdale stated that in the future, a new type of active Bitcoin buyers may emerge, other than regular investors or traders. The venture capitalist believes they could be “AI agents.” If AI is successful in certain areas of consumption, according to Lonsdale, then “AI agents” could be using Bitcoin, tokenizing things, etc. He agreed with another Squawk Box co-host, Andew Sorkin, that AI could perhaps use not only Bitcoin (or track its price) but also Ethereum (ETH), Solana (SOL), or all three coins together, and “probably are correlated at the end of the day.
Overall, Lonsdale believes that in addition to using cryptocurrencies, once AI is fully integrated into business processes, it can greatly increase companies’ profits. However, according to Lonsdale, that might not happen within a few years: here he compared AI to electricity at the beginning of the 20th century.
“$500,000 for Bitcoin history”
As for the question, whether you agree with Cathie Wood’s recent Bitcoin price predictions of $500,000 and even $1,000,000, Lonsdale said it will likely depend on one important factor: macroeconomic factors and its situation in the next years.
If there is a huge deficit and the government is “spending the money responsibly,” then, Lonsdale says, “what asset is safe?” If there is major inflation in 2025-2026, and we again see the government “poorly spending” and bonds being sold, then cryptocurrencies can do very well, according to him.