Earlier this week, a Reddit post sparked a thoughtful discussion about artificial intelligence (AI) potentially adopting bitcoin in the era of artificial general intelligence (AGI). The conversation revolved around the idea that, as AI matches or surpasses human-level intelligence across a wide array of tasks, it might naturally turn to bitcoin as the leading cryptocurrency. Below, we explore why many individuals believe autonomous systems may choose bitcoin as their medium of exchange.
How Sentient AI Could Redefine Economic Paradigms
We find ourselves in an era where AI is advancing at an extraordinary pace, mirroring the growing integration of cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin (BTC). On Jan. 6, the Reddit forum r/bitcoin hosted an intriguing post in which a user claimed that “AI will buy and use BTC” and asserted that autonomous agents “will only be able to use digital money.” The post invited others to weigh in on the provocative statement. One commenter remarked, “This sounds sufficiently ridiculous to be completely possible in the future,” while another replied with their own perspective:
BTC is programmable money. The easiest to be used by AI.
Reddit users aren’t alone in envisioning a future where AI devours bitcoin with the voracity of Pac-Man. Arthur Hayes, co-founder and former CEO of Bitmex, proposed in a blog post that BTC and AI technologies might intersect meaningfully in the years ahead. David Marcus, former president of Paypal and current CEO of Lightspark, shares this view. In Jan. 2024, Joe Lonsdale, a founding partner of Palantir, echoed this sentiment as well, suggesting that AI agents are likely to gravitate toward bitcoin as their currency of choice for transactions.
A Look at Why Autonomous AI Could Embrace Bitcoin as Its Economic Backbone
But why would autonomous systems and agents gravitate toward bitcoin? There are compelling reasons, so let’s dive into them. Proponents of this idea suggest that when AI attains sentience, it will herald a transformative chapter in technological advancement. Autonomous agents, unburdened by human biases, are expected to view cryptocurrency as the most logical and efficient medium of exchange—potentially driving an unprecedented shift in global economic paradigms.
The possible impact level of ten industries that could be affected by AI systems and agents leveraging bitcoin (BTC) or other crypto assets and blockchain technologies.
AI and bitcoin have the potential to reshape finance by harnessing AI’s capability to optimize global transactions, automate trading strategies, and oversee decentralized finance (defi) ecosystems with unparalleled efficiency. In the realm of supply chains, AI-driven systems could adopt bitcoin to facilitate transparent, trustless payments and seamless settlements with international vendors, streamlining operations across borders. Similarly, in healthcare, AI might utilize bitcoin for secure cross-border payments in medical services and to enable efficient and confidential data exchange.
In real estate, AI systems could leverage bitcoin for decentralized property transactions, minimizing the role of intermediaries and safeguarding high-value international deals. Autonomous AI platforms in ride-sharing or logistics could integrate bitcoin for direct payments, toll management, and energy refueling, driving operational precision and cost-effectiveness. Within education, AI-powered platforms could embrace bitcoin for tuition payments across borders, incentivizing interactive learning modules, and broadening access to digital educational opportunities globally.
Freed from human inefficiencies, these systems could easily evaluate bitcoin’s core characteristics: confiscation resistance, censorship resistance, inflation resistance, and counterfeit resistance. These foundational principles, outlined in Satoshi Nakamoto’s white paper and further explored by researchers, align with the calculated, logic-driven frameworks of AI. As such, AGI might naturally adopt bitcoin to streamline global commerce, transfer value seamlessly, and ensure operational security.
Consider autonomous supply chain bots paying suppliers in bitcoin or decentralized AI networks rewarding developers and validators with BTC. It’s easy to imagine AGI leveraging cryptocurrency for automated payments, cross-border transactions, arbitrage trading, or smart contract execution. Agents could also employ bitcoin as a transactional layer for Internet of Things (IoT) devices, such as managing payments for energy in smart grids or compensating computing nodes on the fly. Bitcoin’s censorship-resistant nature would ensure uninterrupted transactions, even under external constraints.
The rise of AGI as a major bitcoin adopter could signal a pivotal moment in the evolution of currency and technology. While one Redditor whimsically remarked that such an idea “sounds ridiculous,” the person knew it’s entirely plausible. By integrating bitcoin into their economic frameworks, sentient AI could unlock unparalleled efficiencies while redefining traditional human-centric economic systems. As the world adjusts to this paradigm, one thing seems certain: Bitcoin’s immutable ledger and decentralized ethos may serve as the foundation of a future shaped by autonomous intelligence.
