At Cointelegraph’s LONGITUDE Dubai event, blockchain industry leaders highlighted how cryptocurrency incentive structures could significantly accelerate artificial intelligence adoption. Polygon co-founder Sandeep Nailwal emphasized that crypto mechanisms can effectively onboard users and ecosystem players to AI platforms, potentially leading to better AI development through incentivized participation from developers.
The panel, which featured key figures from prominent blockchain protocols, explored the growing intersection between cryptocurrency and artificial intelligence technologies. Near Protocol co-founder Illia Polosukhin painted a future where crypto-native AI agents could replace traditional web interfaces, stating, “We don’t need applications or websites anymore. Your AI becomes the interface to computing and the internet.” However, Nailwal cautioned that the AI token space has attracted numerous scams, estimating that “99% of those projects are literally token scams.”
Both leaders stressed the importance of decentralized AI solutions as a counterbalance to the centralizing force of current AI development. With industry projections suggesting over one million AI agents could enter the market in 2025, many connected to DeFi applications, the panel highlighted the critical nature of building privacy-preserving, peer-to-peer AI solutions to prevent centralization of power among a few tech companies. This vision aligns with broader Web3 goals of creating more democratic technological infrastructures.
