Bitcoin and Ethereum Lose Sheen as Investors Chase AI Hype

A recent report suggests that the surge of interest in artificial intelligence (AI) could negatively impact returns from major cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum. BIT Mining Chief Economist Youwei Yang believes that the market's current obsession with AI has left cryptocurrencies in the dust. He explains that the limited amount of "hot money" available in the market is now directed towards AI investments, leaving cryptocurrencies in a sideways trading pattern until a compelling narrative or significant advancement emerges. This bearish outlook contradicts Juan Leon's optimistic prediction that the convergence of AI and crypto could boost global GDP by $20 trillion by 2030. Leon argues that Bitcoin miners, with their data processing and storage capabilities, are stepping in to address the global shortage of data centers. This has led to AI cloud provider CoreWeave's interest in acquiring Bitcoin miner Core Scientific for $1.6 billion, following a $3.5 billion deal to host AI services in its data centers. AI-related cryptocurrencies, such as NEAR Protocol, Fetch.ai, and Render, have a combined market cap exceeding $26 billion, highlighting the growing significance of AI in the crypto space.