Crypto Investor Dan Tapiero Sees AI-Blockchain Crossover Fueling Next Big Wave

MIAMI BEACH, Fla. — Dan Tapiero, founder of crypto-focused growth equity fund 50T Holdings, is betting that artificial intelligence and blockchain technology will converge in ways the market hasn’t yet priced in.

“Blockchain is the money of AI,” Tapiero said in an interview with CoinDesk. “If you just imagine having thousands of these AI agents acting independently, they’re not going to be sending wires from JPMorgan. It’s all going to be smart contracts embedded on blockchains.”

Tapiero said he expects around 20% of 50T’s next fund — currently raising capital through early 2026 — to be invested in companies operating at the intersection of AI and blockchain. While he acknowledged those companies “don’t even exist yet” at growth scale, he said he is confident that “over the next five years, that becomes a real category.”

Tapiero also shared a bullish but measured view on the crypto market’s trajectory. He said he’s held the same target for bitcoin BTC$101,803.65 since early 2023: $180,000. First, he expects the asset to consolidate around $100,000 — a level he says has long served as a psychological anchor for bitcoin investors and whales.

“Markets move toward round numbers. It’s silly, but it’s real,” he said. “And in crypto, $100K has been the target for a long time. Once we hold that for a bit, I think we’re heading to $180K — maybe by summer next year.”

Bitcoin has been trading in the $101,000 to $124,000 range for the last six months and is currently stuck around $103,000.

While some traders have grown impatient with bitcoin’s stagnant price action, Tapiero warned against short-term thinking. “This is the hardest market I’ve ever tried to trade,” he said, referring to his 25 years in traditional markets. “Trying to have a short-term view here is almost impossible.”

Undervalued Growth-Stage Firms

Tapiero said his firm, which has $2 billion in assets under management and has invested in 24 companies, is seeing some of the best opportunities in its history. With many traditional investors still wary after high-profile collapses like FTX and Celsius, there’s minimal competition for growth-stage crypto companies generating $50–100 million in revenue.

“We’re the only growth equity fund in the world solely focused on crypto. We don’t do seed or venture. And right now, we’re dictating pricing,” he said.

50T has had six exits this year, including IPOs for Circle (CRCL), Gemini (GEMI) and eToro (ETOR) and Coinbase’s (COIN) acquisition of derivatives exchange Deribit. While valuations in public markets are climbing — with some firms trading at 10–20 times revenue — private market pricing remains subdued.

Overhyped and Underappreciated

Tapiero said he is skeptical of the tokenization narrative that has picked up steam in recent months.

While he believes in the long-term potential of tokenized real-world assets (RWAs), he said actual adoption has lagged behind the hype.

“There’s a lot of talk, but it’s still early,” he said, pointing to firms like Securitize and Figure as early movers, but noting that “the reality is, it hasn’t really happened.”

On the other hand, decentralized finance (DeFi) has already exceeded 2021 levels, in his view, and remains a core area of interest despite usability challenges. Metaverse and blockchain gaming companies, by contrast, remain “near the lows,” he said.

For now, Tapiero is focused on scaling investments in what he sees as the next infrastructure layer for a digitized economy — especially where blockchain meets autonomous AI agents.

“I don’t even know who those companies are yet,” he said. “But I’m sure that’s where this is going.”