Cryptocurrency and artificial intelligence: two markets with completely separate investment logics

In the landscape of contemporary technological investments, an interesting position has emerged regarding the role of cryptocurrency versus artificial intelligence. An increasing number of sophisticated portfolio managers believe that these two sectors operate on fundamentally different grounds, despite common narratives suggesting a future convergence. The central question is not whether cryptocurrency deserves attention in the tech context, but rather if it truly belongs to the same strategic category as AI.

Imran Khan, founder and chairman of the investment committee at Proem Asset Management, represents this clear segmentation view between asset classes. His firm, managing $450 million in assets under management, takes a radically different approach when allocating capital to these two sectors. Khan argues that cryptocurrency is a completely different animal compared to growth opportunities tied to artificial intelligence, and this distinction has deep implications for how he constructs investment portfolios.

Why Cryptocurrency Does Not Fit into Proem’s AI Strategy

Khan’s thesis is based on a simple but powerful principle: artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency are driven by fundamentally different investment motivations. When investing in AI, the goal is to capture productivity gains and economic growth resulting from automation and advanced data processing. Cryptocurrency, on the other hand, operates on a completely autonomous market logic.

This distinction is clearly reflected in the structure of Proem Asset Management. Although the firm holds positions in crypto-related assets—including stakes in Coinbase, Robinhood, Bitcoin miner Iren, and direct exposure to Bitcoin through the iShares Bitcoin Trust—Khan is unequivocal that these do not constitute part of the AI strategy. Instead, they are investments in the broader tech sector, a tactical allocation separate from core bets on productivity and economic growth.

Khan’s professional background lends credibility to this view. Before founding Proem, he served as Chief Strategy Officer at Snap, leading the company toward a public listing. Previously, he managed global internet investment banking at Credit Suisse, working on landmark deals such as Alibaba’s record IPO. This experience has allowed him to observe how true technological revolutions manifest in financial markets.

AI-Crypto Convergence: An Alternative Perspective

However, Khan does not represent the universal consensus. A significant number of investors believe that the intersection of artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency makes strategic sense because both rely on decentralized computing networks and distributed data infrastructures. The argument is compelling: blockchains could provide payment circuits and coordination systems for AI services operating on the internet without requiring a central owner.

This convergence is not purely theoretical. Bitcoin miners are already shifting toward expanding into AI, redesigning their data centers and energy infrastructure to support AI computation. Meanwhile, emerging startups are seeking to connect AI development with blockchain-based networks, and recent research suggests that blockchain-based systems could help track how AI models use data, verify results, or manage digital identities for autonomous software agents.

There is even a subtle macroeconomic argument: if AI significantly reduces jobs and wages, weakening consumer demand, policymakers might be forced to inject liquidity into markets to stabilize the economy. In such a scenario, Bitcoin could benefit substantially from the resulting monetary expansion.

From AI Markets to Employment Concerns

The current state of AI markets is complex. Nvidia, the dominant provider of chips used to train AI models, and Broadcom, a manufacturer of custom networking and AI chips, are both down about 5% since the start of the year. These movements reflect growing doubts about the pace of returns from the massive investments made in the AI sector.

At the same time, concerns about job losses due to AI have gained traction. Some analysts have outlined hypothetical scenarios for 2028 where rapid AI adoption leads to widespread unemployment in professional services and a sharp decline in consumer spending.

Khan, however, maintains a historical perspective on these fears. He notes that every major technological revolution has been accompanied by similar fears: “If you read Karl Marx, he said the same about machines 200 years ago. Now we’re experiencing an AI revolution that could be as big as the Industrial Revolution, and people are making the same arguments.” His position is that new technologies have historically reshaped labor markets rather than eliminated them entirely: “When new technology arrives, new types of jobs are created.”

Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency ecosystem continues to evolve in unexpected directions. A new venture capital firm, 5c© Capital, is set to launch with the goal of investing in companies built around prediction markets, supported by the CEOs of Polymarket and Kalshi. The fund aims to raise up to $35 million to support about 20 early-stage startups, focusing on infrastructure and services such as data tools, liquidity provision, and compliance systems. This development represents another chapter in how cryptocurrency continues to find new use cases, regardless of prevailing theories about its supposed convergence with artificial intelligence.