Watch Decentralized AI In 2025: The Convergence Of AI And Crypto

   Share to Facebook Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin The online platform for buying, selling, transferring, and selling cryptocurrency Coinbase (NASDAQ: ... [+] COIN) logo seen displayed on a smartphone with an Artificial intelligence (AI) chip and symbol in the background. SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images Open any news app, web browser, social media feed, or podcast this month, and you’ll see one topic dominating discussions besides the U.S. election: AI and crypto. In Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind, Yuval Noah Harari explores how history is shaped more by what he describes as “coincidences” than by deterministic, predictable events. This concept recurs throughout his work, as Harari examines the unpredictable and often arbitrary events that have directed human history. This perspective proves true once again regarding the recent surge in AI and crypto discussions. It all started with the meteoric rise of a memecoin tickered “GOAT”, partially endorsed by a pseudo-spiritual posting AI bot on X named @truth_terminal. The bot independently chose to promote this memecoin, sparking widespread interest. Since then, the idea of an AI-crypto convergence has swept across headlines. But as an average reader, you might feel overwhelmed and wonder: why are AI and crypto even intersecting? Answering this simple question isn’t that straightforward; it requires delving into some complex concepts and technologies. Let’s break it down: 1. What is AI, and how did it rise? Where are we now? MORE FOR YOU Trump’s Cabinet: Here Are His Picks And Finalists For White House Roles—Marco Rubio, Stephen Miller And More New Chrome, Safari, Firefox Warning—Do Not Google These Words Google’s Gmail And Photos Deletion Warning As 1-Year Timer Expires 2. The essence of crypto and its underlying technology: Blockchain. 3. The convergence: How decentralized AI comes into play. Back to the Future of AI AI burst into mainstream headlines with OpenAI’s launch of ChatGPT in November 2022, but it didn’t appear out of thin air. AI has a long history in academic and research circles. If you’ve seen the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey, you may recall how it portrayed AI on the big screen, imagining its potential—mostly its potential dangers, in the film’s context. Made in the 1960s, the movie featured an AI with a name, HAL 9000, at a time when computers were barely understood by the general public. And yet, even then, the concept of AI had deeper roots. Many in the tech world view the Turing Test as one of the earliest models of artificial intelligence. AI development, however, stalled for several decades, fading from public attention largely due to slow progress in computer technology. Then, OpenAI and ChatGPT brought it back to life. This resurgence has been fueled by remarkable advancements in computer science, particularly in machine learning algorithms and deep neural networks. These improvements, combined with unprecedented increases in data processing capability and the availability of large datasets, have allowed AI to achieve levels of sophistication once thought impossible. The rapid evolution in both software capabilities and hardware efficiency—especially through innovations like GPUs and TPUs—has propelled AI back into the spotlight, making it a powerful force in the modern digital landscape. As people use ChatGPT for tasks ranging from research and brainstorming to copy-editing, a new concern has arisen: If OpenAI controls vast amounts of data and knowledge, what comes next? Is humanity at risk if one entity holds so much power? Soon after OpenAI took center stage, concerns and controversies surfaced. Elon Musk, a founding supporter, publicly criticized OpenAI, highlighting a growing realization: OpenAI isn’t as “open” as its name suggests. Its operations, from data collection to algorithms and data use, are opaque—a “black box.” This sparked a fundamental question: How could AI truly be made open-source then? This is where crypto, or more precisely, blockchain technology, comes in. Emergence of Decentralized AI Blockchain is the underlying technology in all crypto-related discussions. Crypto is merely one application built on top of it. Blockchain’s fundamental characteristic is its decentralized nature, which could allow AI to be more open and transparent. The general belief is that, with blockchain technology, AI can be truly open-source and transparent, by leveraging several key technologies. For example, decentralized dataset storage ensures data integrity, while smart contracts provide transparent model access and audit trails. On-chain federated learning allows collaborative model training without sharing raw data, and distributed computing networks decentralize AI processing. Cross-chain bridges and oracles bring in real-time, reliable off-chain data, while privacy-preserving methods, like zero-knowledge proofs, secure sensitive information. The term “decentralized AI” (DeAI) has therefore emerged, suggesting an approach where anyone can contribute, from development to deployment, creating a decentralized alternative to centralized AI companies like OpenAI. However, a standardized definition of decentralized AI still remains absent. Blockchain can support this vision, with crypto playing a critical role in the tokenomics—a topic I’ll discuss further in my upcoming articles. DeAI in 2025: Mere Narrative or True Innovation? With all the hype, it’s natural to ask: Is this just narrative, or is it real innovation? Based on my interactions and observations in the industry—with stakeholders from both blockchain and AI, spanning research, academia, and the investment circle—I believe 2025 is the year when DeAI will truly shine. Unlike many overhyped blockchain promises, DeAI can uniquely deliver tangible results. This blend of innovation and immediacy makes it irresistible to blockchain veterans and those entrenched in the AI world. As more talent from both realms recognizes DeAI’s potential to reshape industries, we can expect a surge in interest and momentum to make 2025 the year DeAI transitions from niche to necessity. The blend of blockchain and AI is about to go mainstream in a big way, paving the path for tech that creates huge impacts in the coming decades. Follow me on Twitter or LinkedIn. Max (Chong) Li Editorial Standards Forbes Accolades