Key Points:
- Crypto May Offer Greater Upside Than AI Stocks: Jordi Visser argues that AI-related equity gains may become harder to sustain while AI agents create new demand for cryptocurrency payments and tokenized assets.
- AI Investment Faces Valuation and Financing Risks: Visser believes the strongest phase of AI stock gains may be behind investors, despite continued growth in computing demand.
- Investment Strategy Expands Beyond Major Tokens: Visser has broadened his cryptocurrency holdings beyond Bitcoin, Ether and Solana, with additional interest in retail-driven assets and privacy-focused projects.
Visser Sees AI Agents as a Catalyst for Crypto
Cryptocurrency could offer investors greater upside from the artificial intelligence boom than AI-related equities, according to Jordi Visser, founder of Visser Labs and a former Morgan Stanley managing director and Weiss Multi-Strategy Advisers chief investment officer.
Speaking to Cointelegraph’s Trade Secrets, Visser argued that rapid gains in AI stocks may become more difficult to replicate as valuations and investment expectations rise. Meanwhile, he sees AI agents creating new demand for cryptocurrency payments and tokenized assets.
“Without AI, I don’t think crypto would be going through this bull market,” Visser said.
His thesis centers on the potential for AI agents to execute financial transactions on behalf of users. Rather than manually navigating applications, individuals could instruct software to carry out trades, payments and other financial activities.
Visser compared the potential impact of AI agents on cryptocurrency with the introduction of smartphones and app stores, arguing that the technology could expand the number of people and businesses interacting with blockchain-based financial services.
If adoption accelerates, demand could extend beyond traditional cryptocurrency investment into payment infrastructure and tokenized financial assets. However, Visser acknowledged that his bullish outlook remains exposed to a broader downturn in AI investment and equity markets.
The AI Rally Faces Higher Expectations
Visser said he began reducing his exposure to memory chipmaker Micron in mid-May after concluding that hedge funds and retail investors had become heavily concentrated in the AI trade.
He argued that the intense focus on AI had contributed to weaker investor attention toward Bitcoin and Ether, as equities offered exposure to businesses reporting rapid revenue growth.
Microsoft reported in April that its AI business was generating revenue at an annualized rate of $37 billion, more than double the level a year earlier. Micron also reported fiscal second-quarter revenue of $23.86 billion in March, nearly three times its year-earlier level.
These results illustrate the commercial growth that initially supported investor enthusiasm for AI infrastructure and related companies. Visser, however, believes the market is becoming less forgiving as investors assess valuations, volatility and the cost of expanding computing capacity.
The 100-stock AI portfolio he tracks had risen approximately 40% during the year, according to the report, but had also become more volatile than Bitcoin on a rolling 126-day measure.
“I didn’t say AI was over. AI fireworks show is over,” Visser said, distinguishing his concerns about investment returns from his expectations for continued technological development.
Infrastructure Spending Creates Financial Pressure
The economics of AI infrastructure are another concern for investors. Building data centers and acquiring advanced computing equipment require substantial capital, while revenue may take time to catch up with investment.
Oracle’s fiscal 2026 results provide an example of the scale involved. The company reported $55.7 billion in capital expenditure against $32 billion in operating cash flow and raised $43 billion in debt financing.
Such spending does not necessarily indicate that an investment will fail, but it illustrates the financing demands associated with expanding AI infrastructure. Investors must assess whether future demand and cash generation will justify the capital committed today.
Visser continues to expect computing demand from AI agents to grow over several years. His more cautious position concerns the returns available to investors after the strong gains already recorded by AI-related stocks.
He also identified a severe AI downturn that spills into equity markets as a risk to his cryptocurrency outlook. Such a scenario, he said, could push crypto prices back toward recent lows even if it did not necessarily end the broader bull market.
Visser Broadens His Cryptocurrency Exposure
Visser previously limited his cryptocurrency holdings to Bitcoin, Ether and Solana. Since August, he has expanded into a broader range of tokens, although Bitcoin remains his largest position.
Dogecoin serves as one indicator of retail investor enthusiasm in his analysis. Visser views renewed participation from retail investors as an important source of momentum for a broader cryptocurrency rally.
“They’re the energy of the space and they’re the ones that are going to fuel this as other people get involved,” he said.
To monitor market performance, Visser maintains an equally weighted index of 42 tokens and four publicly traded stocks. He said the index had outperformed Bitcoin since June and that he planned to retain all its constituents.
The index reflects his broader approach to cryptocurrency exposure, extending beyond the largest digital assets and incorporating a wider selection of market participants.
Privacy Emerges as an Investment Theme
Privacy is another area attracting Visser’s attention. He argued that AI could increase the importance of privacy and identity protection as fraud and other forms of abuse become more sophisticated.
Rather than backing a single company, Visser said he was investing in the broader privacy theme. He identified Zcash and Monero as examples of projects aligned with that view.
The thesis links AI’s expanding capabilities with potential demand for tools that protect personal information and financial activity. However, the commercial impact will depend on adoption, technological development and the regulatory treatment of privacy-focused digital assets.
Outlook
Visser’s investment thesis rests on the possibility that AI agents will expand cryptocurrency’s practical uses even as returns from AI equities become harder to sustain. Continued growth in automated transactions, tokenized assets and privacy tools could broaden demand for blockchain infrastructure. The main risks remain a sharp reversal in AI investment, broader market weakness and uncertainty over how quickly AI-driven financial activity translates into durable cryptocurrency adoption.
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