Recently, Raoul Pal, Co-Founder and CEO of financial education platform Real Vision, shared his thoughts on how the growing convergence of AI and blockchain could reshape society and the economy.
In an X post on October 19, Pal suggested that as AI increasingly takes over traditional tasks, people may turn to speculation on cultural communities and memes as a primary source of engagement and purpose. While this may initially seem troubling, Pal argues that this shift could spark the creation of an entirely new economic model.
Pal draws parallels between the current “meme madness” and previous speculative booms, such as the NFT frenzy and initial coin offerings (ICOs), pointing out that while some investors achieved significant gains, many others faced substantial losses. He warns that this speculative environment can lead to confusion and financial risks, particularly for those pursuing the next big trend. However, within this volatility, Pal identifies a move toward technology that will shape the attention economy in an increasingly decentralized world.
Pal also emphasized that NFTs (non-fungible tokens) are far from dead, despite the current downturn in the market. While many see them as just a fad, Pal argues that the technology powering NFTs remains powerful and will reemerge in various applications beyond art, including over-the-counter derivatives, private loans, and ticketing. He sees this boom-bust cycle as part of the normal evolution of new technology, and he predicts that NFT use cases will continue to expand over time, becoming a fundamental part of the future digital economy.
He likens this phenomenon to the earlier boom cycles of ICOs and decentralized finance (DeFi), noting that both have undergone similar phases of intense speculation followed by more stable development. Pal also highlights the role of stablecoins as the first major “product-market fit” (PMF) in the DeFi space, pointing out that these trends will likely continue to evolve as technology matures.
Pal warns those hoping to become “meme trading gods,” pointing out that frequent trading can lead to unnecessary tax complexities. He recommends that only a small portion of your portfolio (under 10% in his case) should be allocated to speculative investments.
Looking ahead, Pal predicts that AI will play a key role in these new digital ecosystems, with AI agents using tokens to incentivize each other and humans, as well as manage payments for computational costs. He sees this as the early stages of a move toward an economy driven by blockchain technology, with token incentives helping to push up asset prices.
While Pal acknowledges the difficulty of predicting the future, he sees these trends as part of a much larger societal and economic transformation. Blockchain technology, he argues, will be the key driver, with the total crypto market growing from its current valuation of $2.5 trillion to $100 trillion within the next decade. This shift, according to Pal, represents the fastest accumulation of wealth in human history, making it an incredible opportunity for investors to take advantage of.
Featured Image via Pixabay
