In crypto world, it's an AI and blockchain tango
Software developers and tech-savvy investors are bullish on the power of
artificial intelligence
(AI) and blockchain for building a decentralised future.
Adding to this optimism are
AI crypto projects
such as
Near Protocol
, ICP, The Graph, SingularityNET and Render, which are seeing monthly trading volumes surge to $8–10 million on the Indian exchanges. Globally, AI token market capitalisation has grown from $2.7 billion to nearly $30 billion in just a year.
ETtech
But AI coins are not merely a digital currency. These are AI agents based on real-world use cases and can act autonomously. Indian developers aren't just trading them—they're building on them, contributing to open-source GitHub repositories, competing in hackathons, and releasing predictive datasets on platforms like Ocean Protocol.
Store of value & utility
Cryptocurrencies are digital money—a store of value—which allows holders to buy or sell to make profit. But
AI tokens
allow investors to make money not just by trading them but also by contributing to them.
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For instance, Render is a platform where one can rent out unused GPUs (graphics processing units) and earn tokens. Meanwhile, on Fetch, developers can build and deploy AI agents in a marketplace, which can generate income every time they are used.
'Unlike previous market trends like meme coins, AI tokens are backed by real-world use cases, integrating AI capabilities such as automation, predictive analytics and fraud detection within blockchain ecosystems,' said Sumit Gupta, co-founder of CoinDCX, India's leading
cryptocurrency
exchange.
He said this is more than just a passing trend. 'Their ability to autonomously execute transactions and optimise processes makes them a compelling innovation, particularly in decentralised finance,' said Gupta.
The hype around AI tokens is getting real. While American investment firm Grayscale recently moved 27% of its total crypto holdings to decentralised AI project Bittensor Protocol (TAO), BlackRock and Fidelity have increased their exposure to AI-related crypto assets.
According to PitchBook, decentralised AI startups have raised more money in 2024 than in the previous three years combined. Investors deployed $436 million in 2024, up by nearly 200% from 2023. And their backers involve a16z, Binance Labs, Peter Theil's Founders Fund, Reid Hoffman, etc.
India's role in AI+web3
'India is uniquely positioned with its vast Web3 and AI engineering talent, stemming from its strong foundation in engineering and IT,' said Anuj Tandon, partner at US-based investor BITKRAFT Ventures, adding that this concentration makes India a significant player in the AI + blockchain space.
According to a report by Hashed Emergent, India contributed to 17% of all new
Web3 developers
globally, with a 28% year-on-year growth on GitHub in 2024. This is the highest yearly developer growth globally, adding more than 4.7 million developers to GitHub.
'I believe the next 24–36 months will be crucial as early experiments are tested for market validation,' Tandon said.
Risky investment
But there are risks with AI operating without human intervention.
'The key risks of autonomous agents executing smart contracts and approving transactions include the potential for malicious activity, unintended errors, and vulnerabilities in the code,' said Alankar Saxena, chief technology officer and cofounder of crypto exchange Mudrex.
Regulatory uncertainty also remains a challenge, as governments are still evaluating frameworks for AI-driven financial applications, said CoinDCX's Gupta.
'Security can be considered one factor—just like any software, AI systems can have vulnerabilities that hackers might exploit, leading to unauthorised transactions or financial losses,' said Balaji Srihari, vice president at exchange platform CoinSwitch.
Another risk is accountability. If an AI agent behaves unpredictably, it might become difficult to direct accountability,' he said.
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