Artificial intelligence will trigger an economic boom in 2026 not yet captured by official statistics, propelling crypto markets to new highs unlike in previous cycles, Coinbase says.
David Duong, Coinbase’s investment research lead, made that point in the exchange’s 2026 Market Outlook report. He argued that the growth of AI is unlike that of previous tech boom and bust cycles.
“We see the sustained prominence of the AI x crypto convergence as not just a trend but as a fundamental shift towards the next stage of technological progress,” Duong said.
“One that offers more transparent and democratised intelligent systems,” He said.
“We believe economists are collectively underestimating AI productivity at the moment,” he said. “AI is increasing the speed and efficiency of our workforce in a way that isn’t being fully captured by official statistics.”
Duong made his predictions against a backdrop where AI has become a hot button topic, not just in crypto circles, but across markets and politics. The technology has been seen to overhaul industries and to contribute almost $20 trillion to the world economy by 2030, according to IDC.
‘Cautiously optimistic’ 2026
Interest in AI has also raised concerns that the sector is heading towards a bubble akin to the dot-com bubble of the late 1990s.
Several prominent voices — including Open AI CEO Sam Altman, Bridgewater Associates CIO Ray Dalio, Google boss Sundar Pichai, and Meta chief Mark Zuckerberg — have warned that an AI bubble is brewing.
Yet, Duong argued that the AI boom in 2026 will be “significantly different” from those of the internet investment bubble of the late 1990s, “precisely because of the lessons learned during that period.”
“The distinction carries profound implications for how we navigate the year ahead,” he said. “Particularly through the lens of creative destruction and structural shifts reshaping capital allocation.”
Coinbase’s 2026 economic outlook is “cautiously optimistic” thanks to increased productivity from “demographic shifts and the rise of artificial intelligence,” Duong said.
Meanwhile, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has brushed off the fears of an AI bubble.
“There’s been a lot of talk about an AI bubble,” he said during the company’s Q3 earnings call in November.
“From our vantage point we see something very different.”
AI-powered crypto
The market value of AI-powered cryptocurrencies has cratered 75% from its all-time high set in 2024, CoinMarketCap data shows.
But the demise of the sector has been “greatly exaggerated,” Duong said.
“AI Agents may be poised to revolutionise onchain development,” the analyst argued. “That would allow founders without a technical background to “launch businesses in hours or days, rather than months or years.”
DefiLlama data shows that 83 startups innovating at the intersection of crypto and AI raised $565 million in 2025, a 15% uptick from the amount raised in total in 2024.
That figure only reflects projects explicitly categorised under AI and does not encompass startups which may be linked to AI in other ways.
A slew of investors told DL News earlier this year that crypto projects riding AI hype have largely been wiped out while teams building long-term infrastructure are thriving.
