The AI Agent & Memecoin Thesis | Pantera’s Matt Stephenson
The collision between crypto and AI agents has officially begun. Matthew Stephensen of Pantera Capital research partner and author of “Crypto: Picks and Shovels for the AI Gold Rush,” joins us today. We dive into the world of autonomous AI agents on blockchains, discussing the evolving role of agents, AI-driven market changes, and whether blockchain is the natural substrate for AI. Matt sheds light on topics from agent liability and regulatory challenges to infrastructure value capture and the "picks and shovels" approach to investing in AI-driven crypto tech. Are AI agents on blockchains the obvious future? And how do scarcity and abundance interact in this new era? Join us as we tackle these questions and more, exploring what the future might hold at the intersection of AI, autonomy, and blockchain. ------ 🍵0x v2 | NEXT GEN PRICING ENGINE https://bankless.cc/0x ------ 📣GET YOUR ALL-ACCESS PASS TO THE PODCAST https://bankless.cc/podshownotes ------ BANKLESS SPONSOR TOOLS: 🐙KRAKEN | MOST-TRUSTED CRYPTO EXCHANGE https://k.xyz/bankless-pod-q2 🦄UNISWAP | BROWSER EXTENSION https://bankless.cc/uniswap 🪄MAGIC EDEN | HOME OF WEB3 https://bankless.cc/MagicEden 🛞MANTLE | MODULAR LAYER 2 NETWORK https://bankless.cc/Mantle 🤖 0G | MAKING THE IMPOSSIBLE, INEVITABLE https://bankless.cc/0G ------ ✨ Mint the episode on Zora ✨ https://zora.co/collect/zora:0x0c294913a7596b427add7dcbd6d7bbfc7338d53f/86?referrer=0x077Fe9e96Aa9b20Bd36F1C6290f54F8717C5674E ------ TIMESTAMPS 0:00 Intro 5:34 Crypto x AI Narrative Shift 6:39 AI & Economic Agents Explained 11:50 GOAT Memecoin Summary 23:15 Were AI Crypto Agents Obvious? 25:18 Luna AI Token & Terminal 29:41 Consequences? Is This Life? 33:27 Exciting Use Cases 40:27 Sam Altman Quote Importance 42:33 Wealth Generation Process & Blockspace 48:15 Programmable Money & Agent MEV 56:14 The AI Agent & Memecoin Thesis 1:03:03 Government & Society Reaction Predictions 1:11:09 No Off Buttons?... 1:13:40 DePin & AI 1:16:45 AI Agent Blockspace Demand 1:19:15 Closing & Disclaimers ------ RESOURCES Matthew Stephenson https://x.com/stephensonhmatt Crypto's Role In The AI Revolution https://panteracapital.com/blockchain-letter/cryptos-role-in-the-ai-revolution/#crypto-ai-gold-rush ------ Not financial or tax advice. See our investment disclosures here: https://www.bankless.com/disclosures