Tech investor Imran Khan says cryptocurrency does not play a meaningful role in his AI investment strategy, arguing the asset class operates on a fundamentally different thesis than the AI-driven productivity boom.

Despite the growing narrative that AI and crypto will converge, Khan said he largely views them as separate investment themes.

“Crypto is a different animal,” he said in an interview. “When it comes to AI, you are investing for productivity and economic growth.” That difference means crypto rarely fits the framework his firm uses, which focuses on businesses that benefit from structural technology shifts.

Khan is the founder and chair of the investment committee at Proem Asset Management, a technology-focused investment firm, with $450 million in assets under management. Before launching Proem, he served as chief strategy officer at Snap (formerly Snapchat), helping lead the company to its public listing, and previously ran global internet investment banking at Credit Suisse, where he worked on major deals including Alibaba’s record-breaking IPO.

However, he isn’t anti-crypto.

While direct token exposure has not typically fit within the firm’s investment thesis, which focuses on fundamental private equity, Proem held positions in Coinbase (COIN), Robinhood (HOOD), as well as bitcoin miner Iren (IREN) and spot bitcoin through the iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), according to its latest 13F filing. Those positions are not part of the firm’s AI strategy, but rather a part of its broader focus on the tech sector, Khan said.

Crypto and AI intersection

While Khan argues that the two industries are completely different, some investors argue that an intersection of AI and crypto makes sense because both rely on decentralized computing networks and data infrastructure.

The argument is that blockchains can provide payment rails and coordination systems for AI services that operate across the internet without a central owner. In fact, last month, Citrini Research’s report that laid out AI bubble fear and caused a brief market meltdown, mentioned that autonomous AI agents will disrupt traditional payment systems by bypassing credit card networks in favor of stablecoins.

Others say blockchain-based systems could also help track how AI models use data, verify outputs or manage digital identities for autonomous software agents.

While the idea of convergence of the two industries remains largely experimental, it has fueled a wave of startups trying to link AI development with crypto-based networks. Meanwhile, many bitcoin miners have already pivoted into the AI boom by repurposing their data centers and power infrastructure to support artificial intelligence computing

Even bitcoin could benefit from AI’s growth, NYDIG, a financial services and infrastructure firm, said. The firm’s analyst argued that if AI cuts jobs and wages, weakening consumer demand, it could force policymakers to cut rates to stabilize the economy, and adding a wave of liquidity could support the bitcoin price.

AI bubble fear

Khan’s comments come as the AI investment boom that surged after ChatGPT’s launch is beginning to show signs of strain.

Nvidia (NVDA) — the dominant supplier of chips used to train AI models — and networking and custom AI chip maker Broadcom (AVGO) are both down roughly 5% year-to-date, reflecting growing questions about the pace of returns from massive AI spending.

Meanwhile, the Citrini report that caused the AI scare outlined a hypothetical 2028 scenario in which rapid AI adoption leads to widespread white-collar job losses and a sharp drop in consumer spending.

While it is a concerning scenario, Khan is looking at the bigger picture, saying that similar fears have accompanied nearly every technological revolution.

“If you read Karl Marx, he said the same thing about machines 200 years ago,” Khan said. “Now we’re having an AI revolution that could be as big as the Industrial Revolution, and people are making the same arguments.”

He added that new technologies have historically reshaped labor markets rather than eliminating jobs entirely.

“When there is new technology, you create new kinds of jobs,” Khan said.

BitMine Immersion Technologies (BMNR), the largest Ethereum-focused treasury firm, purchased 60,976 ether (ETH) through last week, increasing the pace of accumulation as the firm bets crypto prices are nearing the end of what it calls a “mini winter.”

The latest purchase, worth some $120 million at current prices, lifted BitMine’s ETH holdings to over 4.5 million tokens, worth more than $9 billion, according to a Monday update from the company. This was the company’s largest weekly purchase in token terms in 2026 so far.

The firm has steadily added to its treasury throughout the market downturn, even as unrealized losses on its position now is estimated at around $7.8 billion, according to data from DropsTab.

Chairman Thomas Lee said the company stepped up buying from the recent weekly average of roughly 45,000 to 50,000 ETH as market signals suggest a potential bottom may be forming.

“We continue to believe that crypto prices are in the late/final stages of the ‘mini-crypto winter,’” Lee said in a statement.

“As the adage goes, nobody rings the bell at the bottom.” he said. “Therefore BitMine’s strategy is to slightly increase its pace of ETH accumulation.”

The firm said it now earns $174 million annual revenue from staking more than 3 million of its ether token holdings, which could grow to $259 million once all tokens are locked to earn a yield.

The Bitcoin network has just reached 20 million mined coins, leaving just one million Bitcoin to be mined over the next century. 

“The market is about to experience something new: A global asset with almost no new supply left,” Energy Co managing partner David Eng said in an X post on Sunday.

On average, about 450 new Bitcoins are mined each day at current rates. This rate halves roughly every four years as a result of the Bitcoin halving. With just 1 million Bitcoin supply left, the last Bitcoin is set to be mined around 2140. 

Bitcoin’s finite supply offers “predictable rules”

Bitcoin mining company Elektron Energy CEO Raphael Zagury told Cointelegraph the level of clarity around Bitcoin’s supply is “unprecedented.”

“The issuance schedule is transparent decades into the future. Humans value predictable rules, especially when it comes to money,” Zagury said.

“The one million countdown reinforces everything that’s unique about Bitcoin,” added crypto exchange Swyftx portfolio manager Tommy Rogulj. 

“It is a hard-capped, permissionless, and neutral bearer asset operating on a transparent supply curve that cannot be expanded like fiat currencies. This matters in a world that is increasingly succumbing to conflict and tech-driven uncertainty.”

In December, asset management firm Grayscale Investments said that a “digital money system with transparent, predictable, and ultimately scarce supply is a simple idea, but it has rising appeal in today’s economy due to fiat currency tail risks.”

“Non-event, no impact” on BTC’s price: Crypto exec

However, crypto analysts were not convinced the recent milestone would affect Bitcoin’s price.

“Already priced in, markets know the supply growth rate (inflation rate) of BTC with certainty, and it’s already lower than gold,” Capriole Investments founder Charles Edwards told Cointelegraph. “I think it’s a non-event, no impact.”

Zagury shares a similar view to Edwards. “I don’t think the milestone alone moves price in the short term,” Zagury said, adding that “liquidity and macro still dominate.”

Related: Bitcoin drops 2% as oil prices surge on energy shortage fears

“But long term, scarcity plus predictable policy is a powerful combination. Over time, markets tend to reward systems people can trust,” he said.

Bitcoin traded at $68,670 at the time of publication, down around 19% in the past year, according to CoinMarketCap.

What happens once Bitcoin supply stops? 

One of the biggest questions among Bitcoiners is what happens once the last Bitcoin is mined in 2140, with some worried that the network’s security could suffer, as miners will no longer be incentivized by new coins. 

It is understood that at that point, Bitcoin’s model will shift to transaction fees to incentivize miners to continue securing the network, though there are some concerns that it could lead to higher transaction fees.

Magazine: The debate over Bitcoin’s four-year cycle is over: Benjamin Cowen