BlackRock says AI, not altcoins, will drive crypto next bull phase

BlackRock’s head of digital assets, Robbie Mitchnick, said institutional demand for crypto is narrowing. Clients are concentrating on BTC and ETH and showing little interest in broad altcoin exposure. He called most other tokens “nonsense,” noting that turnover among top tokens has been “pretty ferocious.” Mitchnick argued AI is the more important long-term theme. He described crypto as “computer-native money” that naturally complements AI’s “computer-native data and intelligence,” framing crypto less as a speculative asset and more as infrastructure for an AI-driven economy. He added that bitcoin miners are shifting resources toward AI workloads and high-performance computing, citing examples such as Hut 8, Core Scientific and Iren—some repurposing data centers or signing hosting deals tied to AI. For traders, the key takeaway is a potential rotation signal: if the market buys the AI infrastructure narrative, liquidity and sentiment may favor BTC and ETH while many smaller tokens lag. At the same time, any AI enthusiasm could support demand for miner-linked crypto equities and infrastructure plays.