Crypto activity hits all-time high even before solving AI's challenges

Activity in the crypto industry reached an all-time high in September, venture capital powerhouse a16z has reported. It also claimed that the technology could solve "some of AI’s most pressing challenges."

In their State of Crypto 2024 report, the firm stated that in September alone, 220 million crypto addresses interacted with a blockchain at least once. This figure has more than tripled since the end of 2023. However, it's important to note that one user can hold multiple addresses, similar to having multiple bank accounts where funds are stored.

According to the authors, this growth is primarily due to the Solana (SOL) blockchain, which accounts for about 100 million active addresses. However, other data providers, such as Hello Moon, claim that the vast majority of addresses on this blockchain are operated by bots.

Regardless, a16z also estimated that there are 30-60 million monthly active crypto users worldwide.

"[It] represents only 5-10% of the total number of 617 million global crypto owners estimated by Crypto.com in June 2024," the authors noted, adding that "there's a big opportunity to re-engage passive holders on-chain."

While a16z also claims that stablecoins – tokens usually backed by traditional currencies and designed to maintain a stable price – have already achieved product-market fit, another significant opportunity comes from the AI sector.

The report highlighted a strong overlap between AI and crypto users, while builders in the latter industry "show increasing interest in AI." According to the authors, blockchains can help address AI's challenges, such as verifying the authenticity of content, expanding access to computing power, increasing transparency, and compensating IP and data contributors.

"AI’s centralization-related challenges are almost exactly the inverse of the opportunities for decentralization presented by blockchain networks," the authors concluded.