Crypto billionaire Justin Sun says the next cryptocurrency breakthrough may come from artificial intelligence (AI), posting Tuesday on X that he is fully committed to AI, but that the industry has yet to produce a product that resonates with consumers.
In an interview with CoinDesk ahead of the Hong Kong 2026 Consensus, the Tron founder argued that most AI-linked tokens remain conceptual rather than functional.
While investors frequently cite AI as the next catalyst for digital assets, Sun said the sector lacks the equivalent of a “ChatGPT moment,” a consumer-facing application that clearly demonstrates its value.
Until that happens, he said, enthusiasm alone is unlikely to drive a sustained market cycle, leaving cryptocurrencies dependent on progress in payments, settlements and other proven use cases.
“For most AI tokens, it is just a concept,” Sun said in Hong Kong. “It’s actually not hitting the mark yet.”
Still, Sun maintained that the convergence of AI and blockchain remains one of the most promising long-term directions for the industry, particularly if developers can produce tools that appear immediately useful rather than experimental.
Meanwhile, Sun said the industry’s most reliable momentum continues to come from areas already showing steady demand, particularly stablecoins and cross-border payments.
In parts of the global south where locals simply don’t trust inflation-ravaged currencies, USDT on Tron is a lifeline for financial access. As Tether founder Paolo Ardoino highlighted last summer, in countries like Bolivia, high-end imports are paid in USDT.
“[With blockchain it’s] “It is the first time in the world that we have this type of digital settlement in dollars, where money can be transferred everywhere, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week,” Sun said.
Until a consumer AI product offers the same clarity that stablecoins already offer, cryptocurrencies’ most visible progress will likely remain in the infrastructure that quietly underpins everyday transactions.
