Technology investor Imran Khan says cryptocurrencies do not play a significant role in his AI investment strategy, arguing that the asset class operates on a fundamentally different thesis than the AI-driven productivity boom.
Despite the growing narrative that AI and cryptocurrencies will converge, Khan said he largely sees them as separate investment themes.
“Cryptocurrencies are a different animal,” he said in an interview. “When it comes to AI, you are investing in productivity and economic growth.” That difference means that cryptocurrencies rarely fit the framework his company uses, which focuses on companies that benefit from structural technological changes.
Khan is the founder and chairman 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 to take the company public, and previously led global internet investment banking at Credit Suisse, where he worked on major deals, including Alibaba’s record-breaking IPO.
However, he is not anti-crypto.
While direct exposure to tokens does not typically fit into 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 bitcoins through the iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), according to its latest 13F filing. Those positions are not part of the company’s AI strategy, but rather part of its broader focus on the technology sector, Khan said.
Intersection of cryptography and artificial intelligence
While Khan maintains that the two industries are completely different, some investors argue that an intersection of AI and cryptocurrencies makes sense because they both rely on decentralized computer networks and data infrastructure.
The argument is that blockchains can provide payment paths and coordination systems for artificial intelligence services that operate over the Internet without a central owner. In fact, last month, the Citrini Research report that exposed fears of the AI bubble and caused a brief market crash 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 results, or manage digital identities for autonomous software agents.
While the idea of the two industries converging remains largely experimental, it has fueled a wave of startups attempting to link AI development with cryptocurrency-based networks. Meanwhile, many bitcoin miners have already joined the AI boom by repurposing their data centers and power infrastructure to support AI computing.
Even bitcoin could benefit from the growth of AI, said NYDIG, a financial services and infrastructure company. The company’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 price of bitcoin.
Fear of the AI bubble
Khan’s comments come as the AI investment boom that emerged after the launch of ChatGPT is beginning to show signs of strain.
Nvidia (NVDA), the dominant supplier of chips used to train AI models, and custom AI chips and networking maker Broadcom (AVGO), are down about 5% so far this year, reflecting growing doubts about the pace of returns from massive AI spending.
Meanwhile, the Citrini report that caused the AI scare outlined a hypothetical scenario for 2028 in which rapid adoption of AI leads to widespread white-collar job losses and a sharp drop in consumer spending.
While it is a worrying scenario, Khan is looking at the bigger picture and says that similar fears have accompanied almost every technological revolution.
“If you read Karl Marx, he said the same thing about machines 200 years ago,” Khan said. “We are now living through 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, new types of jobs are created,” Khan said.
