Crypto’s ‘ChatGPT Moment’ Is a Myth, Says Dragonfly’s Haseeb Qureshi — Here’s Why the Industry Isn’t Dying

In the fast-paced world of technology, where artificial intelligence (AI) has become the darling of venture capitalists and the media, the cryptocurrency industry finds itself at a crossroads. With AI dominating headlines and funding rounds, some in the crypto space are beginning to wonder if they’ve missed their “ChatGPT moment” or if capital is permanently shifting away from blockchain technologies. However, Haseeb Qureshi, managing partner at Dragonfly, a leading crypto venture firm, is not buying into this narrative.

In an exclusive interview with CoinDesk at NEARCON 2026, Qureshi dismissed the comparison between AI’s explosive consumer adoption and crypto’s trajectory as fundamentally flawed. “I would completely dispute this framing,” he stated. “Less than 1% of AI users are paying. That means 99% are using the free tier. Crypto doesn’t have a free tier.”

Qureshi’s argument hinges on the nature of the products themselves. While AI tools like ChatGPT offer free versions to entice users, cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum do not have a “free tier.” This distinction is crucial in understanding why comparing the two industries is like comparing apples to oranges.

The numbers back up Qureshi’s perspective. While approximately 80% of Americans have tried some form of AI tool, only about 15% have owned cryptocurrency. However, Qureshi sees this 15% as a “mass-market phenomenon,” highlighting the significant penetration of crypto in the consumer market.

Instead of focusing on consumer adoption metrics, Qureshi suggests looking at the global utility of cryptocurrencies, particularly in the realm of payments. Stablecoins, which are cryptocurrencies pegged to stable assets like the US dollar, have been growing steadily regardless of price swings in the broader crypto market. “Stablecoin supply has been growing 50% year over year,” Qureshi noted. “That’s exponential growth.”

This growth in stablecoin usage underscores the underlying fundamentals of the crypto industry, which Qureshi argues remain intact even if market sentiment has cooled. The recent shift in venture capital towards AI is not, in his view, an indictment of crypto but rather a natural market response to emerging opportunities.

“Money is a leading indicator,” Qureshi explained. “Human beings respond to money — they don’t respond to the reality on the ground.” Despite the shift in funding, the crypto industry still boasts a $2 trillion asset class, a figure that speaks to its resilience and potential.

One of the key advantages of crypto, according to Qureshi, is its high leverage as a technology. Unlike AI giants like OpenAI, which employ thousands of people, crypto projects often scale with lean teams. “We don’t have any 9,000-person companies like OpenAI — and that’s a good thing,” Qureshi said. “Crypto is incredibly high leverage as a technology. You don’t need very many people to build things that are world scale.”

This efficiency in resource utilization has allowed crypto to weather market contractions and corrections. Qureshi sees the recent downturn as a necessary adjustment after years of overfunding. “To the extent that there were too many people building too many things in crypto, the market’s correcting that. That’s capitalism doing its job.”

Dragonfly’s recent announcement of a $650 million fund, despite the current market malaise, is a testament to this belief in the industry’s long-term potential. “That’s the best time to double down,” Qureshi stated. “Why would you want to double down when prices are high? If you’re raising money and deploying into all-time high prices, that’s when you should be nervous.”

When asked whether something more existential had changed in crypto over the past few months, Qureshi was unequivocal: “Did the fundamentals of the industry change that much? No.”

While Dragonfly is exploring investments at the intersection of crypto and AI, Qureshi is cautious about assuming that AI will revive crypto’s momentum. “Is AI going to save crypto? F*** no,” he said bluntly. “AI agents using crypto are so far away — it’s going to take years.”

He sees a familiar pattern of crypto attaching itself to whatever technological trend is ascendant. “Chatbots are exciting? Great — we have chatbots with tokens. Agents are exciting? Great — you can buy the layer one for agents,” he observed. “As an investor, you just have to slow down.”

This doesn’t mean that crypto’s identity is shifting away from its roots. Recent narratives suggesting that the industry has capitulated to Wall Street miss the point, according to Qureshi. “There’s a lot of people saying crypto capitulated and became a tool of Wall Street. I think that’s stupid,” he said. “The whole point of bitcoin is that it encompasses everybody’s usage of the same technology. Nobody’s usage impinges on anybody else’s.”

Qureshi attributes much of today’s gloom to short time horizons and simple fatigue. “People in crypto are pathologically short-time horizon,” he noted. “Prices were down a lot of times.” From ETF-driven rallies to tariff-induced pullbacks, volatility has defined the industry for over a decade. The pattern, he suggests, is neither new nor fatal.

“This idea that because prices are down, nobody’s going to use stablecoins anymore? Absurd,” Qureshi stated. For him, the story isn’t about AI replacing crypto, nor about crypto’s decline. It’s about cycles — and patience.

“Chill out,” he advised. “It’s not a catastrophe.”

As the crypto industry continues to evolve and adapt, voices like Qureshi’s serve as a reminder that the fundamentals of the technology remain strong. While the path forward may not be as meteoric as some had hoped, the industry’s resilience and potential for global utility suggest that crypto’s “ChatGPT moment” may come in a different form — one that’s built on the solid foundation of decentralized finance and global payments rather than viral consumer adoption.

Tags: Crypto, AI, Venture Capital, Stablecoins, Blockchain, Dragonfly, Haseeb Qureshi, NEARCON 2026, ChatGPT, Bitcoin, Ethereum, Decentralized Finance, Global Payments, Market Cycles, Investment Strategy

Viral Sentences:

• “Crypto doesn’t have a free tier.”
• “Stablecoin supply has been growing 50% year over year. That’s exponential growth.”
• “We don’t have any 9,000-person companies like OpenAI — and that’s a good thing.”
• “Is AI going to save crypto? F*** no.”
• “Chill out. It’s not a catastrophe.”
• “The whole point of bitcoin is that it encompasses everybody’s usage of the same technology.”
• “People in crypto are pathologically short-time horizon.”
• “This idea that because prices are down, nobody’s going to use stablecoins anymore? Absurd.”

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