AI and Blockchain: Near Protocol growth and data center investment outlook

Industry experts are discussing the intersection of artificial intelligence and blockchain technology, focusing on infrastructure and market liquidity. Matt Hougan, CIO of Bitwise, highlighted the performance of Near Protocol’s cross-chain service, ‘Intents’. He noted that cumulative transaction volume for the service has exceeded $30 billion, with projected annual fee revenue reaching approximately $45 million. Hougan suggested that Near is positioning itself as key infrastructure for the emerging AI agent economy through high throughput and private AI inference capabilities.

Separately, Arthur Hayes, CIO of Maelstrom, expressed concerns regarding potential overinvestment in AI data centers. He suggested that a massive influx of capital into data centers could eventually lead to a supply glut and market shocks by 2027 or 2028. Hayes posited that if such a scenario occurs, the resulting excess liquidity might flow into the cryptocurrency market. He also noted that the rise of AI agents could drive demand for decentralized computing resources and specialized payment projects like Flop, which aims to create a spot market for computing power.