MIAMI BEACH, Fla. — Dan Tapiero, founding father of crypto-focused development fairness fund 50T Holdings, is betting that synthetic intelligence and blockchain know-how will converge in methods the market hasn’t but priced in.
“Blockchain is the cash of AI,” Tapiero stated in an interview with CoinDesk. “When you simply think about having hundreds of those AI brokers appearing independently, they’re not going to be sending wires from JPMorgan. It’s all going to be sensible contracts embedded on blockchains.”
Tapiero stated he expects round 20% of 50T’s subsequent fund — at the moment elevating capital by way of early 2026 — to be invested in firms working on the intersection of AI and blockchain. Whereas he acknowledged these firms “don’t even exist but” at development scale, he stated he’s assured that “over the following 5 years, that turns into an actual class.”
Tapiero additionally shared a bullish however measured view on the crypto market’s trajectory. He stated he’s held the identical goal for bitcoin since early 2023: $180,000. First, he expects the asset to consolidate round $100,000 — a degree he says has lengthy served as a psychological anchor for bitcoin buyers and whales.
“Markets transfer towards spherical numbers. It’s foolish, but it surely’s actual,” he stated. “And in crypto, $100K has been the goal for a very long time. As soon as we maintain that for a bit, I feel we’re heading to $180K — perhaps by summer time subsequent 12 months.”
Bitcoin has been buying and selling within the $101,000 to $124,000 vary for the final six months and is at the moment caught round $103,000.
Whereas some merchants have grown impatient with bitcoin’s stagnant worth motion, Tapiero warned towards short-term considering. “That is the toughest market I’ve ever tried to commerce,” he stated, referring to his 25 years in conventional markets. “Making an attempt to have a short-term view right here is sort of unimaginable.”
Undervalued Development-Stage Companies
Tapiero stated his agency, which has $2 billion in belongings beneath administration and has invested in 24 firms, is seeing a few of the greatest alternatives in its historical past. With many conventional buyers nonetheless cautious after high-profile collapses like FTX and Celsius, there’s minimal competitors for growth-stage crypto firms producing $50–100 million in income.
“We’re the one development fairness fund on the planet solely centered on crypto. We don’t do seed or enterprise. And proper now, we’re dictating pricing,” he stated.
50T has had six exits this 12 months, together with IPOs for Circle (CRCL), Gemini (GEMI) and eToro (ETOR) and Coinbase’s (COIN) acquisition of derivatives alternate Deribit. Whereas valuations in public markets are climbing — with some corporations buying and selling at 10–20 instances income — non-public market pricing stays subdued.
Overhyped and Underappreciated
Tapiero stated he’s skeptical of the tokenization narrative that has picked up steam in current months.
Whereas he believes within the long-term potential of tokenized real-world belongings (RWAs), he stated precise adoption has lagged behind the hype.
“There’s a number of speak, but it surely’s nonetheless early,” he stated, pointing to corporations like Securitize and Determine as early movers, however noting that “the truth is, it hasn’t actually occurred.”
Alternatively, decentralized finance (DeFi) has already exceeded 2021 ranges, in his view, and stays a core space of curiosity regardless of usability challenges. Metaverse and blockchain gaming firms, against this, stay “close to the lows,” he stated.
For now, Tapiero is targeted on scaling investments in what he sees as the following infrastructure layer for a digitized economic system — particularly the place blockchain meets autonomous AI brokers.
“I don’t even know who these firms are but,” he stated. “However I’m certain that’s the place that is going.”
