Funding the Future Crypto vs AI — which bubble bursts first?
Oct 15, 2025
Dive into the intriguing clash between crypto and AI, where both are seen more as speculative bubbles than revolutionary solutions. Discover how crypto failed as a stable currency and became a hotbed of fraud, while AI is beset by hype that oversells its true capabilities. The discussion highlights the dangerous concentration of power these technologies create, driven by greed in crypto and fear in the AI industry. Ultimately, there's a powerful call to redirect our focus from speculation to investing in people and care.
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Crypto's Promise Versus Its Reality
- Crypto was marketed as money-free from states and banks but mainly delivered unaccountability, fraud and volatility.
- Richard Murphy argues crypto created speculation and concentrated power rather than real exchange value.
Crypto Is Speculation, Not Currency
- Most cryptocurrencies lack real backing and behave like speculative assets, not functional currencies.
- Murphy compares crypto mania to tulip mania and calls its value dependent on finding new buyers.
AI Hype vs. Real Capability
- AI hype frames it as an industrial revolution that will replace thinking, but core power and data sit with a few corporations.
- Murphy emphasizes AI recognises patterns, cannot truly create or think, and may not deliver a productivity miracle soon.