Is blockchain the next AI trade after Nvidia?

Franklin Templeton and Circle say crypto is the next AI trade. A new CLARITY Act draft imposes limits on Trump's crypto empire. And Tesla held its bitcoin — and booked a $112M loss. ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ Wednesday, July 22, 2026 Forget Nvidia: The next big AI trade could be crypto and blockchain Franklin Templeton's head of digital assets Sandy Kaul and Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire are making the same argument from different angles: as AI agents begin transacting autonomously — paying for API calls, compute time, data access — the payment rails they'll run on are blockchains, not card networks. Traditional payment systems weren't built for micropayments worth fractions of a cent; blockchain networks offer programmable settlement, cryptographic identity, and near-instant finality at a cost that makes machine-to-machine commerce viable at scale. Kaul's conclusion for investors is direct: AI portfolios built around chipmakers and cloud providers may be missing the next layer — the settlement infrastructure those agents will need to actually spend money. Allaire frames it as a single technological shift rather than two separate ones: AI is driving knowledge work costs toward zero while blockchain does the same for payments and coordination. It's an argument that also happens to answer the hardest question hanging over crypto right now — why own this asset class if AI is eating its capital narrative? The answer these two are offering: because AI agents need somewhere to put their wallets. Read more → Sponsor message Policy New draft of CLARITY Act is out — and it would impose limits on Trump's crypto empire A working draft of the CLARITY Act is now circulating — hundreds of pages that include the ethics provision limiting President Trump and all senior government officials from direct crypto ties, with a 2029 sunset and DOJ enforcement. Democrats hadn't seen the text when it was shown to crypto industry insiders, and at least one Democratic co-negotiator, Senator Alsobrooks, said DOJ enforcement is "an unserious offer." The DeFi-protecting Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act language remains intact. Senate Majority Leader Thune intends to move to the floor in days; August 7 is the last realistic opportunity before summer recess. Read more → Markets Tesla holds bitcoin steady, reports $112M impairment loss Tesla maintained its 11,509 BTC treasury unchanged through Q2 — neither buying nor selling, extending a streak that now runs nearly four years — and reported a $112 million after-tax impairment loss as bitcoin fell 14% over the quarter from $83,000 to $58,000. The company's Q2 earnings were mixed: revenue beat estimates at $28.2 billion, but adjusted EPS of $0.33 missed the $0.55 consensus, and free cash flow was negative $1.1 billion. Tesla remains one of the largest public corporate BTC holders, though its static position stands in sharp contrast to Strategy's continued accumulation. Read more → Know someone who should be reading this? Share this newsletter See all of CoinDesk’s newsletters    CoinDesk, Inc., 61 9th Avenue, 5th Floor, New York,NY,10011,USA, Unsubscribe Manage Preferences   Copyright © 2026 CoinDesk, All rights reserved.