Mark Zuckerberg Just Wrote a 6,500-Word Manifesto on the Future of AI, and Did Not Mention Crypto Once. Here's What He's Missing.

The new 6,500-word manifesto ("The Future is for Everyone") on artificial intelligence (AI) from Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: META) Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg lays out a bright, shiny future in which personal super-intelligence is the status quo. All individuals will have access to artificial intelligence, and no tech giant will reign supreme due to a new focus on decentralization.

Here's what the AI manifesto didn't mention: crypto or decentralized blockchain networks. Was this just an oversight? Or does Zuckerberg really think that crypto and blockchain technology can play no meaningful role in the build-out of super-powerful AI?

The crypto future is for everyone

The omission of crypto and blockchain seems odd. After all, crypto is rooted in the same type of open-source, decentralized ethos that Zuckerberg describes in his thought piece.

The original goal of crypto was to create a completely decentralized financial asset that could not be dominated by any financial institution, corporation, central bank, or regulator. Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC), as described by Satoshi Nakamoto in the original Bitcoin whitepaper, was supposed to usher in a new era of decentralized, peer-to-peer financial transactions, without the need for any third-party intermediaries.

Image source: Getty Images.

Moreover, many of the same issues currently faced by AI companies and mentioned in the new manifesto -- such as concerns over the amount of power being consumed -- are the same issues originally faced by Bitcoin miners. Remember when people complained about the electricity usage of Bitcoin mining, and its potential effect on national power grids? The same debate is happening now over AI data centers, only at greater scale.

During the past decade, high-profile Silicon Valley figures such as Jack Dorsey and Tim Draper became some of the biggest backers of Bitcoin. For them, Bitcoin is the future of money. They envision a future of personal empowerment, made possible by decentralized blockchain networks and on-chain finance.

That's the same message now being shared by the likes of Coinbase Global (NASDAQ: COIN) CEO Brian Armstrong. As he recently pointed out, crypto simply doesn't get enough credit these days for making it possible for people around the world to have a bright financial future. Even something as simple as being able to move your money into dollar-pegged stablecoins can make a big difference if you live in a country that is being ravaged by hyperinflation.

The intersection of AI and crypto

In short, the crypto future is for everyone. Yes, right now, everyone is focused on AI. But take a step back, and you'll realize that the worlds of AI and crypto have many potential intersections.

That's a point made by Cathie Wood of Ark Invest. In 2024, she highlighted the growing intersection of AI and crypto. Blockchain networks, it turns out, could be one way to host decentralized AI projects. AI could also theoretically help to solve the various security and scaling concerns of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin.

To some degree, this intersection of AI and crypto is already taking place, via the creation of AI agents. This imagines a world in which AI agents transact with each other, without the need for direct human oversight.

Armstrong has even coined a new term to describe this: agentic finance. He thinks it could be big for crypto. He's now predicting that AI agents will soon account for more trading on Coinbase than humans.

How to invest in the intersection of AI and crypto

So, with that in mind, where to invest in the future of AI and crypto? For now, one of the best options remains Coinbase, which continues to become much more than just a traditional cryptocurrency exchange. It is now very much a crypto infrastructure play, and several of its recent initiatives -- such as the creation of the Base blockchain network in 2023 and the launch of a new blockchain payment protocol in 2025 -- are now being used to build out the future of agentic finance.

Of course, as with all things crypto, there is no sure thing. If you're investing at the intersection of AI and crypto, be sure you understand the risks involved. Personally, I'm sticking to companies such as Coinbase that are run by crypto visionaries leading the push into AI. That provides a margin of safety, while also providing major upside potential ahead.

Dominic Basulto has positions in Bitcoin. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Bitcoin and Meta Platforms. The Motley Fool recommends Coinbase Global. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.