The future of capitalism is sustained by Ghibli?
What does my finance bro's and my AI Tech Guys have in common?
Heading to crazy times I am thankful to belong to different groups of friends who have pretty different points of view regarding the potential financial crash we are facing. From insightful operators, the ultimate finance bros, and super technical AI folks. Every WhatsApp group from these three verticals I belong to is talking about how to succeed through the times that come ahead.
Even more interesting, without a pre-discussed alignment, it seems that everyone, in every discipline agrees that infrastructure is the long-time play.
Today, we’re tackling two topics that are like the peanut butter and jelly of modern finance: cryptocurrencies and traditional assets. The twist? This isn’t just about how they’re correlated or not. It’s about how everything is quietly turning into an infrastructure play. Yes, even Bitcoin miners are swapping their ASICs for AI GPUs, and Wall Street is starting to look like Silicon Valley’s data center.
For years, crypto holders' narrative has been about holding Bitcoin as “digital gold,” the uncorrelated hedge against traditional financial chaos. But if you have been paying attention lately, you will notice that Bitcoin isn’t exactly dancing to its tune anymore. Instead, it’s waltzing in step with the S&P 500 like a couple at prom.
Some historical references
Let’s rewind to March 2020, when the world collectively lost its mind. The S&P 500 plunged 34%, oil prices turned negative (what a time to be alive), and Bitcoin dropped 50% in one month. But something curious happened: Bitcoin rebounded faster than your ex texting you during lockdown boredom. By late 2021, it had surged over 400%, while the S&P 500 also enjoyed a tech-fueled rally.
During this period, crypto acted as both a hedge and a speculative asset, like many other positions tech-related.
Fast forward to today. The U.S.-China trade war has escalated, yeah surprise surprise. Markets are tanking, and guess what? Bitcoin is falling right alongside the S&P 500.
Yesterday morning alone, Bitcoin dropped 10%, Ethereum fell 16%, and the S&P 500 futures slid 3.25%. Gold? Up 1.2%. Oil? Down 6%. It’s like watching a synchronized swimming team where crypto has joined equities in the deep end.
Why? Because crypto isn’t just “digital gold” anymore it’s a high-beta macro asset. Translation: when markets panic, crypto panics harder.
Where this is all heading? Spoiler alert: it’s infrastructure. Yes, the future of finance isn’t just about trading assets. It’s about owning the pipes that make it all possible.
Bitcoin Miners Are Becoming AI Players
Bitcoin miners are pivoting to AI. Companies like Riot Platforms, Core Scientific, Hut 8, and Hive Digital Technologies are repurposing their mining facilities for artificial intelligence workloads. Other companies like Galaxy, are considering turning their Bitcoin Infra services to AI inference services for distributed data loads.
Why? Because mining Bitcoin has become less profitable than turning your weekend photos into lovely Japanese cartoons:
The 2024 Bitcoin halving slashed block rewards by half.
Energy costs are rising.
AI demand is booming
These miners already have the infrastructure good energy deals, cooling systems, and high-performance GPUs so why not lease it out to train AI models instead of minting digital coins?
When my finance bro’s turned into hackers and vice versa?
It’s not just crypto miners making this pivot. Traditional financial players are also doubling down on infrastructure:
Nvidia’s GPUs are now powering everything from AI startups to blockchain networks. AWS is hosting blockchain nodes alongside AI workloads. Even Goldman Sachs is investing in data centers because they know that whoever owns the infrastructure owns the future.
Here’s where it gets really interesting: crypto and traditional finance are converging into one giant infrastructure play. Both sides are realizing that owning assets is great, but owning the tools that power those assets is even better.
Bitcoin miners are becoming data center operators for AI workloads. Ethereum validators are staking their coins on decentralized cloud services like Akash Network. Even Solana, and SUI are positioning themselves as blockchains for high-performance computing.
Meanwhile, traditional finance is embracing blockchain and AI not just as tools but as strategic assets:
JPMorgan has its blockchain network, Kinexys.
BlackRock is exploring tokenized securities.
Nasdaq is launching crypto custody services.
The Future Is always about Infrastructure
So what does all this mean? It means that whether you’re buying Bitcoin or betting on Nvidia stock, you’re ultimately investing in infrastructure. The lines between crypto and traditional finance are blurring, and everyone from miners to Wall Street is racing to control the pipes that power our digital economy.
In other words, it’s no longer about who owns the assets it’s about who owns the rails.
This reminds me of how railroads developed the first class of ultra millionaires in the US, and how controlling the navigating routes sustained royal empires for centuries a couple of hundred years ago.
And in this new game of financial Monopoly, infrastructure isn’t just a utility it’s a Boardwalk with a hotel on it.
Complex times look ahead, if your problem is not about where to allocate your resources to maximize your returns or at least cut losses. My recommendation is to learn to build things, learn to automate daily tasks, and enjoy the ride because is going to be fun.