T. Rowe Price crypto chief says AI stole marginal buyer but stays

T. Rowe Price’s crypto lead Blue Macellari told investors on Thursday that artificial‑intelligence tools have siphoned off the “marginal buyer” who once helped lift crypto prices, while institutional adoption remains too sluggish to fill the gap – but she still believes the sector’s long‑term upside is “effectively infinite”【1】.

AI’s impact on the marginal buyer

Macellari traced the recent slowdown in crypto price action to two forces. First, the wave of positive headlines that began with the launch of the first Bitcoin ETFs and continued through last summer – a period of almost weekly bullish news – proved unsustainable, and the market has been digesting the deceleration ever since. Second, she argued that generative‑AI applications have “sucked the air out of the room” for the marginal buyer, pulling that segment away from crypto assets【1】. The exact mechanism remains unclear, and she admitted the October market crash still lacks a definitive explanation【1】.

Institutional adoption and the “infinite” TAM

Despite the short‑term headwinds, Macellari highlighted a surge in corporate interest. She said every major institutional player is now building something in crypto, and she herself has delivered 15 to 20 board presentations on tokenisation and stablecoins in the past six months – a volume that “never [she] was asked before”【1】. She believes the total addressable market (TAM) has grown from roughly 8 billion people to “effectively infinite” as AI agents begin transacting on‑chain, expanding demand for on‑chain finance, tokenised assets, and 24/7 equity‑style trading【1】.

Where the opportunity lies now

Macellari identified on‑chain finance as the clearest near‑term opportunity, encompassing tokenisation, payments, and blockchains designed for institutional use【1】. She noted that stablecoins are growing rapidly, the real‑world asset bucket is being built, and the necessary infrastructure is already in place. The only missing piece, she said, is the speed of execution by institutions【1】.

What to watch

• AI‑driven on‑chain activity – monitor transaction volumes from AI agents, which could signal the expansion of the “infinite” TAM.
• Institutional board engagements – a rise in tokenisation presentations may indicate accelerating corporate adoption.
• Regulatory developments – any new guidance from the SEC or other regulators that could speed up institutional execution.

Macellari’s view underscores a paradox: while AI may be eroding the retail fringe that helped lift prices, it also opens a vastly larger on‑chain market for institutions. The key question now is whether the speed of institutional execution can catch up with the AI‑fueled demand.