AI Steals Jobs, Bitcoin Laughs Last? The Irony of Progress

by

Finance

What to know:

  • Bitcoin’s fate, NYDIG muses, is less about code and more about the whims of central bankers, as AI stirs the macroeconomic cauldron.
  • Job-stealing AI could force policymakers to flood the economy with liquidity, a boon for bitcoin; or, if AI merely boosts productivity, rising yields might leave the cryptocurrency gasping for air.
  • History, with its steam engines and typewriters, suggests AI will not doom us to idleness but rather weave itself into the fabric of progress, however unevenly.

In the shadowed valleys of economic theory, where the winds of change howl with the voices of displaced workers, Bitcoin stands-a silent spectator to the drama of AI and central banks. Greg Cipolaro, the oracle of NYDIG, proclaims that the cryptocurrency’s destiny is not written in lines of code but in the ledgers of monetary policy.

Imagine, if you will, a world where machines, grown clever, snatch jobs from human hands. Wages falter, debts loom, and the economy teeters. Policymakers, ever the firefighters, douse the flames with liquidity. Bitcoin, that hydra-headed beast, thrives in such floods, its value buoyed by the rising tide of money.

Yet, there is another path. What if AI, far from a harbinger of doom, becomes the midwife of productivity? Real yields climb, central banks tighten their grip, and Bitcoin, poor thing, feels the chill. The opportunity cost of holding it rises, and risk assets lose their luster.

Jack Dorsey’s Block, once a titan, now shrinks like a woolen sock in hot water, shedding staff in the name of efficiency. AI, they say, is to blame. But is it not the same old story? The steam engine, the computer, the internet-each in its turn was branded a thief of jobs, yet each left us richer, if not wiser.

The Irony of Progress

Ah, progress! That fickle mistress who promises paradise but delivers chaos. The steam engine banished muscle; electrification reshaped industries; computers and the internet rendered clerks obsolete. Each wave brought fear, yet each, in time, wove new threads into the tapestry of human endeavor.

Cipolaro, ever the optimist, believes AI will follow suit. A general-purpose technology, it demands not just adoption but transformation. Firms must redesign workflows, invest in tools, and in doing so, expand the boundaries of what is possible. The disruption will be painful, yes, but the equilibrium, as always, will tilt toward integration, not obsolescence.

For Bitcoin, this distinction is crucial. If AI ignites long-term growth, the structural backdrop will differ from the short-term shocks that drive liquidity injections. And then there is the dream of agentic payments-software paying software, a world where humans are mere spectators. Bitcoin’s earliest vision, perhaps, but one that awaits the right incentives.

Credit cards, with their rewards and short-term credit, still hold sway. Stablecoins, for all their promise, have yet to match their allure. Yet, the rise of AI brings new challenges, and with them, new possibilities. Will it trigger a deflationary shock, forcing the money printers to roar back to life? Or will it fuel a productivity boom, raising real yields and reshaping the economic landscape?

Bitcoin, ever the mirror, will reflect the human response to this disruption. In the irony of progress, it finds its fate-a fate as uncertain as it is inevitable.

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2026-03-01 00:08