Recently, a saying has become popular in the market: Is the explosion of AI replicating the 2000 internet bubble, and could it even lay the groundwork for the next financial crisis?
But if we compare the current AI with the Web2 bubble (2000) and the financial crisis (2008), we will find that the essence of these three is completely different.
Market sentiment may go in the wrong direction, but the structure does not lie.
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The key difference between AI and the 2000 internet bubble
The failure of 2000 was due to:
The user base has not really arrived
Insufficient infrastructure (internet speed, computer penetration, server capacity)
Most companies have only imagination, not business models
That round was 'the story ahead of technology'.
But AI in 2025 is completely the opposite:
Users have already consumed on AI (ChatGPT, Claude, Midjourney)
Infrastructure has long matured (cloud, GPU, model inference technology)
AI has already replaced enterprise costs, rather than waiting for user adoption.
2000 was air; 2025 is a cost revolution.
This means that AI's valuation is not about future expectations, but that enterprises' cash flow has already begun to rely on AI.
These types of cash flow technologies will not collectively go to zero like in 2000.
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AI is also different from the 2008 financial crisis
The fundamental issue in 2008 was 'leverage'.
The financial system splits a risk into many parts and then stacks structured products to create an avalanche.
The essence is:
Leverage stacking leverage
Disguised risks
Regulatory gaps
And now the expansion model of the AI industry is not based on debt, but on:
Tech companies are paying cash to build data centers
GPU supply is supported by enterprise cash flow
AI's revenue model is entering a positive cycle
AI is not a 'debt bubble', but a 'capital expenditure race'.
It may bring valuation adjustments, but will not create systemic risk.
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So will AI become a bubble?
Yes, but in a different form.
AI bubbles will appear in:
Excessively optimistic peripheral themes
AI startups that have not yet commercialized
Supply chain cyclical (e.g., excessive GPU expansion)
But this type of bubble is more like the cloud concept of 2013, not 2000 or 2008.
Truly valuable companies will survive, not the entire industry collapsing together.
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What is truly noteworthy is that AI has changed the underlying logic of the global market.
The biggest structural change in this round is:
1. AI is reducing enterprise costs
Content, advertising, customer service, engineering, and financial research are all being significantly enhanced by AI.
2. AI's growth is driven by enterprise demand, not consumer sentiment
Enterprises invest in AI for survival, not to chase trends.
3. AI is not an industry; it is the common infrastructure of all industries.
Just like electricity and the internet, it will permeate every department and every process.
This means:
The essence of AI is not a bubble, but a process of repricing efficiency in the global capital market.
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The real changes facing the crypto market
The rise of AI is not a threat to crypto but an opportunity for crypto.
AI needs:
Faster and cheaper cross-border payments
Verifiable data
Automated settlements and collaboration
Decentralized execution layer (AI Agents Onchain)
These demands can only be met by blockchain.
AI and crypto are not competitors, but complementary.
True Web3 growth will occur when AI automatic payments, AI automatic trading, and AI on-chain settlements take place.
That is a brand new demand, not a speculative cycle.
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This is not a bubble, but a technological convergence that happens once every thirty years.
Putting the three segments of history together, you will find:
2000: The story moved too fast
2008: Leverage stacked too high
2025: Technology implementation, cost reduction, cash flow driven demand explosion
The market will correct, but the direction will not change.
AI will not burst like in 2000, nor will it collapse like in 2008.
It may bring short-term fluctuations, but the long-term trend is:
Efficiency > Story
Cash flow > Retail sentiment
Infrastructure > Leverage
This is the most noteworthy thing in this round.
