Artificial intelligence may be the hottest narrative in tech, but its true financial backbone could be Ethereum. With its dominance in stablecoins, DeFi, and tokenization, Ethereum is riding the AI wave, and it’s positioned to become the infrastructure that powers trillions in AI-driven financial flows.
Why Ethereum Fits The Role Of AI Settlement Layer
Artificial intelligence is on track to become one of the most valuable industries in human history. It’s a trillion-dollar opportunity, and Ethereum is uniquely positioned to capture it. As highlighted by Eigen Layer’s dev Nader Dabit on X, AI is already integrated into almost every corner of existing software infrastructure, and its pace of adoption would continue to accelerate.
The introduction of ERC-8004 is a turning point, which lays the foundation for injecting the vast design space of AI directly into Ethereum. Dabit noted that the injection is a positive-sum outcome because it expands ETH utility, potential, and value, while also unlocking new pathways for AI itself.
Amid this foray, the developer is confident that an AI service marketplace could be introduced in the near future, possibly on Ethereum. The marketplace would function as a decentralized agent app store where anyone can discover and hire specialized agents for specific tasks. These include legal document analysis, highly-rated legal AI agents, code reviews, programming agents, and research assistance.
Furthermore, there will be no central entity needed, no hidden algorithms, and it will be just open, trustless, and verifiable AI. Such development implies that every past interaction would be publicly verifiable, with historical performance, accuracy, and reputation data available on-chain.
According to the dev, the idea of verifiable AI in general could end up being one of the most successful use cases in all of crypto. Ethereum’s role as the backbone of trustless computation and coordination makes it the natural home for this revolution.
Why This Matters For ETH’s Next Move
With key development set to emerge on the Ethereum blockchain, ETH’s price might experience a notable rally in the following months. Crypto analyst Mags has highlighted a bullish outlook for ETH, predicting that the altcoin is set to hit the $15,650 target.
During the last cycle, once ETH broke above its previous all-time high (ATH), it surged by +211% and ultimately reached the 3.618 Fibonacci extension level. Meanwhile, in this cycle, ETH has once again surpassed its ATH for the first time in the cycle, bringing the 3.618 Fib extension at $15,650 into focus.
Even a more conservative projection suggests strong upside. If ETH captures only half the growth seen in the previous cycle, the price range could land between $10,146 and $11,600, which corresponds to the 2.272 to 2.618 Fib extension levels. A very conservative target for Ethereum would be based on the 1.618 Fib extension, which sits around $7,500 level.
