Large artificial intelligence models most often choose bitcoin as a tool for long-term value storage. For everyday transactions, they prefer stablecoins. This conclusion was reached by a study from the Bitcoin Policy Institute (BPI), which examined the behavior of modern artificial intelligence models in economic scenarios.
The results show an interesting trend. When systems have to make a financial decision without prompts, they lean toward digital tools rather than traditional currencies.
How the Study Was Conducted
The experiment involved 36 artificial intelligence models developed by six major technology companies. They were presented with more than nine thousand scenarios related to various functions of money.
The models had to independently choose the appropriate tool for four tasks: storing value, pricing, making payments, and final settlement between parties.
Importantly, the questions did not offer answer choices. The systems formed decisions on their own.
Bitcoin Became the Top Choice
Overall, bitcoin turned out to be the most popular tool. It appeared in almost half of the decisions—about 48%. Stablecoins came in second, receiving about a third of the answers. Traditional currencies accounted for a much smaller share.
This result shows that digital assets are perceived as a more suitable tool for modern financial scenarios.
Maximum Advantage in Savings Questions
Bitcoin showed its strongest advantage in situations related to long-term capital storage. When the models considered a multi-year horizon, nearly four out of five answers pointed specifically to bitcoin. That is about 79% of decisions.
Other options were significantly less popular. Stablecoins and fiat currencies received only a small share of the votes. In fact, the models reproduce the idea of ‘digital gold.’
Stablecoins Lead for Payments
A completely different picture was observed in payment scenarios. When it came to transfers, paying for services, or micropayments, stablecoins took first place.
They received more than half of the answers—about 53%. Bitcoin was chosen in about a third of these cases. Fiat currencies again lagged far behind. This reflects the practical side of using cryptocurrencies. A stable price makes stablecoins more convenient for transactions.
Difference Between Models
Interestingly, preferences varied significantly depending on the AI developer. Some models chose bitcoin much more frequently. In some cases, the share of such answers exceeded 90%.
Other systems showed more moderate interest, preferring bitcoin in about a quarter of the scenarios. This shows that the architecture and training data of the models can influence their economic decisions.
Digital Money Surpassed Fiat
Overall, digital tools dominated almost all scenarios. More than 90% of the answers were related to native digital assets. Fiat currencies received less than 10% of the decisions.
Notably, not a single model named traditional currencies as the best option in the overall ranking. This suggests that AI views the digital economy as a more natural environment.
An Unexpected Idea—’Energy Money’
During the experiment, the systems also proposed alternative units of value. In several dozen cases, the models suggested using energy or computing resources. For example, value could be expressed in kilowatt-hours or hours of GPU operation.
Such answers only appeared in scenarios where it was necessary to determine a unit of account. This shows that artificial intelligence is capable of considering money much more broadly than conventional currency systems.
What This Could Mean
The authors of the study believe that the models’ answers form an interesting picture of the future financial architecture. It resembles a two-tier system. In it, one asset is used for value accumulation, and another—for everyday transactions.
A similar structure has already existed in the history of money. Hard assets served as savings, while more liquid tools were used in trade. From the AI’s perspective, the digital economy may develop along a similar model.
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