Animoca's Robby Yung on Why Crypto's Real Customer Was Always AI

In this episode of Bitcoin.com News Interviews, host Alex Richardson speaks with Robbie Young, CEO of Investments at Animoca Brands, at Paris Blockchain Week 2026. Young challenges the conventional narrative that crypto was built for humans, arguing instead that blockchain’s true purpose may have always been to serve AI agents—digital entities that require trustless, provable ownership of digital assets to function. He explains how blockchain enables digital property rights, allowing users to truly own their digital goods, from NFTs to tokenized real-world assets (RWAs), in contrast to the current model where platforms retain control. Young emphasizes gaming as the most promising vector for mass adoption due to gamers’ existing familiarity with digital value, and discusses how AI-driven agentic commerce will drive demand for tokenized assets. He also reflects on the evolution of the metaverse, NFTs, and Europe’s unique potential as a global Web3 hub due to its cross-sector collaboration and unified regulatory framework. The conversation concludes with a forward-looking view that AI agents, RWAs, and stablecoins will become foundational, invisible infrastructure in daily life. Key takeaways include: 1) Blockchain’s primary beneficiary may be AI agents, not humans; 2) Digital property rights are essential for true ownership of digital goods; 3) Gaming is the most natural on-ramp for mass crypto adoption; 4) Tokenized real-world assets (RWAs) will be critical for AI interoperability; 5) Europe’s regulatory cohesion and cultural cross-pollination position it as a leading Web3 ecosystem; 6) AI agents will drive the next wave of digital commerce; 7) Stablecoins will become ubiquitous, fading into the background as essential infrastructure; 8) NFTs will evolve from speculative collectibles to tools for digitizing intellectual property and physical assets.