Crypto-AI Convergence Buildout
Bulent Tekmen@tekmen
−7.2%
since Oct 1
The idea
I believe crypto and AI are converging into one infrastructure buildout, and the real winners are the suppliers serving both, not whichever chain or model wins. So this basket owns the picks and shovels: chips and networking gear, the power and grid equipment that's become the real bottleneck, data center landlords, and the exchanges and stablecoin rails where token economics flow. It leans on large-cap suppliers as the core, with power and rails as the higher-conviction edge, and keeps a modest cash reserve to add on weakness over what I see as a decade-long build.
What it owns
- Every AI model and blockchain ultimately runs on chips, so these manufacturers get paid regardless of which technology wins. · Taiwan Semiconductor ManufacturingIt manufactures almost every advanced chip in the take, including competitors' designs, making it the purest picks-and-shovels position regardless of who wins the compute race., NVIDIA CorporationIt sells the default chips both AI training and crypto data centers run on, and holds this position as long as it remains the choice when anyone builds compute., Broadcom Inc.It builds custom AI chips for cloud companies avoiding single-vendor dependency, plus the networking silicon that connects data centers together., Advanced Micro DevicesIt serves as the credible second source for AI compute, and institutions spending large sums prefer a backup vendor to avoid dependency., Micron TechnologyIt manufactures the high-bandwidth memory that every AI chip requires, and one of only three companies on earth that can supply it.31%
- Electricity and grid equipment are the scarcest inputs in the buildout, and the market still underprices this layer. · Eaton CorporationIt supplies the electrical equipment and transformers connecting data centers to the grid, with order backlogs extending years into the future., GE VernovaIt sells the gas turbines and grid hardware utilities are buying to meet data center demand, one of the few companies able to add generating capacity., Constellation EnergyIt owns the largest fleet of nuclear plants in the country, providing the steady clean power that data centers are signing decade-long contracts to buy., Vistra CorpIt owns power plants in regions where data centers cluster, earning higher prices as demand outpaces new generation coming online.19%
- Exchanges, stablecoins, and trading venues profit as crypto activity and institutional adoption grow. · Coinbase GlobalIt operates the exchange and custody rails where token economics flow, and profits as crypto activity grows alongside the AI buildout., Circle Internet GroupIt issues the stablecoin most likely to become the payment rail if AI agents and crypto converge, and profits from USDC circulation growth., CME GroupIt operates the regulated exchange where institutions trade crypto futures, earning fees on volume without holding any crypto itself., Galaxy DigitalIt is converting cryptocurrency mining sites into AI data centers, the most direct play on the convergence of the two industries.19%
- Data centers require switches, cooling, and memory to function, and these suppliers serve every builder equally. · Arista NetworksIt sells the switches that move data inside AI data centers, and switch spending scales with every new facility built., Vertiv HoldingsIt supplies the cooling and power equipment inside server racks, and AI chips run hot enough that this gear is now required rather than optional., Marvell TechnologyIt makes the chips connecting servers to each other and the network, plus custom silicon for cloud buyers riding the same infrastructure buildout.14%
- Whoever wins the compute race pays rent for decades, and these landlords collect it from all sides of the buildout. · Digital Realty TrustIt rents whole buildings to major AI and cloud tenants on the wholesale side, and profits as leasing demand and rents rise with the buildout., EquinixIt operates the interconnection platform where networks, clouds, and crypto firms physically meet, becoming more valuable as both industries build.10%
- Cash7%