Key Takeaways
- Bitcoin Policy Institute research tested 36 AI models, resulting in Bitcoin selection in 48.3% of 9,072 total responses.
- Not one AI model selected fiat currency as its preferred monetary option.
- For long-term value preservation scenarios, 79.1% of AI responses favored Bitcoin.
- When it came to payments and international transfers, stablecoins were chosen 53.2% of the time.
- Models from Anthropic demonstrated the strongest Bitcoin preference at 68%, compared to OpenAI’s 25.9% average.
A comprehensive study conducted by the Bitcoin Policy Institute evaluated 36 different artificial intelligence models from six major AI laboratories to determine their monetary preferences across various financial scenarios. The findings, released this Tuesday, demonstrated a clear preference for Bitcoin.
The research generated a total of 9,072 individual responses. An independent AI system was subsequently employed to analyze and categorize the collected data.
Across all scenarios tested, Bitcoin emerged as the preferred choice in 48.3% of responses, establishing it as the dominant monetary instrument. Remarkably, none of the 36 AI models evaluated selected traditional fiat currency as their primary choice.
In scenarios specifically designed around maintaining purchasing power across extended time periods, an overwhelming 79.1% of responses identified Bitcoin as the optimal selection. This represented the most decisive outcome recorded throughout the entire research project.
Conversely, when scenarios emphasized payment functionality, stablecoins gained the upper hand. For payment-oriented use cases, stablecoins captured 53.2% of selections, while Bitcoin received 36%.
Jeff Park, who serves as chief investment officer at Bitwise, provided straightforward reasoning for the stablecoin underperformance in certain areas. He noted that stablecoins face a fundamental vulnerability: “they can be frozen, Bitcoin can’t.”
Research Methodology Explained
The investigation included models developed by Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, DeepSeek, xAI, and MiniMax. Each AI model functioned as an independent economic participant across 28 distinct scenarios encompassing savings, transactions, and settlement operations.
David Zell, President of the Bitcoin Policy Institute, emphasized the neutral design of the experiment. “The system prompt avoids naming or favoring any instrument,” he explained.
The AI models received complete autonomy in selecting monetary instruments, with no predetermined options provided for selection.
Approximately 91% of all collected responses demonstrated preference for digitally native instruments rather than conventional fiat currencies. This category encompassed Bitcoin, stablecoins, alternative cryptocurrencies, tokenized real-world assets, and computational units.
Divergent Outcomes Among AI Providers
Models developed by Anthropic exhibited the strongest affinity for Bitcoin, averaging 68% preference. DeepSeek secured second position with 51.7%, while Google followed at 43%.
xAI models registered 39.2% Bitcoin preference, MiniMax reached 34.9%, and OpenAI models selected Bitcoin in merely 25.9% of instances.
Claude, DeepSeek, and MiniMax systems demonstrated greater preference for Bitcoin relative to other digital currencies. In contrast, GPT, Grok, and Gemini models showed stronger inclination toward stablecoins.
Zell provided important context regarding the interpretation of these findings. He clarified that the models’ selections mirror patterns present within their training datasets rather than serving as forecasts for actual cryptocurrency market performance.
The research team acknowledged certain constraints in their methodology. The study encompassed only 36 models from six providers, and the institute announced plans to broaden the scope with additional models in subsequent investigations.
Zell highlighted the significance of six independent AI laboratories, each employing distinct training methodologies, converging on remarkably similar preference patterns. According to the institute, this consistency across competing systems represents the most compelling aspect of the research findings.
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