SXSW recap: Panels favoring AI over crypto in 2026

Unlike previous years, only a handful of official events at the 2026 version of the iconic Austin festival featured crypto.

Cryptocurrencies seem to have lost their allure at the South by Southwest (SXSW) festival, giving way this year to panels and events focused on the rise of artificial intelligence.

As the annual Austin, Texas event kicked off last week for a run through Wednesday, only a few official sessions focused on crypto, while a side event, the “Bitcoin Takeover” in downtown Austin, featured Bitcoin (BTC) maximalists and other industry representatives.

“Almost exactly the pattern that’s playing out with AI is what’s playing out with crypto,” Ali Tager, the National Cryptocurrency Association’s vice president of communications, told Cointelegraph, referring to many of the uncertainties from the general public in the early days of the industry. 

She added: “I do believe that crypto is just a few years behind on that journey.”

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In contrast to previous SXSW festivals in Austin, which doted heavily on nonfungible tokens (NFTs) in 2022, focused on Web3 in 2023, and featured Coinbase executives in 2025, the industry representation this year was scant. While there were several panels this year focused on AI through art, music, storytelling, and risk warnings, only a handful featured crypto, and were hosted by the NCA, Solana Foundation, or Foundation Capital.

“The energy is different every single year,” said Tager, referring to SXSW.

Amid increasing BTC difficulty and related costs, some of the largest crypto miners in the US have announced plans to shift their business strategies from digital assets to AI and high-performance computing. For companies like Riot Platforms, CleanSpark, MARA Holdings, Core Scientific, Hut 8, and TeraWulf, that includes plans to repurpose some of their infrastructure in data centers toward AI.

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Source: CoinTelegraph