Crypto’s long-term value remains intact despite market headwinds, while traditional software-as-a-service firms face existential risk from artificial intelligence, says Ravi Tanuku, CEO of KRAKacquisition Corp. (KRAKU), a Nasdaq-listed SPAC backed by Kraken.
Tanuku, whose firm closed a $345 million IPO in January, sees crypto not as a rebound play, but as a secular investment thesis aligned with AI’s next phase. SaaS companies, he notes, are losing their IPO pipeline as AI automates core functions - a threat crypto does not face.
"It’s not about Bitcoin going from $70k to $80k," he said. "It’s whether your business has an answer for AI."
The focus is shifting to crypto-native infrastructure: stablecoins like USDC, RLUSD, and PYUSD are evolving into institutional-grade financial tools, while tokenization may fund the expensive build-out of AI systems.
"There might be interesting ways to provide yield through tokenized infrastructure," Tanuku added.
KRAK is targeting crypto-native firms valued between $2 billion and $10 billion. Tanuku highlighted agentic commerce and blockchain-backed AI financing as high-potential intersections.
