Coinfund President On AI Tokens, DePIN, And Why Clear Rules Will Unleash Next Wave Of Crypto Adoption

Christopher Perkins, President of CoinFund and a former Wall Street executive, believes the next chapter of crypto adoption hinges on clarity—regulatory, technological, and strategic.

In an interview with Benzinga, Perkins discussed everything from AI-powered networks to staking yields, tokenized fund structures, and Washington's evolving stance on digital assets.

At the heart of Perkins’ long-term thesis is a commitment to fundamentals over hype.

When asked about the investability of AI-token and DePIN projects, he was blunt: "We don't like to invest on narrative. We like to invest on fundamentals."

CoinFund has made numerous bets in the space.

"It’s all about utility. It’s all about understanding the value that is derived from that utility," he said, pointing to examples like autonomous lawn robots powered by hyper-precise location data from DePIN networks.

Perkins is no stranger to regulatory entanglements.

A former managing director at Citi during the Dodd-Frank era, he learned early on that "you can't win the game if you don't know the rules."

Today, he sees the absence of a clear taxonomy, particularly around what constitutes a security versus a commodity, as the biggest hurdle to U.S. innovation.

"What we're confronted with right now… is glitter clarity," he said, referring to the SEC's ambiguity under former chair Gary Gensler.

Perkins remains optimistic about the new administration, describing the approach under President Donald Trump and current congressional leaders as "principled" and "coordinated."

Stablecoins, in his view, are on the verge of a breakout.

With a Senate vote on stablecoin legislation expected soon, Perkins pointed to growing interest from the U.S. Treasury and traditional finance institutions.

"Today, we're at $250 billion in stablecoin market cap. That could expand to $2 trillion, according to the Treasury." For DeFi, this capital influx could be transformative.

"There's no yield today. Guess what? That's a depreciating asset unless you find yield… and those agents, those AIs that are now coming on the scene, are going to help optimize that."

On staking, Perkins sees parallels between proof-of-stake layer-1s and traditional finance benchmarks.

Also Read: Bitcoin, Ethereum Lead $1.9 Billion Digital Asset Inflows Amid Global Tensions, CoinShares Finds

"Every single layer-1… has a benchmark rate. That rate can unleash an entire array of fixed-income products."

While most retail users focus on price action, institutions are eyeing yield curves and staking-derived returns as the next structured product opportunity.

Perkins is also enthusiastic about tokenization, calling it crypto's "secret power of capital formation."

He noted that the meme coin market reached $40 billion last year, compared to just $30 billion for the entire venture capital market.

"Anyone with an internet connection around the world can access these asset classes," he said. With minor regulatory assistance, tokenized fund structures could democratize exposure to previously inaccessible public markets.

Asked about the future of blockchain architecture, Perkins avoids binary arguments. "We're not monolithic versus modular maxis," he explained.

While institutions tend to prefer modular ecosystems for control and customization, monolithic chains like Solana continue to deliver high-throughput applications that are difficult to ignore.

Perkins also addressed growing interest from retail giants in consumer-facing stablecoins.

"Walmart and Amazon are talking about launching one. The banks are watching… it’s going to be a battle for distribution."

On regulation, Perkins applauded recent efforts by the CFTC and the SEC's crypto task force to engage meaningfully with DeFi experts.

"The very act of understanding informs policy. Hopefully we get to a place where we clarify what is decentralized, what is not, and how it’s regulated."

Perkins says founder quality is his north star.

"We invest in the strongest of founders across every single vertical," stressing that CoinFund's thesis rests on one principle: find the value, not just the hype.

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Image created using artificial intelligence via Midjourney.