Cardano CEO: AI, Blockchain Can Ensure Data Truth, Scalability

Cardano's latest price was $0.6237, up 2.271% in the last 24 hours. The Cardano Foundation CEO, Frederik Gregaard, recently took the stage at Paris Blockchain Week to discuss the original ideals behind Bitcoin and the rapid expansion of AI. He emphasized the core ethos of Bitcoin, which is the ability to move value without intermediaries and to truly own one’s assets. Gregaard also acknowledged the shift in the conversation toward broader capital markets with the rise of Ethereum, but cautioned that traditional financial power structures often found their way back in. He cited examples of equity demands and sizable listing fees, observing that, in many ways, “Wall Street is creeping in on us again.”

Gregaard highlighted the pivotal rise of artificial intelligence, posing the critical question of how best to harness it so that people remain in control. He warned that the appetite for AI’s “fantastic user experience” often overshadows concerns over energy consumption, data provenance, and transparency. For him, this is precisely where blockchain can deliver robust solutions, because the trustless computing model and immutable data storage ensure that information cannot be tampered with. He referenced real-world deployments such as a Cardano-based project in Eastern Africa, where village-level land registration helped reduce local violence by transparently mapping property ownership.

Gregaard underscored the importance of verifiable data in an era dominated by AI-driven analytics and decision-making. He raised concerns about the reliability of information that is not traceable to a trustworthy source, observing that political decisions or international trade policies could rest on flawed or manipulated data. He then pointed out that large language models only amplify these concerns, since they rely on massive data sets that may or may not be accurate. He stressed that pairing AI with on-chain, verified information is the only way to ground these technologies in “what’s the truth.”

Turning to Cardano’s own ecosystem, Gregaard spoke of identity solutions and the growing importance of agentic AI, where machine-driven “agents” communicate based on assured credentials rather than risking data leaks to centralized platforms. He called the solution open-source and not limited to Cardano alone, noting that others could deploy it on different blockchains. The principle, he said, is that all of us will hold multiple types of identities, and these should be managed in a way that fosters security, privacy, and interoperability. He also mentioned practical applications such as brand security, carbon credits in Kenya, and decentralized accounting, revealing that the Cardano Foundation itself places its financial statements on-chain. He asked, “Why are we doing that?” and answered, “Because we need to get to a place where we can actually not just trust the data but know that the data is truth.”

Gregaard confronted the critique that public permissionless blockchains cannot scale to handle global-level volume, specifically in finance. He asserted that Cardano can do it, introducing a striking claim that Cardano can handle Visa and MasterCard on a public permissionless blockchain. He attributed this to an evolving technological stack that has advanced well beyond the early days of permissioned blockchain experiments. According to him, anyone can now harness a “footprint of innovation” across multiple sectors on the Cardano blockchain—supply chain, healthcare, data management, real estate—without the need for entirely new chain architectures.

In his concluding thought experiment, Gregaard challenged the audience to envisage a near future in which the world’s most valuable companies employ only a handful of people but reach trillion-dollar valuations, all while regulators scramble to implement effective oversight. He admitted that we’re not going to get to self-sovereign identity tomorrow, but we can get to a wallet that addresses many of today’s regulatory and practical demands. He also argued that more transparency, particularly on blockchains, would enable stakeholders, shareholders, and citizens to hold large enterprises genuinely accountable. He suggested that verifiable on-chain data can empower even small shareholders with potent insights.

Cardano has long been praised as the revolutionary promise of the blockchain space. Founded on a scientific, peer-reviewed basis, Cardano’s proof-of-stake blockchain was designed to improve upon the weaknesses of Bitcoin and Ethereum by providing scalability, sustainability, and decentralized control. ADA has some incredible milestones to show: a strong user base, high staking rates, and partnerships in emerging growth markets such as Africa. However, despite these accolades, recent trends suggest that Cardano’s momentum is weakening. Gregaard’s insights at Paris Blockchain Week underscore the ongoing evolution and potential of Cardano, highlighting its role in addressing critical issues in AI and blockchain technology.