AI-specific blockchains are catching real attention right now. The thing is though—these chains will need more than just hype to survive long-term. They've gotta prove product-market fit, especially when it comes to getting Web2 companies actually willing to pay for their services instead of just testing them out.

That's where it gets tricky. You need real customers with real use cases, not just developers experimenting for free. There's been some interesting movement in this space lately with projects building AI model marketplaces and similar infrastructure plays. If those kinds of initiatives can actually close that gap between supply and demand, then maybe we'll see some genuine momentum.

The next year or two will probably be telling. Either these chains prove they solve actual problems companies are willing to pay for, or they become another set of interesting experiments that never quite took off.