Phemex CEO Federico Variola said on the 16th that artificial intelligence has had a net negative effect on crypto by diverting capital from the industry, strengthening attackers and increasing cybersecurity costs for smaller teams. He warned that these pressures could encourage greater centralization and make self-custody and DeFi (decentralized finance) less attractive to retail users. His comments follow Phemex's February announcement of an AI-focused transformation covering product development and internal operations, although he was discussing the broader industry. The security concerns come after attackers drained about $116 million from more than 5,200 addresses by exploiting a Coldcard vulnerability in July. Variola nevertheless sees a role for AI agents in portfolio construction and trading decisions, while saying users would retain final control.