$70 million to buy "AI" but went live and immediately crashed: The mainstream gamble and the reality of the grassroots team in the crypto world

When Crypto CEO Kris Marszalek spent $8 million on Super Bowl ads, only for users to see a 504 error page, this $70 million domain transaction instantly became the biggest satire in the tech industry.

1. From the 620,000 Bitcoin blunder to the $70 million domain: A magical weekend in the crypto world

In the second weekend of February 2025, the cryptocurrency market staged two absurd dramas in a row.

First was the "nuclear-grade fat finger" incident at Korea’s second-largest exchange, Bithumb. During a "Lucky Chest" promotion on the evening of February 6, staff mistakenly rewarded users with Bitcoin instead of Korean Won, resulting in 249 users each receiving 2,490 BTC, totaling 620,000 BTC (worth about $41.5 billion) being airdropped in error. This number was 14.5 times Bithumb’s actual Bitcoin holdings, sparking the "ghost Bitcoin" controversy. Although the exchange froze the relevant accounts within 35 minutes and recovered 99.7% of the assets, Bitcoin prices within the platform plummeted 17% to $55,000, triggering panic selling across global markets.

Before the market could recover from this blunder, another headline ignited the tech scene: a top-level domain ai sold for a record $70 million (about 485 million RMB), setting a new global domain transaction record. The buyer was not OpenAI or Elon Musk, but Kris Marszalek, co-founder and CEO of the crypto trading platform Crypto.

This deal’s price more than doubled the previous record of $30 million set by Voice in 2019, and even surpassed the domain’s 2023 listing price of $11 million. More notably, the entire transaction was paid in cryptocurrency, facilitated by domain broker Larry Fischer, with the seller’s identity still a mystery.

2. Three years of domain battles: From OpenAI to xAI, the "wait-and-sell" game

The history of the ai domain itself is a chapter in internet commerce history. Registered in May 1993, it’s been over 30 years.

After ChatGPT exploded in November 2022, the AI concept became extremely hot, and domain values soared. In February 2023, rumors circulated that OpenAI bought the domain for $11 million, later proven false. By August 2023, the domain suddenly pointed to Elon Musk’s xAI official website, sparking new speculation.

However, Musk remained silent. The market gradually understood: changing the domain’s pointing was just a marketing tactic by the holder, aimed at creating buzz and inflating value. This "wait-and-sell" strategy ultimately paid off—by April 2025, when Crypto’s Marszalek launched a takeover bid, the price had skyrocketed to $70 million.

Marszalek did not hide his ambition: "AI will be the key technological wave that changes the world in the next 10 to 20 years," he said, "We broke through among thousands of crypto exchanges before, and this time we will make AI successful again." He even revealed receiving "ridiculously high" resale offers but chose to hold.

3. The Super Bowl 504 embarrassment: The validation of grassroots teams going global

On February 8, during the Super Bowl, Marszalek fulfilled his promise by launching the AI platform via TV ads, claiming to create a "one-stop personal AI assistant" supporting stock trading, automation workflows, scheduling, and autonomous AI agents.

However, the $70 million domain plus the $8 million Super Bowl ad (price revealed by Nvidia engineer Yuhang) resulted in less than 48 hours of operation before a 504 Gateway Timeout error. Social media users joked: "The whole world is just a bigger grassroots team."

This crash not only exposed rushed technical preparations but also reflected the persistent "heavy marketing, light infrastructure" problem in the crypto industry. Although Crypto is known for spending $700 million on LA stadium naming rights and sponsoring sports events, its core product stability repeatedly fails.

As of press time, AI has resumed normal operation and opened subdomain registration. But market skepticism remains about its promised "autonomous AI Agent"—after all, if even website stability can’t be guaranteed, how can it handle high-risk operations like executing stock trades on behalf of users?

4. The divide among crypto giants in "mainstreaming": Buying houses, electricity, and domains

AI trading has opened another dimension of crypto mainstreaming: as the industry accumulates huge wealth, industry leaders are seeking "mainstream legitimacy" through very different paths.

Real estate: Aave founder Stani Kulechov bought a luxury house in Notting Hill, London, last November for £22 million (about $30 million), following traditional wealthy asset allocation.

Energy: Justin Sun (Sun Yuchen) is more aggressive. Through his family office SunFund Energy, he acquired two small hydroelectric plants in Norway in November 2024, with a total capacity of 86 MW and an annual generation of about 350 GWh, enough to power 40,000 European households. In the AI era, Sun holds the "electricity ticket"—a physical asset hedge and a forward-looking layout of computing infrastructure. He also invested $100 million to promote AI and blockchain integration and took stakes in nuclear startups.

Diversification: Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino spreads profits from stablecoins into agriculture, sports, and other sectors with 140 investments, holding over $23 billion in gold reserves, and plans to expand staff to 450.

Branding: Marszalek’s $70 million domain acquisition is the most aggressive "attention economy" bet. Crypto’s trading volume in 2024 reached $1.29 trillion, up 1000% year-over-year. Its marketing-driven model has been validated, but whether it can be replicated in AI remains uncertain.

5. Conclusion: From the "Wild West" to infrastructure, the coming of age of crypto

The Bithumb blunder of 620,000 Bitcoin and the $70 million AI deal seem polar opposites but point to the same reality: cryptocurrencies are embedding into mainstream narratives through payment, asset classes, and symbols, but the industry’s infrastructure maturity still lags far behind capital expansion.

When Sun acquires hydroelectric plants, Marszalek buys AI, and Tether accumulates gold, they are all answering the same question: how to anchor "virtual" wealth to "real" assets?

Korean regulators have already intervened in the Bithumb incident, requiring two-factor approval; meanwhile, the US SEC’s approval process for crypto ETFs and the EU’s MiCA regulations are squeezing the "grassroots" survival space.

Perhaps the 504 error of AI and Bithumb’s fat finger are necessary pains as crypto transitions from the "Wild West" to a mature financial system. When $70 million can buy a domain but not a stable server, the market will eventually realize: true mainstreaming isn’t about a 30-second Super Bowl ad, but about every click receiving a reliable response.

What do you think of these "mainstreaming" moves by crypto giants? Are they an inevitable part of wealth accumulation, or a prelude to a new bubble? Share your thoughts in the comments!

If this article gave you new insights, don’t forget to like, share, and follow us for more in-depth analysis. Do you think AI is worth $70 million? Leave a comment and tell us!