In a newly released long-term economic outlook, the World Trade Organization (WTO) projected that artificial intelligence (AI) could boost global GDP by 13.2% by 2040. The organization also highlighted that AI integration is expected to expand global trade value by up to 40%, with digitally delivered services poised to see the most substantial growth.
This forecast underscores a critical structural transition from cyclical macro concerns toward secular productivity gains. While markets remain fixated on short-term monetary policy, international trade bodies are acknowledging that AI could dramatically alter production efficiency, cross-border digital commerce, and wage dynamics over the next decade and a half.
For traditional financial markets, such projections support extended capital expenditure cycles in technology infrastructure, semiconductor manufacturing, and digital services, potentially lifting long-term baseline growth expectations even amidst shifting fiscal regimes.
For the crypto sector, these structural tailwinds directly reinforce the narrative around decentralized AI, DePIN, and compute-layer networks. As global digital trade expands, blockchain-native settlement layers and permissionless AI infrastructure are well-positioned to capture significant institutional liquidity.
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