At CES, McKinsey showed a version of the future that has nothing to do with it
Bitcoin
0.85%
specifically, but all about how crypto should build.
McKinsey hosted a demo at Fountain Bleu about “rewiring” product development: taking cycles that used to take six to nine months and compressing them into about two weeks using AI, digital testing, and simulated customers.
“The key to a good product is to iterate quickly. Try this. Did it work? Okay, okay, but these three things are still a problem.” – Dave Fedewa, Partner at McKinsey told 99Bitcoins
Here’s what you need to know:
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What McKinsey presented at CES is an AI system that puts other crypto supply chain companies like VeChain to shame.
McKinsey AI pulls over 100,000 unsolicited ideas from TikTok, reviews, and other social media conversations, and aggregates them into attributes that developers can act on.
“We can put 100,000 comments in a few hours somewhere, better than a survey,” Fedewa told us.
Many people will lose their jobs soon
McKinsey’s CEO says he now counts AI agents as “people” the company “employs.”
The company currently has 40,000 people and 20,000 agents, with a target to break even within 18 months. pic.twitter.com/Q8fMrtgf0X
– Dr Singularity (@Dr_Singularity) January 13, 2026
Virtual concepts are created in less than an hour, then tested on large samples and AI “personalities” such as a suburban mom with three kids or a 45-year-old soccer dad.
Imagine persona agents for Bitcoin maxi, a DeFi ield chaser, and a mobile-only sales operator, all checking your product copy, flow, and token design before the mainnet.
The old model was simple: build, build, build, then test and pray. The new model is a small structure, endless testing, rapid iteration. Consumer brands are now getting statistically significant readings from thousands of people a day, not from 20 people behind a one-way mirror.
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One of the most honest parts of the conversation was a swipe at the typical AI responses:
“You can connect all these questions to ChatGPT… The answers that will come out will not be good,” said Fedewa.
The McKinsey team believes that good answers require good training, and good training requires knowledge and proprietary data. They’ve been doing this the hard way for 20 years, building a library of product cases and results, then fine-tuning the AI on top.
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If large CPGs can take six-to-nine month product cycles and crush them in a matter of weeks using AI, agency personas, and digital twins, the crypto teams building wallets, exchanges, and DeFi rails don’t get to blame “market conditions” for going slow.
There is a blueprint on the table. The only real question is which builders in this space will use it first.
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Key Takeaways
- At CES, we looked at a version of the future that has nothing to do with Bitcoin directly, but everything to do with how crypto should develop.
- The McKinsey team believes that good answers require good training, and good training requires knowledge and proprietary data
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