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Every time I write about AI + Crypto, there are always voices questioning whether AI needs Crypto at all and whether Crypto is anything more than gambling. It's hard to imagine how frustrating it is for someone who believes in the power of "technological narratives + long-termism" to hear such seemingly correct but utterly unproductive comments.
The Futility of Retaliation
If we follow the logic of "money-making above all," not just AI, but many previous narratives like DeFi, NFTs, GameFi, and the Metaverse have failed to deliver on their promises. In most cases, the hype has far exceeded their actual application value. So when someone says AI doesn't need Crypto or that all narratives are just for gambling, I really have no energy to argue.
AI as a Historical Leap in Internet Technology
AI represents a monumental leap in human internet technology, fundamentally changing the way users interact with the internet. From keyboard inputs to natural language understanding and proactive prediction, AI has significantly expanded the upper limits of human productivity. AI is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that spans web2, web3, and traditional industries. Why should Crypto be the exception when everyone else is trying to capitalize on AI? Moreover, Crypto's reorganization of computational power, algorithms, and data can indeed address and supplement the natural shortcomings of AI in the web2 environment.
It's just that AI is still in its innovation exploration phase, and AI Agent applications haven't become a necessity in people's lives yet. Thus, the "nice-to-have" innovation seems premature and underappreciated. However, in some vertical fields involving privacy, AI Agent applications are actually driven by Crypto.
AI Agent as the Savior of Crypto's Old Narratives
I have always advocated that AI Agent is the collective redemption of all the old Crypto narratives. Why? The core reason is that AI Agent is directly application-oriented. It's like many online-to-offline models imagined in the era of internet portals, which only truly realized their potential after the widespread adoption of mobile internet and smartphones.
In my view, AI Agent represents the "mobile internet moment" for Crypto applications. Only when AI Agents become ubiquitous will the various visions of Crypto—such as distributed data contribution, aggregated computational power, traceability incentives, and decentralized edge computing—truly come to fruition. At that point, old narratives like ZK, modularity, chain abstraction, BTCFi, and layer2 will finally find their rightful place.
Because if the blockchain infrastructure is driven by AI Agents that everyone can fine-tune, then the decentralized, transparent, and secure consensus architecture of the chain can truly unlock the value of interoperability among AI Agents. This is a level of achievement that cannot be reached by relying solely on web2 AI innovations. Even though some still criticize decentralized consensus as meaningless, everyone can see Crypto's gradual penetration into institutions and national forces in areas like DeFi and RWA, making further discussion unnecessary.
I fully understand and accept the diversity of the Crypto world. Whether it's short-termism or long-termism, they are just different pursuits for you and me. Of course, the ways of being rewarded or punished are also different. In the short term, long-termists may seem hurt, even in a absurd, chaotic, and highly PVP market. However, a group of people who are well-versed in the spirit of victory, like Ah Q, are still needed.
Because the market always needs the existence of idealists.
