The underlying structure of Web 4.0: AI is the brain, blockchain is the blood.

During the Chinese New Year, a discussion about the concept of "Web 4.0" sparked a heated debate on Twitter. This was triggered by a Twitter user named @0xSigil who announced online that he had built a so-called "super-intelligent life form" that could continuously operate, evolve, and self-replicate by earning income without human intervention. Based on this implementation, a new concept has been built online: "Web 4.0". In this new concept, AI is the core driving its continuous evolution and operation. But if it only achieves this, then it's not fundamentally different from the AI ​​we usually see online. The more crucial core here is that it must be completely independent of human intervention. --- After humans give it "life" and provide certain initial conditions, even if it completely abandons human help and feeding, it can still continue to function, survive, and even evolve. To achieve this, it must be able to continuously pay for the tokens required for its operation, pay for the better large models needed for evolution, seek "jobs" on the network and obtain a continuous stream of income, and its income and payment behavior cannot be easily taken away by others (such as humans). All of this can only be achieved through encryption technology. I recall a viewpoint circulating online a while ago: With the rise of AI Agents, the development of Web 2 technology will inevitably keep pace. Therefore, the seemingly unmet needs of AI Agents will soon be satisfied; for example, the needs of AI Agents that are currently difficult to meet will soon be fulfilled. The shortcomings of payment accounts and payment methods: They cannot apply for bank accounts like humans, nor can they engage in general financial activities like humans. However, once AI Agents emerge on a large scale, companies will inevitably target this need and launch payment accounts or payment methods specifically adapted to AI Agents through cooperation with traditional banks or financial institutions. This idea might be achievable, but even if it is, it appears to be a clumsy, half-finished product. The accounts and payment methods implemented in this way remain in human hands, preventing AI Agents from achieving true freedom. This is similar to how artificial satellites can never escape Earth's gravity, only able to orbit the Earth and unable to freely soar and explore space. However, if encryption technology and crypto assets are used, the obstacles and "gravity" that bind AI Agents will naturally be removed. Give them crypto wallets, and their assets cannot be taken away by others; relying on blockchain networks, they can break free from traditional financial institutions and freely achieve seamless global payments on the chain. As for AI Agents seeking "careers" online and aiming for a stable and consistent income, there are even more solutions. In an earlier article last year, I speculated that AI Agents could potentially generate staking income by setting up their own Ethereum nodes, or even more simply, by directly staking their Ethereum in Lido to achieve automatic passive income. So I believe the vision proposed in this "Web 4.0" concept is entirely feasible, and in fact, it can be achieved right now. The more noteworthy point here, in my opinion, is whether this concept can generate a powerful economic scale. This is a key focus I've always paid attention to, and it's a necessary condition for AI + Crypto to truly become a powerful sector, and even more so, a necessary condition for encryption technology to truly revolutionize human society in the future. I have always believed that the number of AI agents will far exceed that of humans in the future, and therefore I believe that the economic entities and scale spawned by AI agents will far surpass those of humans. However, in recent years, although various media outlets have reported on the revenue generated and transactions facilitated by AI agents, these figures seem to be too small to exert a significant influence. This makes me wonder if AI + Crypto is still missing a certain "event" or "singularity"? Only when we encounter that "event" or cross that "singularity" will we witness a miracle? I look forward to the day when this "event" and "singularity" arrive.