Many people are puzzled as to why PHA suddenly exploded in popularity. To put it abstractly, perhaps even Phala Network itself did not anticipate how it became the chosen one overnight. The explosive rise of PHA is due to both chance and necessity, and it is certainly not something that can be achieved through any overt or covert scheme. There are three key points: sufficient preparation in TEE technology, being backed by ai16z, and the timely emergence of the AI Agent wave.
1) The cultivation of TEE technology by Phala Network is the 'inevitability' that made this happen. Why do I say that?
TEE (Trusted Execution Environment) is not a new concept, but in the past few years, it has been considered a 'niche' in the mainstream narrative of Crypto technologies. For example, there have been many high-performance chains competing on the advantages of languages like RUST and MOVE, and a wave of ZK technology led the way, while TEE, MPC, FHE, Blind Compute, and other cryptographic technologies occasionally appeared in the differentiated positioning of certain projects, but they are not on the same level as the booming ZK.
In fact, while mainstream chains focus on the efficiency of 'block space' (MEV, TPS, Gas, etc.), ZK technology has only been applied to the most basic trusted state changes between layer1 and layer2. The more advanced aspects of ZK technology advantages, such as zkVM virtual machine underpinnings and zkSNARKs evolving chain data structures, have not yet reached their time to shine, let alone the achievement of broader Mass Adoption.
The main reason is that previous technology narratives pursued a purely 'on-chain' environment. ZK can be seen as the first step in separating off-chain computation and on-chain verification, but the larger goal still serves the 'on-chain' aspect. The trusted execution environment of TEE is inherently the 'pre-processing' step for an off-chain secure enclave environment.
It can serve on-chain, and it is the result of leading projects like Unichain and Flashbot gradually expanding the new narrative of Pre-confirmation. In other words, without integrating with the chain, TEE is undoubtedly a mature technology from pure web2; when combined with the chain, it can bring trustworthy pre-processing, isolated privacy computing, and other wonderful applications.
Therefore, those who dare to be the first to apply TEE technology in the blockchain field must be able to endure loneliness while having unique and wise vision. In this respect, Phala Network indeed has a mature TEE solution, beyond doubt.
2) What Phala Network did not expect was the sudden emergence of a mysterious client named 'ai16z', which adopted its own TEE solution. This is the biggest 'chance' factor behind PHA's explosive rise.
After seeing the official AI-Pool announcement about AI Agent's autonomous coin issuance, I immediately tweeted a technical analysis of the TEE solution (TEE allows AI to achieve autonomous management of private keys, signing applications within a usable but invisible secure enclave) and the historic opportunity that Phala and ai16z's collaboration might tap into. (That also represents an excellent entry point for most retail investors.)
The current super commercial IP status of ai16z in the AI Agent space goes without saying. The adoption of Phala's TEE solution by AI-POOL indicates at least two things:
1. Phala's TEE solution has many mature commercial cases and was selected by ai16z.
2. Phala's TEE solution will be the first to benefit from the AI Agent PumpFun, the grand commercial idea of AI-controlled private key coin issuance.
Understanding this will naturally clarify what Phala can gain from the phenomenal event of AI-Pool and autonomous coin issuance by intelligent agents. It follows a logical progression: as the wave of AI Agent coin issuance continues, the private key management and remote authentication services provided by TEE will become a 'must-have' business. Meanwhile, the entire on-chain verifiable consensus adaptable to the TEE off-chain environment will be a bonus, marking a solid new infrastructure for the AI Agent era.
So, while I may not truly understand Phala Network, it doesn’t matter; I think I better comprehend the market potential and incremental opportunities that could arise from AI Agent + TEE and AI Agent + Chain.
3) What truly propelled Phala Network is the currently booming narrative of AI Agent. I have pinned several articles related to the AI Agent narrative in my Twitter profile highlights; new followers can check them out. The words in those articles emphasize four words: 'Don't miss out, don't miss out, don't miss out.'
Because the AI Agent has evolved from AI MEME to the emergence of launchpad platforms like Virutual and Vvaifu, then to individual AIs like AIXBT and Zerebro, and frameworks and standards like ELIZA and ARC have emerged, until older chains like Phala are propelled into the spotlight. Everything is rapidly evolving beyond everyone's imagination. Why?
Because this is a historically significant opportunity, akin to the main wave of DeFi Summer. The explosion of innovative gameplay, the influx of hot money, the opportunities arising from information asymmetry, etc., will ensure that it remains 'hot and sizzling'.
That’s why I shout my slogan loudly, hoping that more retail investors can seize the Alpha growth opportunities within, and more project teams can escape the 'delivery helplessness' dilemma of the past pure VC coin narrative.
A new narrative whirlwind has risen, and its purpose is not merely to scatter dust in your face but to propel you onto the wave, making you a little piglet that becomes rich.
By the way, the implicit meaning of this statement is not to worry about missing out on PHA, because Phala is just one of the players riding the wave, having first reaped the benefits of the trend. Following the narrative evolution logic and direction I've outlined, please believe that there will definitely be more opportunities to arise.
