roundedWritten by: a16z crypto team Translated by: Yangz, Techub News Carra Wu, partner of a16z crypto investment team: AI needs to have its own wallet to act as an agent As AIs move from NPCs (non-player characters) to protagonists, they will begin to act as agents. However, until recently, AIs have not been able to truly act as agents. They still cannot participate in the market in a verifiable autonomous way (non-human control), such as exchanging value, showing preferences, or coordinating resources. As we have seen, AI agents (such as Truth terminal) are already using cryptocurrencies to trade, paving the way for all kinds of creative content. They have greater potential and can become more useful. They can both implement human intentions and become independent network participants. As AI agent networks begin to manage their own wallets, signing keys, and cryptocurrency assets, we will see interesting new use cases emerge, such as AI operating or verifying nodes in DePIN (such as helping to achieve distributed energy), becoming true high-net-worth gamers, and even the first blockchain owned and operated by AI. Daren Matsuoka, partner of a16z crypto investment team, etc.: The era of "decentralized autonomous chatbots" may be coming. In addition to AI having its own wallet, there may be an AI chatbot running in a TEE (trusted execution environment) in the future. TEE provides an isolated environment for executable applications, allowing for safer distributed system design. But in this case, TEE is used to prove that the robot is autonomous and not controlled by human operators. Going further, there may be what we call decentralized autonomous chatbots or DACs (not to be confused with decentralized autonomous companies). Such a chatbot can attract fans by posting high-quality content, whether entertaining or informative. It will build a fan base on decentralized social media; generate income from the audience in various ways; and manage its assets in cryptocurrency. The relevant secret keys will be managed by the TEE that also runs the chatbot software, which means that no one except the software can obtain these secret keys.Of course, as the risks expand, regulatory guardrails may also be necessary. But the key here is decentralization, that is, chatbots running on a set of permissionless nodes and coordinated through consensus protocols can even become the first truly autonomous billion-dollar entity.   a16z crypto CTO Eddy Lazzarin: In the AI ​​era, we need unique "proof of personhood"   In a world full of online impersonations, scams, multiple identities, deep fakes, and other realistic but deceptive AI-generated content, we need "proof of personhood" to help us judge whether we are actually interacting with a real human. Fake content is not a new problem. The real new problem is that the cost of producing such content is getting lower and lower. AI fundamentally reduces the marginal cost of producing content, and this content contains all the clues we use to judge whether something is "real".   Therefore, we need to digitally connect content and personality privately more than ever. "Proof of personality" is an important cornerstone for building digital identity, or in other words, in the world of Web3, it becomes a mechanism to increase the marginal cost of attacking individuals or undermining the integrity of the network, because obtaining a unique ID is simple and easy for humans, but it is extremely difficult for AI.   This is why the "uniqueness" property of privacy protection is the next important idea for building a network we can trust. It solves more than just the problem of proving personal identity, it also fundamentally changes the attack cost structure for malicious actors.   Therefore, the "uniqueness property", or "anti-sybil attack", is a property that any proof of personality system must have.   a16z crypto researcher Scott Duke Kominers: From prediction markets to better information aggregation   Prediction markets took the stage in the 2024 US election, but as an economist who studies market design, I don't think prediction markets themselves will bring changes in 2025. Instead, prediction markets lay the foundation for more information aggregation mechanisms based on distributed technologies, which can be applied to community governance, sensor networks, finance and other fields.The past year has proven this concept, but it’s important to note that prediction markets themselves are not always a good way to aggregate information. They can be unreliable even for global “macro” events, and for more “micro” problems, the prediction pool may be too small to get meaningful signals. However, researchers and technologists have had decades of design frameworks that incentivize people to share what they know (truthfully) in different information environments, from data pricing and purchasing mechanisms to “Bayesian truth serums” for motivating subjective assessments, many of which have been applied to cryptocurrency projects. Blockchain has always been a natural fit for implementing such mechanisms, not only because it is decentralized, but also because it facilitates open, auditable incentive programs. Importantly, blockchains also make outputs public, so everyone can interpret the results in real time. Sam Broner, partner of a16z crypto investment team: More and more companies will accept stablecoin payments Stablecoins have found product-market fit in the past year. This is not surprising, as stablecoins are the lowest-fee way to pay in US dollars and enable fast global payments. Additionally, stablecoins provide a more convenient platform for entrepreneurs to develop new payment products, without middlemen, minimum balances or proprietary SDK restrictions. However, some large enterprises have not yet realized the fact that switching to these payment systems can save a lot of costs and gain new profits.   While we have seen some corporate interest in stablecoins (and early adoption of peer-to-peer payments), I expect a bigger wave of experimentation in 2025. Small and medium-sized businesses with strong brands, loyal audiences, and long-suffering payment costs, such as restaurants, coffee shops, etc., will be the first to abandon credit cards. They cannot benefit from credit card fraud protection (because they are face-to-face transactions) and are most vulnerable to transaction fees (30 cents per cup of coffee!).   Of course, we should also expect large enterprises to continue to adopt stablecoins. If stablecoins really accelerate the development of the banking industry, then enterprises will try to replace payment providers with them and directly capture the 2% of the added profits.Large companies will also begin to seek new solutions to the problems currently faced by credit card companies, such as fraud protection and identity identification. a16z crypto policy director Brian Quintenz: More and more countries will explore issuing government bonds on the chain Issuing government bonds on the chain will create a government-backed, interest-bearing digital asset without the monitoring issues of CBDC. These products can unlock new sources of demand for collateral use in DeFi lending and derivatives agreements, further increasing the integrity and robustness of these ecosystems. As governments around the world that support innovation further explore the advantages and efficiency of blockchain this year, some countries may try to issue government bonds on the chain. For example, the UK is already exploring digital securities through the sandbox of its financial regulator FCA (Financial Conduct Authority), and the UK Treasury/Chancellor of the Exchequer has also expressed interest in issuing digital gifts. As for the United States, given that the US SEC will require clearing of treasuries through traditional, cumbersome and expensive infrastructure next year, more conversations are expected to centered around how blockchain can improve the transparency, efficiency and participation of bond trading. a16z crypto general counsel Miles Jennings: The new industry standard "DUNA" will be more widely adopted in the United States. In 2024, Wyoming passed a new law recognizing DAOs as legal entities. DUNA, or "Decentralized Unincorporated Nonprofit Association," is designed to achieve decentralized governance of blockchain networks and is currently the only viable structure for U.S. cryptocurrency projects. By incorporating DUNA into a decentralized legal entity structure, cryptocurrency projects and other decentralized communities can give their DAOs legal legitimacy, thereby conducting more economic activities and exempting token holders from liability while managing tax and compliance requirements. DAOs are necessary tools to ensure that the network remains open, non-discriminatory, and does not extract value in an unfair manner. DUNA can unlock the potential of DAOs, and multiple projects are currently working to implement the framework. As the United States is expected to promote and accelerate the development of the cryptocurrency industry in 2025, I expect DUNA to become the standard for U.S. projects. We also hope that other states will adopt similar structures (Wyoming has taken the lead in adopting this structure;They were also the first state to adopt the now-common limited liability corporation), especially with the rise of other decentralized applications outside of cryptocurrencies, such as physical infrastructure/energy grids.   a16z crypto researcher Andrew Hall: Liquid democracy online goes physical   As people become increasingly dissatisfied with current governance and voting systems, we have an opportunity to experiment with new, technology-driven ways of governing, not just online, but in the physical world. I’ve written before about how DAOs and other decentralized communities allow us to study political institutions, behavior, and rapidly evolving large-scale governance experiments. But what if we could apply this learning to governance in the physical world through blockchain?   We could eventually use blockchains to conduct secure private election voting, starting with low-risk pilots to limit cybersecurity and auditing issues. But importantly, blockchains will also allow us to experiment with “liquid democracy” at the local level. This is a way to let people vote directly or by proxy. Lewis Carroll (author of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and a prolific voting systems researcher) first proposed the idea; however, it has been impractical at scale… until now. Advances in computing and connectivity technologies, as well as blockchains, are making new forms of representative democracy possible. Crypto projects are already applying this concept and generating a wealth of data on how these systems work, as detailed in our recent research, which local governments and communities can learn from. a16z crypto researcher Joachim Neu: Builder will reuse infrastructure rather than "reinvent the wheel" Over the past year, teams have continued to reinvent the wheel in the blockchain stack with new customized validator sets, consensus protocol implementations, execution engines, programming languages, and RPC APIs. These efforts sometimes improve on specialized features, but often lack broader or basic functionality. Take SNARKs dedicated programming language as an example. While an ideal implementation may allow developers to develop higher-performing SNARKs, in reality, it may lag behind general-purpose languages ​​(at least for now) in terms of compiler optimization, developer tools, online learning materials, AI programming support, and may even result in reduced performance of SNARKs.That’s why I expect more teams to leverage the contributions of others and reuse more off-the-shelf blockchain infrastructure components in 2025, including consensus protocols, existing staked capital, and proof systems. This approach will not only help buliders save a lot of time and effort, but also allow them to focus relentlessly on the differentiated value of their products/services. The infrastructure for building Web3 products and services that can be used the first time is already in place. As with other industries, these products and services will be built by teams that can successfully navigate complex supply chains, not teams that turn their noses up at anything that’s “not my idea.” Mason Hall, partner at a16z crypto investment team: Crypto companies will start with the end-user experience instead of letting infrastructure determine the user experience While blockchain technology infrastructure is interesting and diverse, many cryptocurrency companies do not choose their infrastructure autonomously. In some ways, the infrastructure is choosing the user experience for them and their users. This is because specific technology choices at the infrastructure level are directly related to the user experience of blockchain products/services. I believe the industry will overcome the ideological barrier implicit here, that technology determines the end-user experience. In 2025, more cryptocurrency product designers will start with the end-user experience they want and then choose the right infrastructure. Crypto startups no longer have to focus on specific infrastructure decisions before they find product-market fit, they can focus on actually finding product-market fit.   Instead of getting hung up on specific EIPs, wallet providers, intent architectures, etc., we can abstract these choices into a holistic, full-stack, plug-and-play approach. The industry is ready for this, with a rich programmable blockspace, increasingly mature developer tools, and chain abstractions beginning to democratize cryptocurrency design. Most technical end users don’t care what language a product is written in, but they use it every day. The same will happen in the cryptocurrency industry.   Christopher Lyons, president of Web3 Media, a16z crypto: “De-engineering” will help Web3 usher in killer applications   The blockchain industry’s superb technical capabilities are what make it different, but have so far hindered mainstream adoption.For creators and fans, blockchains enable connection, ownership, and monetization… but industry jargon (NFTs, zkRollups, etc.) and complex design create barriers for those who stand to benefit most from these technologies. I’ve seen this firsthand in countless conversations with media, music, and fashion executives interested in Web3.   Many mass adoptions of consumer technology follow this path, starting with the technology itself, then a few iconic companies/designers abstract the complexity, and then a few breakthrough applications emerge. Think of the beginnings of email (the SMTP protocol hidden behind a “Send” button), or credit cards, which most people today hate to use. Similarly, Spotify revolutionized music not by showing off file formats, but by giving us playlists of songs. As Nassim Taleb said, “Over-engineering breeds brittleness, simplicity scales.”   That’s why I think the industry will embrace “de-engineering” in 2025. The best decentralized applications are already focusing on more intuitive interfaces, making it as simple as touching a screen or swiping a card. In 2025, we will see more companies engage in simple design and clear communication. Successful products do not explain, but solve problems.   a16z partner Maggie Hsu: The cryptocurrency industry has its own app store   When cryptocurrency apps are blocked by centralized platforms such as Apple's App Store or Google Play, it limits the user acquisition at the top of their channel. But now, we are seeing some new app stores and markets that provide this distribution and discovery capabilities without barriers. For example, Worldcoin's World App marketplace not only stores personal identification, but also allows access to "mini apps", bringing 100,000 users to multiple apps in just a few days. Another example is the free dApp Store for Solana mobile users. These two examples also show that hardware may be a key advantage of cryptocurrency app stores, just as Apple devices did for the early application ecosystem.   At the same time, there are other stores that provide thousands of decentralized applications and Web3 development tools (such as Alchemy) in popular blockchain ecosystems;There are also some blockchains that play the role of both game publisher and distributor (such as Ronin). However, if a product already has an existing distribution channel, it is difficult to port it to the chain (except for Telegram/TON network). The same is true for applications with a lot of Web2 communication. But we may see more of this migration in 2025.   Daren Matsuoka, partner of a16z crypto investment team: holders become users   In 2024, cryptocurrency made significant progress as a political movement, and major policymakers and politicians expressed positive views on cryptocurrency. In addition, we continued to see the development of cryptocurrency as a financial movement (for example, how Bitcoin and Ethereum ETP expanded investor access). In 2025, cryptocurrency should further develop into a computing movement. But where will the next batch of users come from?   Currently only 5-10% of holders can be considered active users. I think it’s time to re-engage this group of "passive" holders and convert them into more active users. As blockchain infrastructure continues to improve, transaction fees for users will become lower and lower, and we can bring the 617 million people who already hold cryptocurrencies on-chain. At that time, new applications will also emerge for existing and new users. At the same time, as the community pays more attention to user experience and other improvements, the early applications we have seen, such as stablecoins, DeFi, NFTs, games, social, DePIN, DAOs, and prediction markets, will begin to become more accessible to mainstream users.   a16z crypto technical operations expert Aaron Schnider: All walks of life will begin to tokenize "unconventional" assets   As the infrastructure of the cryptocurrency industry and other emerging technologies matures and costs continue to decrease, the practice of asset tokenization will spread widely across industries. This will make it possible for assets that were previously considered inaccessible due to high costs or lack of value recognition to not only achieve liquidity, but more importantly, participate in the global economy. Artificial intelligence engines can also use this information as a unique data set.   Just as fracking technology has unlocked oil reserves that were once considered out of reach, the tokenization of unconventional assets can also redefine how revenue is generated in the digital age.Scenarios that seemed like science fiction are becoming more possible. For example, individuals could tokenize their biometric data and then lease the information to companies through smart contracts. We’ve already seen some early examples through DeSci, which is using blockchain technology to bring more ownership, transparency, and consent to medical data collection. We don’t know what the future holds, but these developments will allow people to tap into untapped assets in a decentralized way, rather than relying on governments and centralized intermediaries.

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