Many people are puzzled as to why PHA suddenly exploded in popularity. To put it abstractly, perhaps even Phala Network did not anticipate how it became the chosen one overnight. The sudden rise of PHA is due to both chance and necessity; it is certainly not something that any overt or covert scheme could have facilitated. There are three key points: sufficient preparation of TEE technology, support from ai16z, and the timely emergence of the AI Agent trend.
1) Phala Network's efforts in TEE technology are the 'inevitable' catalyst for this event. Why do I say this?
TEE (Trusted Execution Environment) is not a new concept, but in the mainstream narrative of Crypto over the past few years, it has been somewhat of a 'niche.' For instance, many high-performance chains compete on the advantages of languages like RUST and MOVE, and there has been a wave of ZK technology with ZK as the main theme. TEE and other cryptographic technologies like MPC, FHE, and Blind Compute occasionally appear in the differentiated positioning of some projects, but they are on a completely different level from the booming ZK.
In fact, while mainstream chains focus on the efficiency of 'block space' usage (MEV, TPS, Gas, etc.), ZK technology has only been applied to the basic trusted state changes between layer1 and layer2. The advantages of ZK technology, such as zkVM virtual machine infrastructure and zkSNARKs updating chain data structures, have yet to be utilized, let alone the achievement of broader mass adoption.
The main reason is that previous technological narratives pursued a purely 'on-chain' environment. ZK is the first step towards separating off-chain computation from on-chain verification, but the larger goal still serves the 'on-chain' environment. TEE's Trusted Execution Environment is inherently the 'pre-processing' step for a secure off-chain enclave environment.
It can serve on-chain and is a result of leading projects like Unichain and Flashbot gradually expanding into new narratives brought about by Pre-confirmation. In other words, without integrating with the chain, TEE is a mature technology purely from the web2 era; when integrated with the chain, it can provide reliable pre-processing, isolated privacy computing, and other useful applications.
Therefore, those who dare to apply TEE technology in the blockchain field must be able to endure loneliness while possessing unique and insightful vision. Phala Network indeed has a mature TEE solution, beyond doubt.
2) What surprised Phala Network is the sudden emergence of a mysterious client named 'ai16z' that adopted its own TEE solution, which is the biggest 'chance' factor behind PHA's explosion.
After seeing AI-Pool's official announcement about AI Agents issuing their own tokens, I immediately tweeted a technical interpretation of the TEE solution (TEE allows AI to autonomously manage private keys and sign applications in a usable yet invisible secure enclave) and the historical opportunity that may arise from the collaboration between Phala and ai16z. (That is also an excellent entry point for most retail investors.)
The super commercial IP status of ai16z in the AI Agent track needs no further elaboration. The adoption of Phala's TEE solution by AI-POOL at least indicates two things:
1. Phala's TEE solution has many mature business cases and was selected by ai16z.
2. Phala's TEE solution will be the first to benefit from the large business concept of AI Agent PumpFun, which involves AI controlling private key issuance.
Understanding this naturally clarifies what Phala can gain from the phenomenon of AI-Pool and AI Agents autonomously issuing tokens. A very natural logic: as the trend of AI Agents issuing tokens continues to drive forward, the private key management and remote authentication services provided by TEE will become a 'necessity' business, while a complete set of on-chain verifiable consensus adapted to the TEE off-chain environment will become a bonus. This can be seen as the new infrastructure for the AI Agent era.
So, while I jumped into PHA, I may not truly understand Phala Network, but that's not important. I think I understand the market potential and incremental opportunities that could arise from AI Agent + TEE and AI Agent + Chain.
3) What truly gave Phala Network a push is the currently booming narrative around AI Agents. I have highlighted multiple articles on Twitter regarding the AI Agent narrative; new friends who follow me can check them out. Those articles have four words in various lines: 'Don't miss out, don't miss out, don't miss out.'
From the emergence of AI MEME to platforms like Virutual and Vvaifu, then to individual AI projects like AIXBT and Zerebro, and finally to frameworks and standards like ELIZA and ARC, all the way to established chains like Phala being propelled into the spotlight, everything is evolving rapidly, almost beyond everyone's imagination. Why?
Just one point: this is a historically significant opportunity, a main wave at the level of DeFi Summer. The burst of innovative gameplay during this process, the influx of hot money, and the opportunities arising from information asymmetry will continue to be 'hot and boiling.'
Thus, I shout the slogan loudly, hoping that more retail investors can seize the alpha growth opportunities and that more projects can break out of the past narrative of pure VC tokens and the 'delivery incapacity' dilemma.
A new narrative whirlwind has emerged, and its purpose is not merely to blow dust in your face (chicken feathers) but to lift you onto the wind and make you one of those plump piglets.
By the way, the subtext of this statement is: do not worry about missing out on PHA because Phala is just one of the players on the wind, having first benefited from the trend's dividends. Following the narrative evolution logic and direction I outlined, please believe that more opportunities will certainly emerge.
