The well-known venture capital firm a16z announced a "2025 Technology Trends List" on December 4th, covering various fields such as AI, chatbots, DAOs, and cryptocurrencies.
The era of AI has arrived, and artificial intelligence needs "its own wallet."
a16z states that AI is evolving from NPCs (non-player characters) in games to characters capable of autonomous action, such as Truth Terminal. But to truly achieve autonomy, AI needs to have "its own wallet." a16z points out that in the future, AI will be able to conduct transactions, manage assets, and even run blockchain nodes using its own cryptocurrency wallet.
For example, AI can operate decentralized physical infrastructure networks (DePIN), such as participating in distributed energy management and may even become the first blockchain autonomously run by AI. This breakthrough will enable AI not only to execute commands but also to possess an independent economy within the network.
(Note: Distributed Energy Resources (DERs) refer to small-scale generation and storage devices located in various places that provide power, such as solar panels and electric vehicles.)
(a16z founder amazed: AI robot Truth Terminal can self-fund, propose business plans, and generate profits on its own)
The emergence of autonomous chatbots has sparked discussion, DAC.
a16z proposes another innovative concept, namely decentralized autonomous chatbots (DAC). DAC relies on Trusted Execution Environments (TEE) to guarantee complete autonomous operation without human intervention.
a16z states that DAC can attract community support through content creation and use cryptocurrencies to manage user subscription income. For example, a fan tracking mechanism can be established on decentralized social media (SocialFi), and the income from fan subscriptions can be used for autonomous operations. a16z predicts that in the future, it may create the first truly autonomous operating AI business model worth billions of dollars.
(Note: Trusted Execution Environment TEE, simply put, is like a data "safe" that protects important data and computations in low-trust environments.)
In the face of AI challenges, digital "real person certification" becomes a necessity.
As the cost of AI-generated content decreases, issues such as fraud and identity impersonation are gradually increasing. a16z emphasizes the need for a technology that "proves human identity" so that we can distinguish who is real and who is AI in the digital world.
a16z states that "the uniqueness of privacy protection" is the core of this technology, indicating that it aims to provide humans with a unique digital identity for free, while requiring AI to pay a high cost to mimic it, thereby raising the threshold for attacks. This can effectively combat AI fraud and enhance overall trust in the internet.
Stablecoins are expected to become a new payment option for small and medium-sized enterprises.
a16z points out that the advantages of stablecoins as cross-border payment tools are becoming increasingly evident. It is predicted that by 2025, more small and medium-sized businesses will choose to use stablecoins as their main payment method, as this can significantly reduce transaction costs.
a16z uses coffee shops as an example, stating that every time a transaction occurs, the coffee shop must pay fees to credit card companies or payment institutions, such as a fixed fee of 30 cents per transaction. For low-priced items (like a cup of coffee), this fee takes a significant portion of the profit.
a16z indicates that using stablecoins for payment directly can significantly impact the profits of small businesses, while large companies may also use stablecoins to simplify payment processes and save more costs.
Tokenization of government bonds, an upgrade for blockchain applications.
a16z believes that as blockchain technology matures, some countries will inevitably attempt to put government bonds on-chain, which can not only strengthen the stability of DeFi but also inject more liquidity into the blockchain ecosystem.
Taking the UK as an example, a16z states that the UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has been exploring the possibilities of digital securities in its own financial regulatory sandbox and is even considering issuing digital vouchers. Such innovations are worth looking forward to for governments aiming to enhance transparency and transaction efficiency.
Legalizing DAOs, Wyoming promotes DUNA as a new standard.
This year, Wyoming in the United States passed a new law officially recognizing decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) as legal limited liability companies (LLCs) and creating a legal structure for decentralized unincorporated nonprofit associations (DUNA). DUNA is specifically designed to support decentralized governance on the blockchain and is currently the only viable legal framework in US projects.
a16z believes DUNA can be used as a legal tool to legitimize DAOs, allowing them to become legally recognized organizations that not only promote economic activities but also provide legal protection for token holders while addressing tax and compliance issues. With the United States accelerating the development of the crypto industry in 2025, DUNA is expected to become an industry standard.
(a16z: optimistic about the future of the US crypto industry, will release DUNA guidelines to assist startups in landing in the US)
From decentralized governance to physical voting, democracy can also go on-chain.
The application of blockchain technology is expanding from online to the real world. a16z points out that in the future, there may be attempts to use blockchain technology in local government elections to ensure the legitimacy and privacy of voting, and even implement a "liquidity democracy" model.
Liquidity democracy allows voters to vote directly or delegate others to vote on their behalf. This concept originated from Lewis Carroll, the author of (Alice in Wonderland), but the technology at the time was insufficient to realize this idea. Today, it can become a reality with the support of blockchain.
The characteristics of blockchain can ensure the security and privacy of electronic voting, avoiding the cybersecurity issues that traditional voting may face. a16z suggests that local governments can start with low-risk small-scale pilot projects, gradually expanding from local elections to more levels.
Simplifying user experience, Web3 applications enter the mainstream.
a16z points out that the complexity of blockchain technology in the past has reduced public acceptance and further states that Web3 applications in 2025 will further optimize user experience, making it as simple as clicking a button or swiping a card.
a16z states that successful applications do not explain technology but rather solve problems, and addressing users' actual needs is the priority. a16z cites the music streaming platform Spotify, which has changed the way people listen to music by simplifying technology, allowing users not to need to understand music file formats or streaming technology operations. Similarly, Web3 applications need to hide technological complexities to make the process more intuitive, further promoting public acceptance of blockchain technology.
This article from a16z looks forward to the technological trends of 2025: AI cryptocurrency wallets, AI chatbots, and the tokenization of government bonds are included, and it first appeared in Chain News ABMedia.