Written by: a16z crypto team
Compiled by: Yangz, Techub News
Carra Wu, partner of a16z crypto investment team: AI needs 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 markets in a verifiable autonomous way (not controlled by humans), such as exchanging value, showing preferences, or coordinating resources.
As we have seen, AI agents (such as Truth Terminal) are already using cryptocurrencies to transact, opening the way for all kinds of creative content. They have greater potential to become even more useful. They can both fulfill human intent 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, and others : 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 in which applications can be executed, allowing for a more secure distributed system design. But in this case, TEE is used to prove that the robot is autonomous and not controlled by a human operator.
Taking this a step further, there may be what we call a decentralized autonomous chatbot or DAC (not to be confused with a decentralized autonomous company). Such a chatbot can attract fans by publishing quality content, whether entertaining or informative. It will build a fan base on decentralized social media; generate income from its 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 access these secret keys.
Of course, regulatory guardrails may be necessary as risk scales, but the key here is decentralization, meaning that the chatbot runs on a permissionless set of nodes and is coordinated through a consensus protocol, and could even become the first truly autonomous billion-dollar entity.
a16z crypto CTO Eddy Lazzarin: In the AI era, we need unique “proof of personality”
In a world filled with impersonations, scams, multiple identities, deepfakes, and other realistic-yet-deceptive AI-generated content, we need proof of personhood to help us determine if we are actually interacting with a real human being. Fake content is not a new problem; what is new is that it is becoming increasingly cheap to produce. AI radically reduces the marginal cost of producing content that contains all the cues we use to determine if something is “real.”
Therefore, more than ever, we need to digitally connect content to personality privately. "Proof of personality" is an important cornerstone for building digital identity, or, in the world of Web3, it becomes a mechanism to increase the marginal cost of attacking individuals or destroying the integrity of the network, because obtaining a unique ID is simple and easy for humans, but difficult for AI.
This is why the privacy-preserving “uniqueness” property is the next big idea for building a network we can trust. It solves more than just the problem of proving one’s identity, it fundamentally changes the cost structure of an attack for malicious actors.
Therefore, "uniqueness property", or "resistance to Sybil attacks", is a property that any personality proof system must possess.
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 about change 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 been a proof of concept, but it’s important to note that prediction markets themselves aren’t 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 a meaningful signal. However, researchers and technologists have had decades of design frameworks to 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 schemes. Importantly, blockchain also makes 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 over the past year. This is not surprising, as stablecoins are the cheapest way to pay in USD and enable fast global payments. In addition, 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’ve seen some enterprise interest in stablecoins (and early adoption of peer-to-peer payments), I expect to see a much larger wave of experimentation in 2025. Small and medium-sized businesses that have strong brands, loyal audiences, and have long struggled with payment costs, such as restaurants, coffee shops, etc., will be the first to abandon credit cards. They don’t benefit from credit card fraud protection (because they’re face-to-face transactions) and are most vulnerable to transaction fees (30 cents per cup of coffee!).
Of course, we should also expect large businesses to continue to adopt stablecoins. If stablecoins do accelerate the development of the banking industry , then businesses will try to replace payment providers with them and directly capture the additional 2% in profits. Large businesses will also begin to seek new solutions to the problems currently faced by credit card companies, such as fraud protection and identity verification.
Brian Quintenz, a16z crypto policy director: More and more countries will explore issuing government bonds on the chain
Issuing government bonds on-chain would create a government-backed, interest-bearing digital asset without the surveillance issues of a CBDC. These products could unlock new sources of demand for collateral usage in DeFi lending and derivatives protocols, further increasing the integrity and robustness of these ecosystems.
As innovative governments around the world further explore the advantages and efficiencies 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 its financial regulator FCA (Financial Conduct Authority) sandbox, and the UK Treasury/Chancellor of the Exchequer has also expressed interest in issuing digital gifts.
As for the United States, given that the SEC will require clearing of treasuries through traditional, cumbersome and expensive infrastructure next year, more conversations are expected to rage around how blockchain can improve transparency, efficiency and participation in bond trading.
a16z crypto general counsel Miles Jennings: 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 enable decentralized governance of blockchain networks and is currently the only viable structure for cryptocurrency projects in the United States. By incorporating DUNA into a decentralized legal entity structure, cryptocurrency projects and other decentralized communities can give legal legitimacy to their DAOs, allowing for more economic activity and shielding token holders from liability while managing tax and compliance needs.
DAOs are a necessary tool 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 there are multiple projects working to implement this framework. With the US expected to promote and accelerate the development of the cryptocurrency industry in 2025, I expect DUNA to become the standard for US projects. We also hope that other states will adopt similar structures (Wyoming was the first to adopt this structure; they were also the first state to adopt the now-common LLC), especially as other decentralized applications outside of cryptocurrency (such as physical infrastructure /energy grid) emerge.
a16z crypto researcher Andrew Hall: Online liquid democracy moves towards 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, behaviors, and rapidly evolving large-scale governance experiments. But what if we could apply this knowledge to governance in the physical world through blockchain?
We could eventually use blockchains to conduct secure, private voting in elections, 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 for people to vote directly or by proxy. Lewis Carroll (author of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and a prolific researcher on voting systems) 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. Cryptocurrency projects are already applying the concept and generating a wealth of data on how these systems work, as shown in our recent research , which local governments and communities can learn from.
a16z crypto researcher Joachim Neu: Builder will reuse infrastructure instead of "reinventing the wheel"
Over the past year, teams have continued to reinvent the wheel in the blockchain stack with new custom validator sets, consensus protocol implementations, execution engines, programming languages, and RPC APIs. These efforts sometimes improve on specialized features, but often lack broader or fundamental functionality. Taking SNARKs-specific programming languages as an example, while an ideal implementation might allow developers to develop higher-performance 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 hope more teams will leverage the contributions of others and reuse more off-the-shelf blockchain infrastructure components, including consensus protocols, existing staked capital, and proof systems by 2025. This approach will not only help buliders save a lot of time and energy, but also allow them to relentlessly focus on the differentiated value of their products/services.
The infrastructure is in place to build Web3 products and services that can be used right away. As with other industries, these products and services will be built by teams that can successfully navigate complex supply chains, not by teams that turn their noses up at anything that “isn’t invented here.”
Mason Hall, partner of a16z crypto investment team: Cryptocurrency companies will start from the terminal, rather than letting infrastructure determine user experience
While blockchain technology infrastructure is both 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 tied to the user experience of the blockchain product/service.
I believe the industry will overcome the ideological barriers implicit here, that technology dictates the end-user experience. In 2025, more crypto product designers will start from the end-user experience they want and then choose the right infrastructure. Crypto startups will no longer have to focus on specific infrastructure decisions before finding product-market fit, and they can focus on truly 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 rich programmable blockspaces, 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 under a16z crypto: "De-engineering" will help Web3 usher in killer applications
The blockchain industry’s superior technical capabilities are what sets it apart, but have so far also hindered mainstream adoption.
For creators and fans, blockchain enables connection, ownership, and monetization… but industry jargon (NFTs, zkRollups, etc.) and complex designs create barriers for those who stand to benefit most from these technologies. I’ve seen this firsthand in countless conversations with executives in media, music, and fashion who are interested in Web3.
Many mass adoptions of consumer technology follow this path, starting with the technology itself, then a few iconic companies/designers abstract away the complexity, and then some breakthrough application emerges. Think of the beginnings of email (the SMTP protocol hidden behind the “Send” button), or credit cards, which most people no longer like 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.”
This is why I think the industry will adopt “de-engineering” in 2025. The best decentralized applications have already started to focus on more intuitive interfaces, making it as easy as touching a screen or swiping a card. In 2025, we will see more companies embracing simple design and clear communication. Successful products will 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 like Apple’s App Store or Google Play, it limits their top-of-funnel user acquisition. But now, we’re seeing new app stores and marketplaces that offer this distribution and discovery functionality without barriers to entry. For example, Worldcoin’s World App marketplace, which not only stores personal identification but also allows access to “mini apps,” brought 100,000 users to multiple apps in just a few days. Another example is the free dApp Store for Solana mobile users. Both examples also show that hardware may be a key advantage for cryptocurrency app stores, just as Apple devices did for the early app ecosystem.
Meanwhile, there are other stores that offer thousands of decentralized applications and Web3 development tools in popular blockchain ecosystems (such as Alchemy); and some blockchains play the role of both game publishers and distributors (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 large amount of Web2 communication. But we may see more of this migration phenomenon in 2025.
Daren Matsuoka, partner of a16z crypto investment team: Coin holders become users
In 2024, cryptocurrencies made significant progress as a political movement, with major policymakers and politicians expressing positive views on cryptocurrencies. In addition, we continued to see the development of cryptocurrencies as a financial movement (e.g., how Bitcoin and Ethereum ETPs expanded investor access). In 2025, cryptocurrencies should further develop into a computing movement. But where will the next wave of users come from?
Currently, only 5-10% of coin holders are considered active users. I think it is time to re-engage these "passive" coin holders and convert them into more active users. As the blockchain infrastructure continues to improve, users' transaction fees will become lower and lower, and we can bring the 617 million people who already hold cryptocurrencies on-chain. By then, new applications will 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.
Aaron Schnider, a16z crypto technical operations expert: 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 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. AI engines can also leverage this information as a unique data set.
Just as fracking unlocked oil reserves once thought out of reach, the tokenization of unconventional assets can redefine how revenue is generated in the digital age. Scenarios that seemed sci-fi become 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 Ventures, which is using blockchain technology to bring more ownership, transparency, and consent to medical data collection. We don’t know what the future holds yet, but these developments will enable people to tap into untapped assets in a decentralized way, rather than relying on governments and centralized intermediaries.
