Many people are starting to exit the circle again, which is a phenomenon that basically happens in every secondary bear market cycle; this time, it's just more pronounced.
And I'm super excited, even finding a suitable reason for not sleeping again, which was a problem for me.
The opportunity for me to write this article came from a 3-hour phone call the day before yesterday with a big internet boss.
He is not in CT and has no plans to issue coins. He is the kind of person who has no interest in tokens because he is too wealthy; his dream is to become the next super ambitious person on par with Google.
On the phone, he was full of excitement, telling me that although he wasn't in the crypto space before, he has been following its development. Now he has made the most important decision for his future life:
He wants to build the infrastructure for Web3. This is the career that smart people should go all in on for their future.
He said his judgment about the future world belongs to the world of AI agentic transaction payments, and agentic payments must happen in Crypto.
The frequency at which AI agents autonomously perform tasks is increasing, with many tasks involving payments. These payments require high frequency, small units, high efficiency, and safety. He found that only blockchain, only stablecoins can solve this problem.
He comes to Web3 not to issue coins or make quick money. He finally understands the logic and realizes that the technological turning point is right in front of him, so he comes in early to build.
This judgment is also fermenting on CT, and it has basically become a consensus.
CZ has mentioned on multiple occasions that AI agents are the next explosion point for the crypto application layer. TrustWallet is making relevant arrangements. The logic points to the same thing: AI agents need wallets, just like people need wallets.
But for people paying, there can be KYC, they can wait T+2, and they can fill out forms for approval. Machines can't do that. Machines need milliseconds, frictionless, programmable payments. When AI agents are helping you book tickets, execute trades, or handle contracts, they can't stop to wait for bank systems to process.
The design logic of the traditional financial system is centered around people. This system creates friction when used by machines; after several frictions, you don't know if your agent helped you make money, but the principal is, after all, gone due to friction.
The structure of Crypto is naturally suited for machine payment scenarios. It's not a forced narrative; it's the way AI behaves, determining that it can only use Crypto for payments.
The direction is correct, and now is the time to BUILD.
I expect it will take about another year to enter a truly crazy pre-launch state.
The autonomy of AI agents still needs to advance to the next level; the user experience on-chain has gaps, and the real scale of machine payments has not yet materialized. Just like before DeFi Summer, there was a period where many people were building, but most couldn't understand. Then one day, it suddenly exploded.
Now is the "incomprehensible" golden phase. Cognition combined with practical ability is the ceiling of wealth.
People trading cryptocurrencies and Web3 builders are actually two different groups. They need each other, but their thinking is completely different.
The former asks, "When will it rise?" The latter asks, "Where are the real problems that haven't been solved?" Both types of people use the same vocabulary but live on completely different timelines. This is also the root of the issues I often point out to projects when serving as an advisor, where they are talking to themselves, and users don't understand.
For those trading cryptocurrencies, it's a bear market now, nothing much to say.
For builders, now is a window period. The noise has faded, and with less traffic, those who can do solid work have more space. Recently, some friends asked me why I'm so busy during this bear market? My heart skipped a beat; there are too many things I want to do.
If you feel like there's nothing to do in a bear market, it's very likely that by the next cycle, you'll be about to exit from the ranks of Web3 people.
Those who come in when the market heats up only capture emotions.
In the case of AI x Crypto, one internet tycoon is not thinking about issuing coins and making a quick exit but chooses to research thoroughly with the team and go all in to build—this is one of the most convincing signals.
Am I the only one who thinks that Web3 is about to welcome a real bull market?
Y Strategy · Jiayi