Recently, the term "Web4" has become very popular, especially after the emergence of multi-agent (AI agent) frameworks like OpenClaw, which have led to more frequent mentions of AI and crypto. Over the past two weeks, I've discussed and shared with friends at various online and offline events, and I want to say to those interested in Web4: forget the obscure code and technical jargon, and let's return to the essence of Web4. From Web1 to Web4, this has never been a simple technological iteration. It's a history of power evolution concerning who owns the data, how wealth is distributed, and who controls productivity. Understanding the transfer of power is key to understanding where future money and opportunities will flow. Web1: The Era of One-Way Broadcast of Power and Read-Only Representation The early internet was like a giant library moved to a screen. Sina, Sohu, and Yahoo were the kings of that era. The defining characteristic of this era was: Power structure: One-dimensional. The platforms held the microphone. They wrote, we read. They decided what the headlines were today, and that's all we could discuss. Asset ownership: None of your business. At this stage, users had no digital assets. We were merely traffic, pairs of eyes in front of the screen. In short, compared to the pre-internet era, Web 1 broke down physical distances, allowing information to spread at zero cost. But it had a fatal flaw: Ordinary people couldn't participate in value creation, let alone share in the profits. Thus, the era moved forward. Web2: Panopticon and the Invisible Disposal of Assets This is the era we live in today. WeChat, Douyin, Didi. We not only consume content, we create it. We post on WeChat Moments, hail rides, and order takeout. On the surface, this era appears to have decentralized power, with everyone having an account. But in reality, it represents the largest-scale invisible dispossession of assets in human history. The characteristics of this era— The form of power: Panopticon dictatorship. Borrowing from philosopher Foucault, a super platform is a "panopticon prison." Algorithms watch you from the central tower, recording every click you make. Platforms are both rule-makers and referees. A single agreement can permanently destroy your social media life. Asset Ownership: A Complete Misalignment of Labor and Income. You contribute all the data, feed the algorithm, but the trillions in market value generated by this data belongs to the platform's shareholders, not you. You only have the "right to use" your account, followers, and game items, not "ownership." This kind of gameplay inevitably leads to monopolies and will inevitably backfire. Antitrust fines are increasing, and user dissatisfaction is piling up. The business world needs a "violent dismantling"—returning what belongs to everyone to everyone. Web3: Your Things Are Truly Yours. In my eyes, Web3 is not a cryptocurrency game at all. It's a digital power movement—every ordinary person reclaiming what rightfully belongs to them from internet giants. Its core weapon is cryptography. It doesn't believe the giants' "We don't do evil," it only believes in the mathematical principle of "You can't do evil." This era looks like—no more trust in banks, no more trust in large corporations. Trust is entrusted to distributed nodes and open-source code. The form of companies is changing; DAOs have emerged—organizations without bosses, where everyone votes and makes decisions.
For the first time in human history, you can truly "own" a digital asset without any institution endorsing it. As long as you possess the private key (a password only you understand), no platform can freeze your wallet. The rules are no longer dictated by the platform, but hard-coded and unchangeable by anyone.
But reality isn't so rosy.
In the disputes we've handled, we've seen countless instances of "code is law" clashing head-on with real-world laws—hacking cryptocurrency theft, transnational money laundering, contract vulnerabilities. Web3 is still wild, full of pitfalls.
But it must be admitted that Web3 has indeed built a financial settlement system that traditional rules can't handle.
It's ready in every way, except for one thing—a tireless "labor force" to truly put it to use. Now, the singularity has arrived. Web3, the sword in the stone, has finally found its master—AI. The EU has given Web4 a grand definition, calling it a fusion of AI, IoT, blockchain, and XR. But breaking it down, the core business logic is simple: Web4 = AI Agent (AI that can do the work) + Crypto (money that machines can use) Large models are merely tools for conversation, but AI Agents are different—they can work on their own, trade on their own, and make money on their own.
1. Why must AI use Crypto for payments?
Imagine: Your AI assistant discovers an investment opportunity and needs to buy data from another company's AI. The problem is—how do these two programs transact?
Banks won't open an account with a single line of code. Alipay doesn't support a thousand transactions per second between two AIs, each costing only a few cents. Only Crypto can handle this.
Crypto is essentially "money for machines." In Web4, AI will have its own wallet; it works for itself, spends its own money, and signs its own contracts. While you sleep, your AI may have already worked all night and earned money for you.
2. Power: Humans Are Starting to Lose Control In Web4, power has "overflowed" from human hands for the first time. AI is no longer a tool, but an independent "economic agent." You can hire a team of AIs, which will automatically divide tasks, negotiate prices, and even negotiate cooperation among themselves. You only need to give instructions, and they will handle the rest. Humans are starting to change from "doers" to "instructors." 3. Trouble: Who Takes the Blame When AI Causes Mishap? This is a real problem we are facing. If an AI with tens of millions in assets suddenly "goes crazy," manipulates the market, or signs a contract that will bankrupt you—who will be responsible?
Catch the programmers who write the code? Sue the big model companies? Or you, the "master"?
Traditional corporate law and contract law are all ineffective here. Before the machine economy explodes, the legal loopholes must be filled first.
4. The Future: Heaven or Abyss?
The end point of Web4 may be two completely opposite directions——
Ideal state: Complete liberation of productivity. AI takes care of all the hard and tiring work, Crypto eliminates middlemen and profits from the difference. Humans will finally not have to worry about making a living, and can concentrate on creation and decision-making, no longer being cogs in the machine.
Humans will finally not have to worry about making a living, and can concentrate on creation and decision-making, no longer being cogs in the machine.
Conclusion
The wheels of history are crushing old consensuses. Power is shifting to algorithms, and assets are shifting to on-chain. Standing at the threshold of Web4, fear is meaningless, and blind obedience is disastrous. Understand the underlying logic and find the legitimacy of innovation on the edge of the rules. We look forward to walking side by side with reliable partners in the future world.
Original Authors: Zhao Xuan, Mao Jiehao
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