Wintermute: What Is Left to Build in Crypto?
The article argues that the foundational question for crypto has shifted. Instead of asking "what else can crypto do?", the real question is "why will the real world need crypto next?" The author's answer is the emerging **Machine Economy** – where autonomous agents and robots act as independent economic participants, making decisions, executing transactions, and initiating actions in both digital and physical worlds.
Three key recent developments make this shift plausible: 1) AI models are now capable and cheap enough for autonomous, persistent action; 2) Open standards (e.g., stablecoins, Agent payment protocols) allow for composability; 3) Agents can now operate with context over long periods, changing the scale of automated activity.
Crypto's core strengths—programmability, permissionlessness, fast settlement, and auditability—align well with the needs of autonomous systems, which don't fit traditional human-centric financial rails. Major platforms like Coinbase and Robinhood are already building infrastructure for Agent-based activity.
However, challenges remain, primarily around **Security** (e.g., prompt injection attacks on Agent wallets) and **Attribution/Accountability** when AI-assisted systems fail.
The most promising opportunities lie not in crowded foundational layers (L1s, models, exchanges) but in the connective tissue for the Machine Economy: **1) An economic layer for Agents** (handling authorization, risk, identity), **2) Physical AI** (enabling robots in structured environments like warehouses to transact), and **3) Machine-led discovery systems** (e.g., in autonomous scientific research).
marsbit07/20 00:03
