Dialogue with Vitalik, Xiao Feng, Aya Miyaguchi, and Joseph Chalom: From the 'Subtraction Principle' to the Agent Economy | Highlights from the Ethereum Application Summit
On April 22nd, the 'Ethereum Application Summit,' hosted by the Ethereum Applications Guild (EAG), was held on the main stage of the Hong Kong Web3 Festival. Builders, researchers, and application promoters from different levels of the Ethereum ecosystem gathered together to discuss 'What should be built in Ethereum's next stage,' jointly exploring the real directions and long-term opportunities taking shape at the application layer.
As Ethereum infrastructure matures, industry focus is gradually shifting from underlying capability building to the application layer. Against this backdrop, this event focused on real application progress and practical experience, engaging in discussions around the most crucial current questions: which directions are forming trends, what key challenges remain, and how applications can further move towards the real world.
The following are highlights from the Fireside Chat guests.
Vitalik Buterin: Towards a Full-Stack Open-Source Security and AI-Driven Era of 'Soft Sovereignty'
In his fireside chat with Dr. Xiao Feng, Vitalik Buterin focused on Ethereum's future development direction, as well as the significance of AI, hardware, security, and privacy computing for the blockchain ecosystem. He stated that Ethereum is rethinking the issue of 'Full Stack Open Source Security'—meaning security doesn't just exist at the blockchain protocol layer, but also extends to browsers, operating systems, hardware wallets, and even the chip layer. As blockchain applications increasingly enter the real world, hardware security and hardware acceleration will become indispensable infrastructure. Simultaneously, he believes Ethereum needs to continue 'simplifying' in the future, lowering the barrier to entry for ordinary users and developers. The internet evolved from the command line to the GUI, then to mobile internet apps, and the emergence of AI may bring about a 'command line for the natural language era'—where users only need to use natural language to invoke a vast array of programs and services built by different developers. He predicts that AI wallets, AI user interfaces, and natural language-based on-chain interactions will become new directions.
Regarding security and protocol, Vitalik believes AI is simultaneously enhancing the capabilities and risks of blockchain systems. On one hand, AI can aid in formal verification, smart contract audits, and core protocol development, making complex verifications that were nearly impossible a reality. On the other hand, AI will also significantly enhance vulnerability discovery and attack capabilities. Therefore, 'security' is not just a technical issue but also a question of whether developers are willing to choose secure architectures. He mentioned that important goals for Ethereum's next stage include faster finality, resistance to quantum computing, stronger decentralization, and higher protocol security, with significant work advancing in conjunction with AI and formal verification. Furthermore, he believes Ethereum's core competitiveness in the future will still be security and trustworthiness. Compared to other new chains emphasizing performance and efficiency, Ethereum should focus on doing 'only what Ethereum can do,' including decentralized, secure, privacy-protecting, and trustless infrastructure capabilities.
Regarding the integration of privacy computing and AI, Vitalik stated that Zero-Knowledge Proofs (ZK) have entered a relatively mature stage, while Fully Homomorphic Encryption (FHE), though slightly later, is developing very rapidly. He believes that in the future, with the combination of AI, FHE, and blockchain, real-world scenarios like healthcare, IoT, and data collaboration can be truly supported. For instance, medical data requires both AI's analytical capabilities and extremely high privacy protection, while blockchain can further provide permissionless, trustless data collaboration and value exchange mechanisms. He also emphasized that the core reason for the Ethereum Foundation's recent update of its mission and values is to continue adhering to principles like decentralization, privacy, self-sovereignty, and open-source collaboration in an era of rapid AI and digital development. He proposed the concept of 'Soft Sovereignty,' suggesting that future technology should not just improve efficiency but, more importantly, genuinely allow users to own and control their assets, data, and digital lives—a core value Ethereum has long upheld.
Regarding the establishment of the Ethereum Applications Guild (EAG), Vitalik stated that as the Ethereum ecosystem continues to expand, the ecosystem's long-term development requires the joint promotion of more independent organizations, developer communities, and application teams. He believes EAG can undertake much-needed work for ecosystem development that the Foundation isn't suited to directly promote, including driving application-layer innovation, connecting traditional industries with the blockchain world, supporting global developer collaboration, and promoting regional ecosystem building. He also expressed hope that more independent organizations similar to EAG would emerge in the Ethereum ecosystem in the future, promoting the ecosystem's long-term development and open collaboration in different directions.
Dr. Xiao Feng believes Ethereum is entering a new stage moving from 'infrastructure construction' to 'real-world application adoption,' and the key to this process lies in continuously lowering the technical barrier and improving user experience. Citing the development history of the internet and operating systems, he pointed out that technology truly achieves mass adoption often relying on the simplification of interaction methods. From the command line to graphical interfaces, then to apps in the mobile internet era, complex systems were ultimately packaged into products ordinary users could easily use. In his view, Ethereum's future development also needs to further automate and intelligentize wallets, smart contracts, and on-chain interactions. With the development of AI and natural language interaction, future users might not need to understand the underlying technology; they could simply express their needs in natural language, and AI would automatically invoke on-chain protocols and applications to complete operations, thereby truly bringing more ordinary people into the Web3 world.
At the same time, Ethereum's development should not solely pursue efficiency but continue to adhere to core values like decentralization, security, and user sovereignty. He emphasized that the combination of AI, privacy computing, and blockchain will bring new possibilities to real-world scenarios like healthcare and data collaboration, while technologies like ZK proofs, FHE, and quantum-resistant cryptography are gradually becoming ready for practical application. In this process, L1 should continue focusing on security and decentralization, while L2 and the application layer are responsible for meeting different scenarios' demands for performance and functionality. He also noted that as blockchain applications scale, the importance of hardware, security, and cryptographic infrastructure will continue to rise, and the Ethereum ecosystem will need more organizations like EAG in the future to drive application innovation, industry collaboration, and global ecosystem building.
Aya Miyaguchi: Promoting the Long-Term Evolution of the Ethereum Ecosystem with the 'Subtraction Principle'
Ethereum Foundation Chairperson Aya Miyaguchi and Ethereum Applications Guild (EAG) Executive Director Audrey Tang held a fireside chat on the evolution of Ethereum ecosystem governance, application development, and the Foundation's role. Aya elaborated on the 'Principle of Subtraction' mentioned in the 'Ethereum Foundation Mission Statement' (EF Mandate). This means that in areas that are already relatively mature or where the community already has capabilities, the EF will increasingly shift to a supporting role. For example, the EF was initially involved in developing wallets and the Geth client itself, but as the ecosystem developed, its goal gradually shifted towards letting market competition naturally produce better tools. She described the EF's role as 'one of many gardeners' in the ecosystem, not its central driving force.
Simultaneously, Aya pointed out that 'real applications' are typically built on Ethereum's core values, including censorship resistance, open source, security, and privacy protection. She emphasized that Ethereum's security is the foundation for achieving meaningful widespread application; and that 'long-term resilience' is more important than 'short-term incentives'—its core idea is that Ethereum should be able to withstand a 'walkaway test' and possess the ability for self-sustainability over a decade or longer.
Additionally, she particularly emphasized the importance of a 'Local-first' strategy, believing that organizations like EAG can fully leverage deep regional ecosystem resources, generating global influence and an 'addition' effect through local knowledge and talent.
Joseph Chalom: Unleashing Ethereum's Productivity and the Paradigm Shift to the Agent Economy
SNZ CBO Henry Chen spoke with SharpLink CEO Joseph Chalom, exploring the institutionalization path for Ethereum and the future of the 'Agent Economy' driven by AI Agents. Joseph firmly believes Ethereum represents the underlying architecture for the future global capital market and considers Hong Kong, with its capital, talent, and stable regulatory advantages, an ideal location for building a long-term digital economy. He pointed out the biggest difference between Ethereum and Bitcoin lies in 'productivity': Bitcoin is a store of value, while ETH has the unique attribute of generating yield through staking, which is highly attractive to institutions. SharpLink treats ETH as an institutional-grade reserve asset and achieves close to 100% staking, aiming to provide holders with transparent and sustainable on-chain yield.
Regarding the explosion of AI technology, Joseph depicted the coming era of the 'Agent Economy': by 2027, people will directly use Web3 wallet-enabled bank accounts and AI Agents, which will tirelessly execute instructions such as automatically capturing the highest yields, rebalancing investment portfolios, and purchasing RWAs. He encourages boldly transcending existing technical architectures while respecting security and decentralization principles to build the future of finance.
This Ethereum Application Summit concluded successfully in Hong Kong. As Ethereum infrastructure matures, the application layer is becoming the core driving force for the ecosystem's next stage of development. The official launch of the Ethereum Applications Guild (EAG) also marks the formation of an open collaboration network for global builders. In the future, with the adoption of more real-world applications and cross-domain integration, the Ethereum ecosystem will continue accelerating its move towards a broader real world.
