A year ago today, Read Write Own was released. So much has happened in crypto since then.
The past year, I spent a lot of time traveling and speaking at events—some crypto-focused, some not. Even as crypto faced regulatory uncertainty in Washington and sustained criticism from mainstream media, I kept hearing something different from the people I met: passion and optimism. There was a clear gap between the narrative out there and what I was seeing on the ground.
So, while I’m excited to see the tides turn with growing bipartisan and institutional support, I’m not entirely surprised. Crypto was never going away. At some point, the value of what blockchains enable—stablecoins, DeFi, AI systems, games, social experiences, and more—had to be recognized. We’re still far from the full vision I described in Read Write Own, but we’re moving forward.
Huge thanks to all the founders, builders, and supporters who tuned out the noise and kept building. Onward.
I wrote about why AI needs blockchain-enabled computing, and why I’m optimistic as these technologies converge.
AI is going to end the internet as we’ve known it. Its advancements are inevitable and will be mostly beneficial. But AI is already upending the internet’s economic covenant, and big tech companies are best-placed to reap the rewards. AI-powered deepfakes and bots are also degrading people’s trust in the online world.
To address these challenges without slowing down AI innovation, blockchains can:
- Enforce ownership for users and creators
- Verify identity to isolate bots and imposters
- Ensure authenticity to prevent tampering
Crypto can carry the torch of the open internet and help keep it creative, open, and diverse.
i have no tier list, it's either an in or out for me
my personal approach focuses on backing actual bootstrapped (non-VC), AI builders who consistently ship and know how to navigate the current market
this is a personal choice because I know the GenAI field well. i have been using/building with LLMs every single day for the past two years now. i'd like to believe this gives me an edge over most.
when evaluating the CT timeline, i noticed most genuinely do not fully comprehend AI's capabilities. i'm literally here to hedge my fear of getting replaced in the next 5 years, and as a gen z, NVDA/TSMC/AMD ain't gonna cut it if i wanna make it — that's why i'm in the trenches.
we go big or go home.
i've also been in crypto long enough to see value in crypto-native founders like @jyu_eth. closed-minded tradAI builders would probably never tokenize a cent of their work on chain. if @AndyAyrey weren't open-minded enough, he would have already shut goat down at sub 10mc.
look, i get that it's not all just about the tech. i've been aping shitters like wif (hat tech) since last nov when most of you are still suffering bear market PTSD.
i fully understand there are certain things you simply can't control e.g. @pmarca shilling @truth_terminal , elon shilling PNUT. but there are elements you definitely CAN control — study error of process vs error of outcome (h/t @santiagoroel, learnt shit tons of my crypto investing from him)
what i'm really saying is without the tech, these "memes" or "agents" won't have staying power.
lemme give you the CT speak real quick:
meme = number go up
talking meme = number go up more
many talking memes = who talks better
better tech & execution = talk better
talk better = more attention
more attention = more number go up
"talking" can be done through text, images, videos, audio, other forms of data, etc.
compare @0xzerebro and @luna_virtuals , who talks better? who resonates more? who can rally the troops more effectively? now reverse engineer that and ask why.
people have no idea how many of these are simply 20mins prompt-engineered OpenAI api calls hooked up w a twitter/telegram account. most of these will go to zero in the next month, and i sure as hell ain't playing that game.
for all those asking me for quick trade advice, i suck at it btw. i'm an investor, not a trader. once i pull the trigger, i usually size w conviction — and wait. trading and investing have different playbooks, and i'd like to believe i'm currently building a robust one for this incredibly nascent vertical.
so far, i'm choosing to back @AndyAyrey [goat], @jyu_eth [zerebro] and @NickLiverman [chaos] based on the thesis that i've put out (a more detailed one in the works) — see https://t.co/rweiS1G3uV
s/o @shawmakesmagic as well, love what that team has been shipping with eliza, but ai16z just isn't for me (respek the pamp tho)
my brain is still severely damaged by luna collapse 2022 😂 and DeFi isn't exactly my forte anws (too many unknown variables imo) — would prefer playing in my lane of backing pure AI execution
onchain AI is here to stay.
i haven't felt this way since my last contrarian bet on sol at $12. many did the same, and what did they do? follow the devs, bet on execution.
or you can midcurve and trade TON/eth L2s lol wtv glhf
AI (and memes) is a secular trend, and we're currently only ONE month into this new vertical. my bet is that more s-tier valley AI devs will keep flowing in as they see what we are cooking rn. those will be the ones i would double, triple down on.
and when they eventually enter the space to bootstrap their agentic projects, i'm betting they won't use eliza or wtv us crypto peeps have been cookin up. they'll cook the core tech themselves — and i'm betting my ass it'll be waaay better.
i say this because i've seen how cracked those tradAI devs are. those are the people who literally put together your ChatGPTs. even as a bozo AI dev, that's i path i'll take too. we simply want maximum control over our own agentic systems. of course, it's a different story if SDKs like eliza are well-maintained and proven over the next year.
you're given the opportunity front run VCs and back actual builders in this meta right now
the choice is yours, who will you back?
terry