Cryptocapitalism, encryption in the AI era

Author: Zuo Ye

What are you prepared to do?

Currently, we face two possible futures: one is spider-web capitalism, and the other is crypto-capitalism.

• Sun哥 travels globally, discussing AI or nuclear fusion, all just to maximize personal capital gains.

• Peter Thiel represents “Western” capitalism, with the core goal of maintaining Western civilization’s hegemony.

Image caption: You have me, I have you.

Image source: @justinsuntron @TheFP

For Thiel, defending capitalism is equivalent to defending Western civilization. In a sense, Thiel doesn’t mind transcending traditional notions of democracy and universal values.

For Sun哥, the economic goal of capital appreciation is its ultimate aim. As globalization increasingly fragments and becomes irreversible, this anxiety is gradually collapsing at a deeper level.

Especially in the AI era, productivity has yet to surpass traditional models, but demand for infrastructure such as energy is rising. Young people in New York are seeking more stable systems.

For the crypto industry, whose volatility is diminishing, especially for practitioners—where are they headed?

AI Eliminates Volatility

Mamdani, a 34-year-old socialist, successfully elected as New York City mayor. Meanwhile, emails from Peter Thiel to Zuckerberg in 2020 began circulating, revealing that Thiel had sensed young people’s widespread disappointment with capitalism five years earlier.

This disappointment was a direct reason for Thiel’s shift to Trump. When young people can’t afford rent, student loans, or healthcare, blaming them for lacking drive is pointless. Protecting housing prices only benefits the post-war and neoliberal eras.

When crypto OGs look down on miners, chain enthusiasts, and coin circles, and the post-2005 generation embraces memes, they are on the brink of anger. Bitcoin at 100,000 USD has become a symbol of intergenerational conflict.

Labubu or Mamdani—both are about distribution issues. To solve distribution, we have two practices: one is moving toward AGI and UBI, believing AI will eliminate human labor and become the economic主体. When housing can’t be solved and capitalism can’t be abolished, energy + computing power + storage are the most “hard” foundational improvements.

Image caption: It’s time to speak.

Image source: @liangsays

The second is attempting crypto-capitalism. Vitalik’s low-risk DeFi, a16z’s emphasis on new media scholarships—all aim to reconnect the world. The difference lies in whether it’s through the internet, AI, or Web3.

Expression is the lowest-cost leverage, and the power-law linking global founders will be infinite. They will transcend language,制度, and technological narratives, preserving the spark of globalization.

This is also where crypto has an advantage over AI: Claude won’t be region-specific, but Ethereum accepts everyone regardless of origin or destination.

In response to spider-web capitalism—where global rentier classes transcend national sovereignty, tightly intertwined like a web—workers (past), young people (present) feel the omnipresent shackles.

Crypto makes these connections incredibly simple and necessary. GTM behaviors are essential. Ray Dalio has predicted a collapse. In the recovery after tough times, crypto will demonstrate its capital efficiency.

Looking back, Sun哥’s profits come from USDT of Italian descent, Southeast Asian zones controlled by Chao Shan merchants, Tron public offerings for mainland believers, and USDD, which unexpectedly didn’t collapse during YBS’s crisis.

The core of crypto-capitalism isn’t surrendering to AI or destroying crypto; rentiers can connect, and new entrants can interact directly.

The large-scale appearance of stablecoins signals crypto maturity. Capturing and amplifying external signals will be the main opportunity during this phase.

• AI companies don’t need to succeed before going public; issuing tokens and entrepreneurial growth are more cost-effective. Hangzhou has Yu Shu; BN Alpha has Sapien; whether DJI or Officer Smith, ultimately, it’s about monetization.

• Web3’s Robotics and Agentics may not become mainstream applications, but they can become mainstream assets. Since Solana phones can be made, turning to low-cost Web3 hardware after the Shenzhen产业链 matures is also a path.

Don’t resist this historical process. Clinging to the notion that physical objects are noble—like steel from Tangshan being cheaper than cabbage—human overcapacity is an inevitable industrial process. Any growth in digestion channels is a good thing.

Stability under strong leadership

In an era of capital surplus, effective organizers are king.

Before the US embraced neoliberalism, finance and实体 hadn’t yet separated. 1 USD didn’t represent gold but corresponded to US goods and Middle Eastern oil. The Soviet gold ruble couldn’t beat the dollar in this regard.

Gold reserves are good, but human basic needs still require physical fulfillment. Amid waves of virtualization, Musk has demonstrated how industry can leverage finance—at least you can see Tesla and SpaceX.

Image caption: Musk’s trillion-dollar gamble on compensation

Image source: @AP

AI fuels bubbles; moral criticism is pointless. The key is how to coexist with and utilize bubbles. a16z believes media is the driver. Globalization expressions generate emotional resonance, enabling control over热点 and topics.

Understanding this, we see why a16z has long bet on SocialFi: they can invest in 99 projects that don’t make money but must not miss the one that does.

AI tools—reading, writing, editing, publishing, managing—are lowering individual entry barriers, with marginal costs approaching zero. Individuals are becoming part of vast agent networks.

Musk has long mastered leveraging media; he is Tesla’s media. Sun哥 is the media for TRC-20 USDT. Thiel is the media for Western civilization. They are all one person—a media company.

Daily tweets are as important as SpaceX’s rocket flames. The desire to express is the propellant for exploring Mars.

Moreover, the relics of this AI bubble—AI Coding/Vibe Coding—have become routine. Even if GPT-5 isn’t perfect, Kimi K2 is sufficient.

Image caption: The latest wave of layoffs

Image source: @Layoffsfyi

Entrepreneurship is increasingly personalized or gang-based. The traditional top of hierarchy isn’t the行政 system but the KPIs and 996 of big companies. Human efficiency is gradually lower than GPUs. The Luddites targeting big machines—smashing GPUs—won’t harm Nvidia’s five trillion valuation.

This isn’t about humans being forced out by AI to only cyber-stall; it’s about humans coordinating within AI-driven生产体系. It’s a process that requires some cost—costs that are like cattle and horses.

Media and code have become more affordable than air and water—artificial natural resources. Everyone must learn to coexist with them. Fortunately, crypto industry excels at this.

Conclusion

Super individuals, AI Agents,全民创业—another wave.

Starting from Thiel’s questioning of capitalism, we see the struggles of工业资本主义 and金融/信息资本主义. If AI capitalism can still gain acceptance, crypto-capitalism is still in its infancy.

Crypto always involves reshaping the core concept of capital and capitalism itself. Programming, transforming, and abusing it—under the dual surplus of AI-driven capital and industrial products—crypto experiments are no less than aerospace or nuclear fusion.

Crypto practitioners, especially entrepreneurs, must manage the relationship between media and code, using new productivity architectures and systems to outcompete rivals. This isn’t distant.

Huge waves are rising—growing endlessly! Crypto! Crypto! Let’s muster strength and take on the rise and fall of AI!