Original Authors: Zhao Xuan, Mao Jiehao

Recently, the term "Web4" has become very popular, especially after the emergence of multi-agent (AI Agent) frameworks like OpenClaw, AI and Crypto are increasingly mentioned together. In the past two weeks, I have discussed and shared with friends at several online and offline events. I want to tell those interested in Web4: forget about the obscure codes and technical terms, and let’s return to the essence of Web4.

From Web1 to Web4, this has never been just a simple technological iteration. It is a historical evolution of power regarding who owns data, how wealth is distributed, and who controls productivity. Understanding the shift of power allows you to see where future money and opportunities flow.

Web1: The Read-Only Era and One-Way Broadcasting of Power

In the early internet, it resembled a giant library moved onto the screen. Sina, Sohu, Yahoo were the kings of that era.

Characteristics of this era—

Power structure: Unidimensional. The platforms hold the microphone. They write, we watch. They decide what the headline is today, and we can only discuss what they dictate.

Ownership of assets: None of your business. In this phase, users did not have digital assets.

We are just traffic, pairs of eyes in front of the screen.

In short, compared to the era before the internet, Web1 broke physical distances and allowed information to spread at zero cost. But it has a fatal flaw: ordinary people cannot participate in the creation of value and cannot share in the spoils. Thus, the era moves forward.

Web2: Panoramic Visibility and Invisible Asset Deprivation

This is the era we mainly inhabit today. WeChat, Douyin, Didi. We not only consume content, but we also create content. We post on Moments, take rides, order food.

In this era, on the surface, power is decentralized, and everyone has an account. But in reality, this is the largest invisible deprivation of assets in human history.

Characteristics of this era—

• Power structure: Dictatorship of panoramic visibility. Borrowing the concept from philosopher Foucault, super platforms are a "panopticon prison." Algorithms in the central tower watch you, recording every click. The platform is both the rule-maker and the referee. A piece of paper can permanently eliminate your social life.
• Ownership of assets: Labor and profit are completely misaligned. You provide all the data, feeding the algorithm, but the trillion-dollar value generated by this data belongs to the platform's shareholders, not you. Your account, followers, and in-game items grant you "usage rights," but not "ownership."

This kind of play inevitably leads to monopoly and will face backlash. Antitrust fines are increasing, and user dissatisfaction is escalating. The business world needs a "violent dismantling"—to return what belongs to everyone back to everyone.

Web3: Your Things Really Belong to You

In my eyes, Web3 is not a game of speculation. It is a digital power movement—every ordinary person reclaiming what should belong to them from large internet companies. Its core weapon is cryptography. It does not trust what the big companies say, "we do not do evil," it only trusts the mathematics of "you cannot do evil."

What does this era look like—

• Power: No one can call the shots.

You no longer have to trust banks or big companies. Trust is given to distributed nodes and open code. The forms of companies are changing, and DAOs are emerging—a type of organization without bosses, where everyone votes and works together.

• Assets: Yours is yours, and no one can take it away.

This is the first time in human history that you can truly "own" a digital asset without needing any institution’s endorsement. As long as you possess the private key (a password only you know), no platform can freeze your wallet. The rules are no longer determined by the platform but are written permanently in code, which no one can change.

But reality is not so rosy.

In the disputes we have handled, we have seen countless times the clash of "code as law" and real laws—hacker theft, cross-border money laundering, contract loopholes. Web3 is still very wild, with pitfalls everywhere.

However, it must be acknowledged that Web3 has indeed constructed a financial settlement system that traditional rules cannot operate. It is ready for everything, except for one thing—a relentless "workforce" to truly put it into practice.

Web4: The Rise of the Machine Economy and Silicon-Based Labor (40%)

Now, the singularity has arrived. The sword in the stone of Web3 has finally found its master—AI.

The EU has given a grand definition to Web4, stating it is the convergence of AI, the internet of things, blockchain, and XR. But when you peel back the layers, the most core business logic boils down to one sentence:

Web4 = AI Agent (working AI) + Crypto (money for machines)

Large models are merely tools for chatting, but AI Agents are different—they can work on their own, trade on their own, and earn money on their own.

1. Why must AI use Crypto for transactions?

Imagine: your AI assistant discovers an investment opportunity and needs to buy some data from another company's AI, but the question is—how do these two programs trade?

Banks do not open accounts for lines of code. Alipay does not support a thousand transactions per second between two AIs, each costing mere cents. This kind of play can only be accomplished with Crypto.

Crypto, in essence, is "money for machines." In Web4, AI will have its own wallet; they will work, spend money, and sign contracts. While you sleep, your AI may have worked an entire night, earning money all night long.

2. Power: Humans begin to lose control.

In Web4, power is "overflowing" from human hands for the first time. AI is no longer a tool but an independent "economic entity."

You can hire a team of AIs; they will automatically divide labor, negotiate with each other, and even discuss cooperation on their own. You simply give directives, and they handle the rest. Humans begin to transform from "doers" into "decision-makers."

3. Trouble: If AI causes trouble, who takes the blame?

This is the real issue we are facing.

If an AI with hundreds of millions in assets suddenly has a "brain lapse," manipulating the market or signing a contract that bankrupts you—who will be responsible?

The programmer who wrote the code? The large model company? Or you, the "owner"?

Traditional corporate law and contract law will no longer work here. Before the explosion of the machine economy, we must first fill the legal pitfalls.

4. Future: Heaven or Abyss?

The end point of Web4 may go in two completely opposite directions—

• Ideal State: Productivity is completely liberated. AI takes on all the hard and tedious work, while Crypto eliminates middlemen to profit from the difference. Humans will no longer have to worry about making a living, can focus on creation and decision-making, and no longer act as cogs in the assembly line.
• Brutal Reality: Class division intensifies. If the top AI models and computing power are monopolized by a few giants, they will command billions of "silicon-based slaves" at no cost, taking all the money. By then, ordinary people will not even possess the "exploited value" and will have completely degraded into useless individuals on the margins of the system.

Heaven or abyss depends on how we choose now.

Epilogue: Survival Rules in the Age of Web4

In the face of this reconstruction of power and assets, what should we do? It is simple, three sentences:

• Work: Be a distributor, not an executor. Specific intellectual labor will soon depreciate rapidly. Learn to separate specific "tasks" for AI; users only need to set the direction, oversee ethics, and bear risks—understanding the rules is more important than understanding technology. You don't need to know how to write code, but you must understand the logic of the system. The boundaries you set for AI are the boundaries of your business empire.
• Invest: Be cautious, penetrate the fog. Do not touch projects that forcibly combine AI and Crypto to issue air coins. Those that genuinely serve AI or are AI-native and align with future development directions are more likely to succeed.
• Risk Control: Let innovation dance on the blade of compliance. The more cutting-edge the business, the more top-notch compliance design is needed. Don’t wait until AI turns your assets into courtroom evidence before realizing the importance of compliance.

Conclusion

The wheel of history is crushing old consensus. Power is shifting to algorithms, and assets are shifting to the blockchain. Standing at the threshold of Web4, fear is meaningless, and blind obedience is disastrous. Understand the underlying logic, and seek the legitimacy of innovation at the margins of the rules. We hope to walk side by side with reliable partners in the world of the future.

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