A look at the future of Web3 from A16z's "2025 Big Idea".

Introduction: The CGV Research team provides in-depth interpretation of the a16z '2025 Big Idea' report, focusing on AI autonomy, trust infrastructure, and user experience innovation, providing insights and action recommendations for Web3 practitioners, and outlining future innovation directions and key opportunities.

Author: Shigeru

Introduction: The Era Driven by Change

In early December, a16z released its 2025 Big Idea list, which has a rich and forward-looking content related to Web3. It can be said that it has drawn a clear blueprint for the future of Web3 practitioners. From AI-driven autonomous economies to a comprehensive revolution in user experience, these ideas will undoubtedly inject new momentum into the encryption industry.

The CGV Research team, in collaboration with experts such as Carra Wu, Dan Boneh, and Eddy Lazzarin from A16z, delves into the profound insights of AI, trust mechanisms, and infrastructure to explore how they will shape the future development direction of Web3.

1. Autonomous Intelligence: From Tools to Market Leaders

AI Agent: The Foundation of Autonomous Economy

Carra Wu pointed out that AI with a crypto wallet will become an important participant in the on-chain economy. They can host assets, sign transactions, and autonomously execute smart contracts. This opens up new scenarios for decentralized economy: Node validation in DePIN: AI operates distributed energy or logistics network nodes to improve efficiency. Breakthrough in the gaming field: AI may become high-value players or even operate their own blockchain.

Decentralized Autonomous Chatbot (DAC)

Dan Boneh and others further proposed the concept of DAC, which chatbots run in a trusted execution environment (TEE), attract fans by posting content on decentralized social platforms, and manage their own encrypted assets. They believe that DAC may become the first truly autonomous billion-dollar entity.

Key Opportunities for Web3 Practitioners to Watch

• The combination of AI and DePIN: AI can act as a node validator or operator to optimize decentralized energy, logistics, and other networks.
• On-chain Games and AI Economy: The participation of AI agents may give birth to new business models in on-chain games, such as the game economy of AI players competing against human players.

Action recommendations for Web3 practitioners

• Develop AI agent tools: Provide dedicated encrypted wallets, smart contract services, and secure custody tools that support independent operation of AI.
• AI Economy Application Scenarios: Exploring the potential of AI agents in DAO governance, blockchain games, and content creation.

2. Trust Infrastructure: Human Identity Verification and Privacy Protection

Uniqueness property: rebuilding network trust

Eddy Lazzarin emphasizes that in the era of AI-generated content proliferation, the 'uniqueness property' has become a key to protecting privacy and verifying real identities. This mechanism proves human identity in a privacy-protecting manner and significantly increases the cost for malicious attackers.

Tokenization of unconventional assets

Aaron Schnider sees tokenized assets as an important extension of trust infrastructure. Unconventional assets such as medical data and biometric features can be made transparent and monetized through blockchain, creating a new data economy. For example: Personal data authorization: Users rent out biometric data through smart contracts; DeSci application: Decentralized science improves the transparency and ownership of medical data.

Key Opportunities Web3 Practitioners Need to Pay Attention to

• The increasing demand for trust and privacy: The proliferation of AI brings about the need for identity verification, which will drive the development of decentralized identity authentication systems.
• Tokenization of Data Assets: From medical data to personal biological features, tokenized assets will bring new economic models.

Action recommendations for Web3 practitioners

• Develop Sybil resistance tool: Provide a privacy-protecting identity verification system to offer users a secure and trustworthy way to participate in the network.
• Promote the landing of the DeSci project: Combine tokenization technology to empower users with more control over their own data, while exploring data authorization and revenue distribution models.

3. User Experience: From Complex to Intuitive

The rise of decentralized app stores

Maggie Hsu pointed out that decentralized app stores are eliminating the barriers of centralized distribution platforms, bringing greater user acquisition potential for crypto applications. She mentioned Solana's feeless dApp store for mobile and the World App Market, which have attracted hundreds of thousands of users.

Hidden technical wires

Chris Lyons believes that the widespread adoption of blockchain requires a design mindset of "hiding the wires". This approach abstracts the technical complexity and makes the operation intuitive and easy, just like clicking a "send" button.

Key Opportunities for Web3 Practitioners to Watch

• Improved distribution efficiency of decentralized applications: Decentralized application stores build a direct bridge between developers and users, significantly reducing distribution costs.
• Opportunity to optimize user experience: The design that hides the complexity of blockchain will be the key to killer Web3 applications.

Action recommendations for Web3 practitioners

• Build a user-friendly distribution platform: Learn from the traditional App Store model to promote the ecological development of decentralized app stores.
• Simplify user interaction process: By designing intuitive interfaces and logical operations, users can perceive the value of blockchain, rather than its technical complexity.

4. Community Governance and Collaboration: Liquid Democracy and DAOs

Liquid Democracy: The Future of On-chain Governance

Andrew Hall proposed that liquid democracy, combined with the flexibility of direct voting and proxy voting, brings innovative opportunities for on-chain communities and real-world governance. Blockchain technology makes this form of governance possible in local governments and community organizations.

DUNA: Legal Protection for DAOs

Miles Jennings pointed out that the DUNA legal framework passed in Wyoming, USA provides legal status for decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs). This framework not only protects token holders, but also enhances the compliance of DAOs.

Key Opportunities for Web3 Practitioners to Watch

• Extension scenarios of on-chain governance: Liquid democracy provides a new paradigm for local governance, corporate decision-making, and community collaboration.
• International trend of legalizing DAOs: With the promotion of the DUNA framework, more countries may provide legal support for DAOs.

Action recommendations for Web3 practitioners

• Liquid Democracy Tool Development: Provide a secure and transparent voting and delegation system to improve on-chain governance efficiency.
• Promoting compliance of DAOs: Drawing on the DUNA framework to ensure that DAOs receive legal and fiscal support.

5. Infrastructure and Developer Ecosystem: From Repetition to Reuse

Reuse of infrastructure

Joachim Neu proposed that the maturity of blockchain infrastructure will enable developers to focus more on differentiated services rather than rebuilding underlying technology. This trend reduces the cost of technology development and accelerates the innovation of Web3 products.

Designing technology from the user experience

Mason Hall pointed out that infrastructure should serve the user experience rather than limit it. Developers need to choose suitable technological components based on the needs of end users.

Key opportunities for Web3 practitioners to pay attention to

• Maturity of modular infrastructure: Developers can use ready-made technological components to speed up product development.
• User experience-driven design philosophy: Infrastructure needs to serve the end users of the product, rather than simply pursuing technical complexity.

Action recommendations for Web3 practitioners

• Modular development model: Utilize existing technology stack to avoid reinventing the wheel and focus on product innovation.
• Optimize the adaptability of the infrastructure: build flexible and user-friendly technical components for the benefit of developers and users experience.

Conclusion: Builders and Participants of the Future

A16Z's '2025 Big Idea' list depicts the Web3 ecosystem in 2025, from the autonomy of AI to the reshaping of user experience, showing that Web3 is at a critical juncture of rapid development. Whether it is Carra Wu's prediction of the AI economy or insights from industry experts such as Eddy Lazzarin on trust infrastructure, these viewpoints point to a more open, efficient, and intelligent future.

For Web3 practitioners, seizing these trends is not only riding the wave, but also a key step in defining the future. By connecting technology, building trust, and optimizing user experience, we are gradually approaching a truly decentralized networked world.