The crypto circle has always been seen as a zero-sum game, a casino...

Some positive-energy individuals may compare the crypto circle to the banking industry, after all, banks do not create any consumable value for society; they merely play a role in the redistribution of funds.

As early as 2018, a term called "killer application" was mentioned. It refers to applications that can create value and attract consumption.

➤ Web3 Islands and the Breakthrough of Web2

❚ Web3 Islands

In fact, while Web3 advocates decentralization, it has always been locked on-chain. Of course, it can be cross-chain, moving from one chain to another, but it is still locked on-chain.

❚ Web2's Breakthrough

We can review how Web2 broke through its barriers.

◆ Language Category Products

The earliest Web2 applications were information media such as email and Sohu. They were almost limited to language-based application products. Of course, we are not discussing infrastructure, just applications. Additionally, early applications like MSN and Qicq can also be categorized as language-based...

◆ Game Category Products

Games are an eternal theme for humanity, and they appeared very early, with new games constantly emerging and popular games continuing to thrive.

◆ Media Category Products

After language-based applications, video applications emerged in the Web2 field, with products like YouTube still being mainstream media applications to this day.

◆ Life Category Products

E-commerce, takeout, online education, finance, and other life-related applications are essential in the Web2 field. Blurring the lines between enterprises and consumers, financial applications, including banking applications and payment methods, are all considered life-related.

We can see that although Internet products are information products, the key to Web2's breakthrough is to step out of the Internet and integrate into life.

➤ The Path of Web3 and AI May Be Similar to Web2

❚ Development of Web3 Applications

◆ Language Category

Interestingly, in the Web3 field, besides infrastructure, the earliest applications may also include language-based products like Steem (2016), Bihu, and Primas (2018) (of course, Bihu belongs to Web2.5). At that time, there were also a series of social applications primarily based on images and texts, which were not very powerful, mainly still language-based.

◆ Game Category

Games also appeared very early, with CryptoKitties (2017), Neoworld (2018), etc., which were once all the rage.

Axie in 2021, Bigtime in 2024...

The recently popular adventure island game, today in Binance Alpha's airdrop of TOKYO Games...

It seems that in the Web3 market, apart from the very sluggish market conditions, chain games seem to always be popular.

◆ Media Category

In the Web3 field, like

@Sidekick_Labs

@LOOPSPACE_xyz

Platforms for audio and video, live streaming are emerging.

In fact, whether it's sidekick or loopspace, neither is a purely decentralized product, but they have some content on-chain. KOLs can live stream on these platforms, demonstrating transactions, playing games, or teaching, which are indeed very practical functions and a market necessity. Compared to regulated, non-vertical comprehensive media, platforms like sidekick and loopspace may be more suitable for Web3 users.

◆ Life Category Platforms

#huma, as a financial application, also belongs to the life category. The difference with existing Web3 financial products is that companies can use cross-border payment orders as collateral for loans on-chain. This also combines Web2 and Web3.

It cannot be entirely certain that Huma will succeed, but the design logic of Huma products is feasible. Its logic is that in cross-chain payments, the payee has an account receivable, which can be used as collateral for a loan in the Huma protocol on the chain.

❚ Development and Imagination of AI Products

In the AI field, the first to explode were also language-based products like ChatGPT, Claude, and Deepseek.

Subsequently, image and video-based AI are also in development.

Regarding AI applications, Bee Brother has two imaginations:

First, in the e-commerce sector. AI collects data on products across major e-commerce platforms, including various indicators and review information for different products. Based on this analysis, it can remove fake positive reviews, further analyze product ratings, and understand product features and suitable user demographics. When users need help, they can ask AI, which will intelligently recommend suitable products, eliminating the consumers' selection cost.

Second, AI retirement robots. Yes, I think this will be the tool for the 80s and 90s generation's retirement. On one hand, many people from the 80s and 90s have given up on having children. On the other hand, even if they have children, they might not be around when they grow old, or even if they are, their lives may be very stressful due to social competition. Therefore, AI retirement robots are likely to be the future solution for the retirement of the 80s and 90s generation.

➤ Written at Last

Perhaps the imagination is a bit far-fetched; let’s return to the present. Whether it's the Internet, blockchain, or AI... ultimately, they are all meant to serve humanity.

For Web3 to truly serve humanity and create value, it ultimately needs to integrate into human life. The first step should be to break through the barriers of Web3 and actively integrate with Web2.

Of course, we cannot rule out the development of information technology, the performance improvement of blockchain and decentralized storage, and the possibility of Web3 de-assimilating Web2. But first, Web3 should integrate with Web2.

Decentralization is an extreme description; in fact, the prefix "de" in English means both removal and reduction. In fact, Satoshi Nakamoto's Bitcoin white paper never mentioned the term Decentralization. Decentralization can be translated as decentralization or reducing centralization.

Bee Brother's consistent viewpoint is to use the term "decentralized" to summarize Web3 products and ecosystems.

Non-centralization does not require a complete removal of centralization; in fact, the current Web3 ecosystem has not achieved complete decentralization. Achieving public and transparent information, accepting full-chain attention, should be enough to achieve non-centralization.

Since 2024, the approval of BTC ETF and Trump's attention to crypto have made RWA one of the themes. Along with the sidekick, loopspace, and Huma mentioned in this article, the common point of these tracks is that Web3 and Web2 are merging.

Including AI, AI computing power can be decentralized, but the scale of AI model data is very large, making it difficult to store on-chain. Even decentralized storage may not necessarily accommodate large AI models. Moreover, most existing AI+Web3 products are AI Agent + Web3, where AI Agents serve as a transitional product between AI end users and AI models, most of which are still executed on centralized servers. Therefore, AI + Web3 is essentially the integration of Web3 and Web2.