Is the VC model outdated? Vitalik and Dr. Xiao Feng discuss new economic models combining AI and blockchain in the next decade

ChainCatcher live report, HashKey Group held the Global On-chain Asset Summit on October 2, where Dr. Xiao Feng discussed the development vision of the Ethereum ecosystem with Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin.

Dr. Xiao Feng cited research by Nobel laureates in economics, pointing out that every industrial revolution in history has been accompanied by corresponding financial innovations: the mechanization of the first industrial revolution was driven by commercial banks and debt markets, the electrification of the second industrial revolution relied on capital markets and investment banks, while the information age of the third industrial revolution gave rise to the VC model, without which there would be no Silicon Valley and tech revolution.

However, he observed that the VC industry has been facing failures in the past year or two, leading him to believe that the upcoming fourth industrial revolution—the digital or virtual economy era—will inevitably bring about entirely new financial service models to replace traditional VC. He cited Pump.fun as an example, arguing that token sales differ from the Chinese streamer tipping model, serving both as an expression of sentiment and an investment behavior, heralding a new financial revolution.

Vitalik responded that the combination of zero-knowledge proofs (ZK) and identity verification technology will be a key breakthrough. By establishing a global credit rating system through ZK proofs, entrepreneurs around the world can directly raise funds globally without relying on traditional VC. He emphasized that L1 must be decentralized, but L2 can adopt a semi-decentralized approach. Nowadays, the lines between B2B and B2C in the blockchain world have become blurred. Vitalik is also optimistic about the development of AI agent payment standards, believing that the combination of AI and blockchain will create new economic models in the next decade.