2026-01-11 12:20:55

Looking back from January 2026, we are experiencing a major shift in the digital economy. This transformation is not driven by a single policy or geopolitical conflict, but by the intense structural collision between AI compute inflation and blockchain settlement infrastructure.

In simple terms, this marks our transition from the "Internet of People" to the "Value Network of Machines." Machines need to exchange value with each other, and this can only be achieved through on-chain mechanisms that enable second-level pricing and instant settlement.

**DePIN Opportunities Driven by Compute Scarcity**

Over the past decade, AI and cryptocurrencies have taken separate paths—tech giants monopolized computing power and algorithms, while cryptocurrencies focused on financial decentralization. However, the explosive growth of generative AI from 2023 to 2025 has completely changed the landscape. Global GPU shortages have become increasingly severe, prompting AI companies to turn to blockchain for new solutions.

A new wave of hardware cost innovation in 2026 has elevated decentralized physical infrastructure networks (DePIN) from small-scale experiments to infrastructure-level global presence. Today’s compute power is like electricity—priced in seconds on-chain, freely circulating, and becoming a universally tradable asset. This has fundamentally redefined the value metric of the global tech supply chain.

**A New Era of Privacy Computing**

One of the most critical technological breakthroughs in 2026 is the mature application of Zero-Knowledge Machine Learning (ZKML). AI models can perform computations in a fully concealed state, protecting user data and business logic completely, while the results of the computation are verifiable on-chain. This is not just privacy protection, but a paradigm shift in computation—machines can "compute with their eyes closed" while still proving the authenticity of their calculations.

This means that DePIN nodes, AI inference, and privacy computing are now converging, forming a new decentralized intelligent economy system. From this perspective, the imaginative space for the next decade has just begun.

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BackrowObserver

· 01-12 20:51

Wow, I really can't keep up with machine-to-machine trading anymore. It feels like the entire landscape is about to be rewritten.

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StakeWhisperer

· 01-11 12:51

It's another story about DePIN and ZKML... It sounds grand, but the key question is who is actually using on-chain GPUs right now.

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LiquidationWizard

· 01-11 12:44

The value network of machines and machines, I like this idea. DePIN is about to take off. --- ZKML has matured; only then does privacy truly have a chance. Weren't those previous solutions just theoretical exercises? --- The commodification of computing power feels like it can reshape the industry chain more than financial innovation. --- Wait, GPU shortages are forcing blockchain to find a way out? That logic is a bit extreme. --- A decade of imagination, but the question is who can live until that day, haha. --- DePIN moving from experimental to infrastructure level—this is a really big step. --- Machines performing calculations blindly yet being able to prove authenticity... this concept is a bit mind-bending, but it's indeed impressive. --- No matter how well said, at the end of the day, it's still about competing for computing power dividends—who runs faster wins. --- I've yet to see a truly usable case of zero-knowledge mechanisms; maybe by 2026, we'll see. --- Shifting from a human-to-human internet to a machine value network sounds like yet another new narrative...

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PrivateKeyParanoia

· 01-11 12:39

It makes some sense, but I still think the matter is oversimplified. The logic of machine exchange value sounds great, but the key question is who verifies that these machines are not connected?

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MevShadowranger

· 01-11 12:35

Wait, can DePIN really become the infrastructure like electricity? Isn't this logic a bit too idealistic? Machine-to-machine value network sounds awesome, but in reality, the cost of cross-chain settlement still needs to be addressed. ZKML is indeed impressive once mature, but how many nodes can currently run the privacy-preserving computation verification? As for the commodification of computing power, it still depends on when GPU costs will truly drop. Can machine blind computation prove authenticity? It sounds like black technology, but what about the details? How is it verifiable on-chain? Is DePIN moving from experimental to infrastructure level... a bit too fast? Can it really be rolled out by 2026? The fusion of three forces sounds very sci-fi, but how to design the incentive mechanism to truly attract computing power providers?

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