## When cryptocurrencies cease to be the future and become essential infrastructure

**Why does regulation change everything?**

When you follow the cryptocurrency industry, it’s clear — everything is accelerating. It’s not a bull market or a technological breakthrough, but the result of clearly defined rules of the game. With the regulation of stablecoins, the sector has finally released the handbrake. Projects are shifting from “products for enthusiasts” to solutions for mainstream business. When you no longer worry about legal violations, you can focus on real business models.

It turns out that both the investor scene and the developer scene are on the verge of transformation. It’s not about changing the currency, but about taking over functions that traditional systems handled inefficiently. International settlements, identity verification, access to financial services — all of this is becoming a matter not of some futuristic experiment, but of practical reality.

**The anonymity gap as an obstacle**

Bitcoin solved the double-spending problem but did not solve identity authentication. This is not fiction — it’s a barrier to global adoption. Satoshi Nakamoto provided a digital asset and a global ledger, but modern money is not just a measure of value. It’s also a carrier of intentions that require verification.

Payments have always been fundamental. However, without identity verification, the system cannot scale securely. When designing Libra, I understood this deeply — the primary compromise involves abandoning non-custodial wallets. Regulators demanded a secure boundary. Society requires that the financial system not support illegal activities. If permissionless protocols fund terrorism, society will withdraw consent to operate.

**OTC and the paradox of stablecoins**

The current state of cryptocurrencies is an “inversion of infrastructure” (infrastructure inversion). Theoretically, we will have advanced zero-knowledge proofs and on-chain attestations balancing privacy with compliance. Meanwhile, we combine new and old technologies in the most trivial way.

Take the “stablecoin sandwich” — an industry term for converting fiat currency into stablecoin, transmitting it through the blockchain, and exchanging it back. It works, but the way it scales is ironic. Companies do not connect directly to permissionless networks — because that requires more work. Instead, they hire a service coordinator who performs compliance checks and interacts with the blockchain on their behalf. OTC (over-the-counter) — or off-exchange transactions — reveal this reality. What does OTC mean? It’s direct transactions between parties, usually via dealers. In practice, this means that even with blockchain, intermediaries are returning to the central stage.

Blockchain solved the settlement problem but ignored information. In traditional systems, each payment contains data: who initiated it, its purpose, whether the payer is on a sanctions list. Without this information, even quick settlement is meaningless — the recipient bank will reject the transaction for legal reasons.

**Proof of Personhood: a hypothetical answer**

At the recent “World” event in San Francisco, Alex Blania and Sam Altman discussed a fundamental topic: the ability to distinguish humans from robots will become the most valuable resource. After six years of experimentation — iris scanning — the label of a marketing gimmick is dropped, revealing its actual usefulness.

Sam Altman quoted Paul Buchheit: “The future may require two currencies: machine currency and human currency.” This is insightful. Proof of Personhood is a compliance feature in the AI era. To scale payments, you need to differentiate good actors from bad ones. In a world of synthetic content, you must prove the only rarity: that something was created by a human.

**Wallet as a bridge between worlds**

For years, the dream was to build a global Venmo on crypto technology. World is precisely that. The infrastructure resembles traditional fintech — virtual accounts in 18 countries, Visa cards, local payment networks — but the gap between cryptocurrencies and reality has been bridged.

The real user need is not a new token but simplicity: deposit a salary, pay with a Visa card. Growth model? World does not charge fees for most services. Banks charge fees to collect rent. World does not have to. The core idea is that the flow of funds should be low-cost. For banks — a mission through three correspondent banks and fax. For blockchain — an update to the record. World bets that the actual cost will approach zero.

**Mini apps and App Store arbitrage**

Innovation is not just payments. Mini Apps could be the “killer app” for cryptocurrencies. It sounds niche and boring, but the structural impact is profound. It’s not about a calculator in a feed, but about distributing software without an App Store and without a 30% commission.

Escaping the “walled garden” is a way for developers to retain revenue. The most valuable feature? Handling payments without a “tenant” taking a commission. Identity-verified mini applications offer entirely new functionalities.

World is shifting its strategy from “scan or leave” to a layered approach — verified “human identity” as a premium feature. Users hesitate about biometric data for abstract benefits. But if they can get higher returns or better experiences — they will likely engage. Japanese Tinder users use World ID for verification. Killer app? Proving to a date that you’re not a robot.

**Communication outside the registry**

Blania understands the platform paradox: you want networks, chatbots, and services to treat World ID as standard, but without users, they will be reluctant to adopt it. Without a product, you won’t attract users. You must build and attract yourself.

World integrates a decentralized XMTP protocol with its app. Compared to Signal, WhatsApp, or Telegram — significant privacy benefits. To be an invisible layer of internet identity, you must first demonstrate capabilities by building a better product.

Convos, Shane Mac’s latest experiment, is based on XMTP. The app uses cryptography for usage without registration, phone number, history, or tracking. It operates without servers. The main advantage? The first truly “trace-free” messaging app. In a world where every Slack message is stored forever, truly disappearing conversations become a luxury. Investigative journalists will be the first users, but the broad vision is to restore private conversations as the default mode, not an suspicious exception.

**Infrastructure finally catching up with the vision**

These experiments are early, but the trajectory is clear. Crypto technology is finally catching up with initial declarations. Everything enthusiasts dreamed of ten years ago has become “boring” to the point of being useful — at a critical moment. Along with accelerating AI, cryptographic ability to verify truth ceases to be a cypherpunk philosophy. It becomes the infrastructure of the entire digital economy.