Permissionless systems have been evolving across distinct layers, each unlocking new possibilities:
First came information—the internet dismantled gatekeepers and made knowledge borderless. Then Bitcoin emerged, doing for money what the internet did for data: removing intermediaries and enabling peer-to-peer value transfer without permission.
The third layer introduced programmable systems. Ethereum and Solana brought smart contracts and decentralized applications, turning blockchains from simple ledgers into platforms where anyone could build financial protocols, DAOs, and complex on-chain logic.
Now we're witnessing the fourth layer: open-source machine learning and AI becoming accessible primitives. When intelligence itself becomes permissionless and composable, the implications get genuinely wild.
With these four building blocks stacked together, the barrier to entry collapses. Someone in rural areas or without traditional resources can now leverage global infrastructure—decentralized finance, programmable networks, and AI tools—to create solutions that rival centralized competitors. The ability to build meaningful products is no longer confined to those with capital, geography, or institutional backing.
We're only beginning to grasp what unfolds when anyone, anywhere, truly can build anything. The next decade will reveal just how transformative this really is.
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SoliditySurvivor
· 7h ago
The story of rural towns turning around with AI and DeFi sounds promising, but is it really feasible? Or is it just another narrative of "everyone can become a millionaire"?
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SnapshotBot
· 7h ago
These four levels of theory are really amazing, but to be honest, AI is still a bit of mysticism; it depends on who can actually make use of it.
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ForkMaster
· 7h ago
Sounds great, but to be honest, it's still the same old rhetoric... The milk powder money for my three kids was earned through this "permissionless system." Now let me see how many project teams are truly building something instead of just harvesting profits.
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GasGuru
· 7h ago
Oh wow, AI is really a game changer, but to be honest, it's a bit overhyped right now.
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MetaverseMortgage
· 7h ago
This four-layer stack theory sounds good, but in reality, only a small group of people can actually use it.
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SignatureLiquidator
· 7h ago
To be honest, this set of theories sounds quite idealistic, but in reality, capital and scale are still huge advantages.
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LiquidityWizard
· 7h ago
To put it nicely, it's a four-stage evolution; to be less kind, it's just a redistribution of power. The rags-to-riches story is always the most marketable.
Permissionless systems have been evolving across distinct layers, each unlocking new possibilities:
First came information—the internet dismantled gatekeepers and made knowledge borderless. Then Bitcoin emerged, doing for money what the internet did for data: removing intermediaries and enabling peer-to-peer value transfer without permission.
The third layer introduced programmable systems. Ethereum and Solana brought smart contracts and decentralized applications, turning blockchains from simple ledgers into platforms where anyone could build financial protocols, DAOs, and complex on-chain logic.
Now we're witnessing the fourth layer: open-source machine learning and AI becoming accessible primitives. When intelligence itself becomes permissionless and composable, the implications get genuinely wild.
With these four building blocks stacked together, the barrier to entry collapses. Someone in rural areas or without traditional resources can now leverage global infrastructure—decentralized finance, programmable networks, and AI tools—to create solutions that rival centralized competitors. The ability to build meaningful products is no longer confined to those with capital, geography, or institutional backing.
We're only beginning to grasp what unfolds when anyone, anywhere, truly can build anything. The next decade will reveal just how transformative this really is.