{"id":322294,"date":"2026-03-05T01:00:18","date_gmt":"2026-03-05T01:00:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/322294\/"},"modified":"2026-03-05T01:00:18","modified_gmt":"2026-03-05T01:00:18","slug":"foundation-wants-the-network-to-be-the-trust-layer-for-ai","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/322294\/","title":{"rendered":"Foundation wants the network to be the trust layer for AI"},"content":{"rendered":"

As artificial intelligence reshapes everything from finance to cybersecurity, the Ethereum Foundation (EF) is carving out a strategy for how the world\u2019s second-largest blockchain fits into that future.<\/p>\n

Instead of trying to fuse blockchains and AI at the level of raw computation \u2014 something Ethereum was never designed to handle \u2014 the EF sees the network playing a different role: acting as a coordination and verification layer in an increasingly AI-mediated world.<\/p>\n

Davide Crapis, the AI lead at the EF<\/a>, argues that the motivation is as philosophical as it is technical. More and more digital activity is being handled by AI systems, whether it\u2019s answering questions, executing trades, screening applications or writing software. If those systems are controlled by centralized entities, the values that underpin much of the crypto movement \u2014 decentralization, self-sovereignty, censorship resistance and privacy \u2014 could erode.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf AI doesn\u2019t have the properties we care about \u2014 self-sovereignty, censorship resistance, privacy \u2014 and then we use AI for everything, basically no one has those properties anymore,\u201d he said to CoinDesk in an interview at NEARCON 2026.<\/p>\n

In that sense, Ethereum\u2019s AI push is less about competing with OpenAI or Google on model size and more about ensuring that as AI becomes<\/a> the interface to the internet, it doesn\u2019t quietly recentralize power.<\/p>\n

The EF\u2019s strategy rests on two broad fronts. The first is what Crapis calls decentralized AI coordination. As autonomous AI agents \u2014 software programs capable of carrying out tasks on their own \u2014 become more common, they will need ways to identify themselves, build trust and exchange payments. Ethereum, he argues, is well-suited to provide that infrastructure.<\/p>\n

\u201cEthereum functions as a public, governance-less verification layer for AI,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

In practical terms, that means the heavy computing work of AI remains off-chain, on traditional servers. But Ethereum can help agents discover one another through public registries, assess reputation through transparent histories, route payments and anchor cryptographic proofs that verify outcomes. Crapis likens it to a decentralized version of Google Reviews combined with payment rails.<\/p>\n

The EF has been involved in developing standards to formalize this ecosystem, including a protocol for agent identity and trust,<\/a> known as ERC-8004. According to Crapis, these standards are gaining traction beyond Ethereum, signaling that the coordination layer for AI agents may become blockchain-based even if the AI itself is not.<\/p>\n

The second focus area centers on bringing Ethereum\u2019s core principles \u2014 such as privacy, openness, censorship resistance, and security \u2014 into the world of AI. Crapis refers to this effort internally as \u201cProps AI,\u201d shorthand for the values the Ethereum ecosystem has historically prioritized.<\/p>\n

Privacy is a major part of that conversation. Interacting with centralized AI services can gradually generate detailed user profiles based on queries, usage patterns and behavior.<\/p>\n

From Ethereum\u2019s perspective, the challenge is to design AI systems that allow users to retain greater control over their data and identity. One approach is to encourage more AI processing to occur locally on users\u2019 devices whenever possible, reducing the amount of information that needs to be sent to centralized servers.<\/p>\n

The broader goal is to ensure that as AI becomes embedded in everyday digital interactions, individuals still retain meaningful control over their data and how it is used, rather than handing that power entirely to large platforms.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to create a world where users retain as much data and power as possible,\u201d Crapis said. \u201cWe just don\u2019t give it to operators.\u201d<\/p>\n

Security concerns also underpin the strategy. As AI systems grow more capable, they are likely to automate and scale cyberattacks in ways that strain existing defenses. Crapis predicts a near future in which AI systems can convincingly impersonate humans, undermining traditional authentication methods.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe will probably see hacks orchestrated by AI,\u201d he said. \u201cThe old security models break when AI can impersonate a human.\u201d<\/p>\n

In that environment, cryptographic keys may become more important. Control of a private key is mathematically verifiable and does not depend on human judgment. Crapis frames Ethereum\u2019s long-term role in stark terms.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn a world where AI is in the wild, we want Ethereum to be the place with the big lock,\u201d he said. \u201cIf I have the keys, I still have power.\u201d<\/p>\n

Crapis described the AI initiative that the EF is doing as one of several major priorities rather than the dominant one. Still, the move reflects a growing recognition within the crypto industry that AI will shape the next phase of the internet. If that future is mediated by intelligent agents rather than human clicks, the question becomes who controls the rails those agents run on.<\/p>\n

Ethereum\u2019s bet is that even if it doesn\u2019t power the brains of AI, it can help govern the environment in which those brains operate, anchoring identity, coordinating payments and preserving user control.<\/p>\n

Read more: Ethereum Foundation Starts New AI Team to Support Agentic Payments<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As artificial intelligence reshapes everything from finance to cybersecurity, the Ethereum Foundation (EF) is carving out a strategy…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":322295,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[345,343,344,29521,160002,85,46,125],"class_list":{"0":"post-322294","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-artificial-intelligence","8":"tag-ai","9":"tag-artificial-intelligence","10":"tag-artificialintelligence","11":"tag-ethereum","12":"tag-ethereum-foundation","13":"tag-il","14":"tag-israel","15":"tag-technology"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/322294","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=322294"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/322294\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/322295"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=322294"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=322294"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=322294"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}