Yat Siu, chairman of Animoca Brands, suggests that the crypto community may have misinterpreted the concept of the metaverse. In his view, as shared during a keynote at Consensus Miami 2026, its evolution will not depend on VR technology or virtual worlds but rather on AI agents operating across blockchain networks discreetly.
Siu proposes that instead of being destinations for human interaction, these digital spaces might manifest through AI systems executing tasks in the real world. This perspective marks a significant shift from Animoca’s previous pandemic-era metaverse vision, which anticipated humans spending more time in virtual environments.
According to Siu, the next internet phase could see AI agents managing everyday activities such as bookings and payments, with blockchain serving as the underlying framework connecting these systems. He envisions consumers using numerous AI agents for digital coordination, predicting a future where ’50 to 100 billion agents’ might navigate the internet autonomously.
Siu believes this transition could address one of crypto’s persistent challenges: user adoption. Although around 700 million to 800 million individuals globally own cryptocurrencies, fewer than 70 million actively use blockchain applications due to their complexity for everyday users.
“My mom’s not going to be using MetaMask,” Siu remarked, highlighting the technical barrier. In contrast, AI agents would interact seamlessly with wallets and decentralized finance systems because they operate through code.
These agents wouldn’t require traditional banking structures, allowing them to transact autonomously on blockchain networks. “Blockchain technology is the ideal financial system for machines,” Siu explained, suggesting that humans have merely been testing grounds for this new digital economy.
This perspective aligns with a broader sentiment in parts of the crypto industry, which sees autonomous software agents as potentially more scalable users than humans. Under this model, blockchain components like wallets and tokens would form the infrastructure of an emerging ‘agent economy.’
Reflecting this vision, Animoca has committed to investing $10 million through its Animoca Minds platform for developers creating AI agent applications. If Siu’s predictions hold true, the next significant phase of blockchain adoption might not involve human users mastering crypto wallets but billions of AI agents interacting independently behind the scenes.