Han Feng guest speaks at Huobi's expert forum: From H2A to A2A, the AI Agent economy may reshape the future value system of Crypto

While the market is still discussing bull and bear cycles, ETF fund flows, and short-term trends, a discussion about the future of AI and Crypto over the next decade is unfolding.

Recently, Han Feng, an independent researcher at Harvard University, a corresponding member of the American Association for Artificial Intelligence (NAAI), and a lifetime member of the Bitcoin Foundation, was a guest on Huobi HTX's "Expert Forum" episode three. He shared insights on the theme "From H2A to A2A," focusing on the development paths of the Agent economy, Bitcoin, stablecoins, and the future of the digital society.

In Han Feng's view, the current crypto industry is at an important stage of transitioning between old and new narratives. Although the market continues to experience short-term volatility, the long-term value of the industry is determined not by price fluctuations but by the deep integration of technology and industry. He pointed out that the combination of AI and Web3 will give rise to a completely new economic system, and the Agent economy is likely to become the largest application scenario for cryptocurrencies in the future.

From H2A to A2A: A "frictionless" new economic entity is taking shape

Over the past decade, the PC internet connected "people to people," and the mobile internet connected "people to servers." Now, with the leap in artificial intelligence technology, a new stage is emerging where intelligent agents autonomously collaborate, make decisions, and execute tasks.

Han Feng believes that in this process, economic activities will gradually evolve from Human to Agent (H2A) to Agent to Agent (A2A). When a large number of AI Agents can independently complete transactions, collaborate, schedule resources, and exchange value, a completely new digital economy will accelerate its formation.

"The future Agent economy will definitely surpass the human economy." Han Feng believes that compared to traditional economic systems, the Agent economy has higher transparency, lower collaboration costs, and stronger execution efficiency, essentially representing an economic form that approaches "frictionless." Just like the transparent society depicted by Liu Cixin in "The Three-Body Problem," there is no fraud or concealment.

AI Agents will become the largest real-world application scenario for Crypto

When discussing the future direction of the crypto industry, Han Feng believes that AI Agents will become the largest application scenario for Crypto.

For many years, the Crypto industry has been exploring various tracks such as payments, DeFi, and asset issuance, but has always faced the pain point of "lack of sufficiently broad real application scenarios." The explosion of AI Agents is opening an unprecedented demand gap for the crypto network. Han Feng predicts that with the exponential growth of Agents, the demand for micropayments, identity verification, trusted computing, on-chain settlement, and resource scheduling will also surge, which are precisely the core advantages of blockchain and crypto technology.

"Web3 will ultimately deeply integrate with AI; this is the biggest opportunity for the industry in the future." Han Feng stated that only when crypto infrastructure truly serves the collaboration and transactions among massive Agents can Crypto usher in a truly large-scale implementation.

During the live broadcast, Han Feng also shared his research findings in recent years on the integration of stablecoins and the Agent economy.

He pointed out that the efficient operation of the Agent economy relies on a stable, transparent, and globally circulating medium of value, and stablecoins based on cryptographic consensus perfectly fit this role. Compared to traditional financial systems, stablecoins can achieve round-the-clock settlement, global circulation, and programmatic execution, making them more suitable for high-frequency, small-scale, and automated value exchanges between future agents.

From market cycles to industrial cycles: Crypto is welcoming a new growth logic

As an industry OG who entered the field as early as 2013, Han Feng shared his deep thoughts on the long-term value of Crypto based on his investment and research experiences.

He lamented that every bull and bear cycle in the crypto industry is inevitably accompanied by a dual upgrade of technological innovation and market perception. From the birth of Bitcoin to the prosperity of Ethereum smart contracts, from the explosion of DeFi to the emergence of the AI Agent economy, Crypto has always sought broader application boundaries through self-iteration.

Now, more and more traditional financial institutions are accelerating their embrace of digital assets, and the boundaries of the industry are constantly being broken. Han Feng believes that practitioners and investors should look beyond short-term market fluctuations and focus on the structural and systemic opportunities brought by the integration of AI and Web3.

In the next decade, the biggest growth engine for the crypto industry will no longer be mere financial speculation and bubble trading, but the massive real demand created by the explosion of the Agent economy. When AI Agents become new economic entities, Crypto will undoubtedly rise as the infrastructure supporting a new digital civilization, ushering in its own "Age of Exploration."

As a key knowledge-sharing program developed by Huobi Growth Academy, the Huobi Expert Forum will continue to invite top scholars, industry leaders, and seasoned practitioners from around the world to engage in in-depth exchanges on topics such as crypto assets, artificial intelligence, Web3, and cutting-edge technology, helping users establish a systematic cognitive framework and gain insights into the underlying logic of technological and industrial development.