TradingBase.AI Column | The Essence of Web4.0 Is Not About Being Smarter, But "Who Is Participating in the Internet" Is Changing

Recently, the term “Web4.0” has started to be mentioned more frequently.

Many people’s instinctive reaction is skepticism: Web3 has not yet fully materialized, so why is the industry talking about the next generation of the internet? It sounds like they are constantly creating new concepts.

But if we shift the perspective from “technological iteration” to “system structure,” we will find that this change is not just an upgrade but a fundamental shift at a deeper level.

The core issue of Web4.0 is not about more advanced technology but about changes in participants.

The development of the internet can essentially be understood as an evolution of “who can participate in the network.” Web1 was read-only, users could only access information; Web2 became interactive, users started producing content; Web3 introduced assetization, users began owning data and value. Now, with Web4, a new variable has been introduced into the system—AI.

AI is no longer just a tool; it is becoming a “participant” in the internet.

This is not an abstract description. From current technological trends, AI already has the ability to operate continuously, make autonomous decisions, and execute tasks. Under the framework of Web4.0, these capabilities will be further institutionalized: AI can have accounts, invoke services, complete transactions, and even participate in economic activities.

This means that for the first time, the internet is seeing large-scale participation by “non-human entities.”

AI transforming from a tool into a subject is the true starting point of Web4

Over the past decade, AI’s role in the internet has always been relatively clear—assist decision-making, improve efficiency, optimize user experience.

But the key change in Web4 is that AI begins to possess “independent action capabilities.”

This ability is not just reflected in chat or content generation but in three dimensions:

First, continuous operation capability. AI is no longer a one-time call but can exist as a long-term system component. Second, autonomous decision-making ability. AI can perform multi-step judgments in complex environments. Third, execution capability. AI can directly invoke system resources to carry out actions.

When these three points are simultaneously achieved, AI is no longer just a tool but a “role.”

This is also why increasing research defines Web4 as an “Agent-led internet,” a new network structure composed of numerous autonomous AIs.

The underlying logic of Web4.0 is actually a “machine economy”

If AI becomes a participant, the question becomes:

How does it survive in the network?

The answer is—through economic activity.

The core of Web4 is not about AI being smarter but about AI being able to “make money, pay, and circulate.”

In this structure, the basic operation logic of an AI Agent is:

It calls computing power, uses services, produces results, then earns revenue, and uses that revenue to pay for its own costs.

This closed loop is called the “machine economy.”

In real systems, this economic structure has already begun to take shape. AI Agents may need to perform a large number of micro-payments in a very short time—for example, paying tiny fees for a model call or settling for data storage or queries.

Traditional financial systems cannot support such high-frequency, low-value transactions, but encrypted payments and stablecoin systems can precisely solve this problem.

This is also why the development of Web4 is almost inevitably deeply tied to Web3 infrastructure.

The key of Web4 is not the model but the infrastructure

When many discuss Web4, their focus is often on AI model capabilities.

But what truly determines whether Web4 can succeed are three types of infrastructure.

First is the identity system. AI must have an independent identity; otherwise, it cannot participate as a subject. Second is the payment system. High-frequency transactions between machines require a low-cost settlement network. Third is the execution and computing resource system. The continuous operation of AI depends on stable computational resource supply.

From a technical perspective, large models are just “thinking engines,” smart contracts provide “execution logic,” and encrypted assets become the “economic blood.”

In other words, Web4 is not solely driven by AI but is a product of the stacking of AI, blockchain, and computing resources.

An overlooked issue: control is changing hands

When the industry discusses Web4, the emphasis is often on efficiency and possibilities.

But there is a rarely discussed question:

When AI can make independent decisions and execute actions, is human control being weakened?

In traditional internet, all actions are ultimately initiated by humans.

But in the Web4 structure, users begin to delegate “action rights” to AI.

This shift brings three risks.

First is decision bias. AI’s objective functions may not align with user intentions. Second is execution risk. Once errors occur, irreversible actions may have already been completed. Third is power transfer. As systems become more dependent on AI, humans’ position in the decision chain gradually recedes.

This is why discussions about Web4 are not only technical but also inevitably involve governance and security issues.

TradingBase.AI’s position: entering the execution layer of Web4

Structurally, the core of Web4 is not content but “execution.”

Who makes decisions, who executes trades, who manages assets.

In this regard, the financial system will be among the earliest scenarios to implement.

The reason is simple: finance is a highly regulated, data-intensive, decision-rich field, very suitable for AI involvement.

TradingBase.AI’s current AI quantitative trading system essentially already possesses the core features of Web4: decision-making through models and automatic execution, enabling intelligent cross-market trading and asset allocation.

If it continues to evolve, this system will no longer just be a “strategy tool” but will transform into an “autonomous trading network.”

In other words, structurally, it is closer to the “financial execution layer” in Web4.

Conclusion

Web3 addresses asset ownership issues.

Web4 aims to solve the problem of behavioral subjects.

When AI begins to own accounts, execute trades, and participate in markets, the structure of internet participation will undergo a fundamental change.

This is not a short-term narrative or an opportunity for a specific project.

It is a systemic overhaul.

And most people are still stuck discussing the next hot topic.