Buterin Says Ethereum Can Be an Economic and Governance Layer for AI

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin argued the ecosystem can enable AIs to interact economically and serve as an economic layer for AI-related interactions, pointing to work on standards such as ERC-8004 as part of building more viable decentralized AI infrastructure ^[1][2].

Buterin highlighted privacy rails and verification systems for AI use, advocating local models and cryptographic tools to protect user identities and support trust-minimized AI systems — framing Ethereum as a provider of privacy, verification and economic incentives for agent interactions ^[2][4].

He outlined a broader, four-quadrant Ethereum–AI buildout that includes private AI use, agent marketplaces and governance, and suggested Ethereum could host reputation mechanisms, prediction markets and other coordination tools to help decentralize authority in AI systems ^[3][4][1].

Buterin framed these technical and economic elements as philosophically aligned with Ethereum’s goals of decentralization and enabling economic coordination among agents ^[1][3].