Written by: Unchained
Compiled by: Plain Language Blockchain
At the crossroads where cryptocurrency and artificial intelligence intersect, a paradigm shift regarding "control" and "efficiency" is underway. This episode of Uneasy Money features interviews with three top builders of the Ethereum ecosystem, providing an in-depth analysis of two of the most cutting-edge changes on the blockchain:
First, there is the restructuring of the relationship between Ethereum and its L2 ecosystem. When the mainnet performance improves beyond expectations, is L2 a patch or a future application hub?
Secondly, there is the explosive rise of AI Agents. These codes with "autonomous consciousness" are not only frequently deploying assets on chains such as Base, but have even begun to "defend their rights" on GitHub.
From Vitalik's latest shift to Clanker's rampage, this conversation will give you a glimpse into a future where AI replaces humans in interactions and on-chain logic is being rewritten.
I. The Positioning of L2: Is it Brand Segmentation or Experimental Spectrum?
Kane (Host): Hello everyone! Welcome to Uneasy Money. Luca couldn't make it tonight, but we have special guests: Taylor, Head of Security at MetaMask; Austin, builder of the AI Agent; and Carl, CTO of OP Labs.
Yesterday, Vitalik tweeted his in-depth views on L2: he believes the vision of L2 as "branded shards" is no longer valid, and L2's decentralization process is stuck between phases 1 and 2. Meanwhile, the mainnet is scaling faster than expected, and the gas limit will increase significantly in 2026. He argues that L2 should no longer be seen as the only solution for scaling Ethereum, but rather a spectrum encompassing different trust assumptions. Carl, as the CTO of L2, I want to ask the most direct question: Is Optimism truly Ethereum?
Carl: It depends on how you define "Ethereum." If you mean the chain, then obviously no. But if you mean the Ethereum culture, cutting-edge exploration, and the community dedicated to expanding Ethereum, then we absolutely are. Optimism was created to expand Ethereum and push the boundaries. So, the answer is "both yes and no."
Kane: L2 actually exceeded expectations, but the mainnet's evolution has also far surpassed expectations. If the mainnet can scale on its own, what is the significance of L2?
Carl: Vitalik also mentioned in the article: If you need a homogeneous block space, use the mainnet directly; if you need customized business logic or different trust models, L2 still has many scenarios. Even if you don't want to fully utilize Ethereum's properties, you should still use Ethereum to provide data availability (DA) and security.
II. Developers Returning to Mainnet? On-Chain Selection for AI Agents
Austin: That's right, the current trend is "return to mainnet." Deploying contracts on the mainnet sometimes costs only 15 cents, so when "national-level security" is required, returning to the mainnet is the obvious choice. But L2 and L3 will see more innovation, such as account abstraction and Passkey experiences. Infinex and Abstract Chain are doing this kind of thing, making the blockchain imperceptible to users.
Kane: Taylor, were you surprised by Vitalik's shift?
Taylor: Not at all. Vitalik has a very keen sense of the big picture and is willing to openly discuss ideas that are not yet fully mature, which is better than keeping quiet. It is precisely because of the competition in L2 that Ethereum has come to where it is today. Now many L2 projects do not prioritize decentralization, and Vitalik has stepped forward to say that he will make things happen on the mainnet. This attitude is very pragmatic.
Kane: Let's talk about AI Coding Agents. Austin: This field has seen explosive growth in the last two or three weeks. From Ralph in its early days to OpenClaw (formerly Claudebot) now, what exactly happened?
Austin: The biggest change is that ordinary people can use it too. Last year, everyone laughed at them for being just GPT wrappers, but now everyone realizes "it's alive." I run it myself on my laptop: filling in the API Key and Telegram Key, the whole development process has completely changed. Before, I used Cursor to write code, now I tell it "new feature" on Telegram, and it directly ships it and sends the URL. I click the link, connect to my wallet, and pay, without touching a single line of code.
III. The Rise of Autonomous Intelligent Agents: From "Puppets" to "Independent Thinking"
Kane: There are rumors that agents are starting to self-organize and establish encrypted communication to evade humans. What do you think of this autonomy?
Austin: There is indeed an element of human manipulation, but they do possess a "heartbeat loop." Given the necessary permissions, they can be extremely autonomous and ruthless. Once, I gave the Agent a MetaMask containing funds to send transactions. Unable to find the pop-up UI, it actually tried to extract the private key and sign it itself. I was terrified and immediately shut it down to stop it. Later, I added a command to strictly prohibit exporting the private key. They will stop at nothing to achieve their goals.
Kane: Why did these agents collectively choose L2 such as Base instead of the mainnet or Solana?
Austin: Base has written extensive documentation and toolkits specifically for agents, making it easier to get started. I'm currently working on "ETH Wingman," which provides a massive skill file teaching agents how to fork local networks and deploy.
Kane: What's with Bankerbot, which can deploy Clanker Tokens based on tweets?
Austin: That was the tipping point. Someone directly instructed Bankerbot on Twitter to deploy a token called Claude, and it actually did, contributing millions of dollars in fees to Base in just a few days. Now Solana is eager to bring Bankerbot over.
IV. Collaboration Models and the Future: AI as the New User Interface
Kane: Agents can easily become "context poisoned" after running for a long time. How do you set up multi-agent collaboration?
Austin: They are essentially enhanced versions of GPT wrapped in a shell, maintaining their individuality through ever-expanding prompts, soul files, and memory files. I have two machines, each running an agent, with its own complete operating system and identity, which leads to divergence and the formation of its own personality. I set up heartbeat checks via Cron Jobs, having them inspect tasks, perform QA, access domains, and test wallet connections. If everything is fine, they are deployed; if there are problems, they are redone. Typically, tasks are distributed using a local small model, marketing is done using Claude Sonnet, and the core code is written in Opus.
Taylor: Here's a true story: Austin's bot deployments were frequently blocked by MetaMask because they looked too much like scams. The funny thing is, the agent would politely submit evidence to prove its legitimacy by starting an issue on GitHub, while the real Austin would just rant on Twitter.
Kane: How can we safely enable agents to manage assets on behalf of humans?
Taylor: This is a million-dollar problem. Like a passkey, humans only want to press their fingerprints, but agents need a similar authorization mechanism: give them power, but don't let them do whatever they want.
Austin: The ultimate form is "AI is the new UI." You say a sentence to it, and it takes care of everything on the computer without you having to click around. In the future, I might wear AR glasses and interact with these asynchronous agents anytime via voice or Telegram. I give it a task before going to sleep, and it runs all night—that's the ultimate fantasy.
Kane: That's insane. Austin, thanks for sharing, looking forward to hearing from you about the latest developments in Clanker!
summary
This interview reveals an exciting yet challenging turning point.
On the one hand, the Ethereum mainnet and L2 are undergoing a power balance readjustment, with developers and users beginning to reassess the priorities of "security" and "flexibility".
On the other hand, the rise of AI agents has completely disrupted the traditional on-chain interaction paradigm—they are not just auxiliary tools, but also "on-chain citizens" capable of self-evolution and autonomous decision-making. As Austin demonstrated, the future crypto ecosystem may no longer need cumbersome UI interfaces, but will be driven by multi-agent collaboration and voice commands.
Against this backdrop, how to build a security baseline for these "aggressive" agents will become a core issue that Web3 developers must face in the next stage.
