AI-Fi financial chips and the global finance after the OpenClaw singularity

Beyond the Singularity, a denser sequence of singularities will appear, rendering all old experiences and strategies ineffective, requiring rapid responses to change.

Author: Yang Ge Gary, Founding Partner of Xinghan Capital

Since the outbreak of OpenClaw in mid-January, except for the four days at the Hong Kong Consensus Conference, I have almost refused all external engagements, including online Spaces and 90% of offline meetings, communicating only through code and agent interactions to face the largest singularity shift in human history to date.

Similarly, I have tried to keep this article brief, discussing current issues as concisely as possible, because time left after the singularity is very limited for everyone.

TL;DR

1. The engineering and historical significance of OpenClaw

2. AI-Fi and financial chips

3. Disruption of global finance and collapse of social management

4. Panic caused by multi-level information asymmetry and lack of consensus

5. The sequence of singularities after the singularity

6. Fundamental changes in global geopolitical foundations

7. The engineering and historical significance of OpenClaw

Engineering significance of OpenClaw:

OpenClaw is not just an intelligent algorithm but a framework based on integrated memory files and intelligent tools. I’ve seen many explanations online, but they lack precision. Here, I summarize it into seven layers:

• Layer 1: Infrastructure — hardware devices or cloud services, the foundational architecture
• Layer 2: Operating System — includes Linux, iOS, Windows, etc.
• Layer 3: Environment (DevOps) — CI/CD layer above the system, e.g., GitHub; deployment here is highly specific
• Layer 4: Skills — the organ layer, the AI’s brain, limbs, language, and various capabilities; LLMs are loaded here
• Layer 5: Memory (md) — the core value of OpenClaw and what distinguishes it from standard LLM tools
• Layer 6: Functions (Jobs) — the agent layer, focusing on task division among agents, from AI tools to small management teams
• Layer 7: Tasks (Apps) — daily task logic and queues for different functional agents/bots

As stated by OpenClaw’s official, markdown memory files are the core value. Simplifying the memory layer enables AI agents to have long-term operational capacity. Just a few kilobytes of data can, at this historic node, drive a dramatic singularity transformation.

Historical significance of OpenClaw:

From a macro perspective, OpenClaw will accelerate exponential productivity growth driven by AI, transforming all industries globally. It will no longer be limited to translation, law, design, or coding—more complex, non-standard work like auditing, finance, engineering management, and business management will be rapidly replaced and upgraded. Simultaneously, as robots develop quickly in parallel and combine with microcontrollers, most physical labor tasks will be easily taken over. On a macro level, the singularity triggered by OpenClaw will mark the transition from human labor to silicon-based labor. Human roles in society will be fundamentally changed much faster than we imagine, and civilization will enter the next stage.

Returning to Q1 2026, our small cluster of 12 Linux-based bots already demonstrates universal applicability across industries. Simply put, agents can be categorized into three types: one managing collaboration and code, another handling information and thinking, and a third managing business and finance. Over the past month, like many others, I’ve been oscillating between excitement and fear—soon, all business models will be upgraded and disrupted.

2. AI-Fi and Financial Chips

At the Hong Kong conference two weeks ago, I mentioned to Mr. Shen that I had written an article three years ago titled . I was excited to say that what I once thought would take 30 years to realize now, with OpenClaw’s support, could be achieved this year.

The principle of financial circuits refers to the rapid evolution of digital financial derivatives driven by Web3 and crypto, similar to how electronic components like resistors and capacitors rapidly developed in the 20th century. They no longer stay at simple functions but evolve into complex system combinations, forming integrated products akin to circuit boards or chips, enabling financial effects beyond single functions. Financial chips are the ultimate result of this process.

When AI-driven algorithmic components can make effective, flexible, and long-term self-evolving decisions based on massive data, we can encapsulate them into virtual digital chips—like FPGA or microcontrollers—using Crypto’s smart contracts on DeFi, creating super financial decision-making bodies. These digital decision bodies, or financial chips, will no longer rely on human intervention once formed, achieving a positive balance between burning key/gas costs and asset profitability, becoming autonomous intelligent financial products.

Compared to Web4.0 or DeFi3.0, I believe AI-Fi is a more precise term. As AI rapidly enables agents to develop independent work capabilities, our understanding of financial products and the industry must undergo a fundamental transformation. The inertia of traditional Wall Street and finance will be completely overturned. Quantitative strategies based on single algorithms will be phased out; success in finance will depend not just on processing vast data and parameter changes but on the ability to innovate and rapidly adjust algorithms and strategies. Only AI agents + Crypto smart contracts encapsulating super-intelligent financial assets will be suited for the next era of finance.

3. Disruption of Global Finance and Collapse of Social Management

In my article <DeFi 2.0 Outbreak in 2026 Under Disorder and Restructuring>, I mentioned “the waning of traditional financial inertia and the failure of society under strict data regulation.” Simply put, the upgrade of digital production relations via crypto has already posed a significant challenge to the existing environment.

Following Nasdaq, the New York Stock Exchange’s parent company, Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), announced on January 19, 2026, that NYSE is developing a tokenized securities platform supporting 24/7 trading, seeking SEC approval. New York’s response to last year’s crypto digital shock remains impressive—far ahead of other hesitant regions. Yet, even so, policies and most people’s ingrained understanding still struggle to adapt to this change.

Alarmingly, the upgrade of AI digital productivity’s destructive power has further torn apart traditional finance and society’s fabric. If last year’s situation was the end of the line and failure, this year marks complete upheaval and disintegration. Unlike previous historical shifts, the exponential force brought by AI + crypto leaves no room for old doctrines or retreat. It’s a “Go Fast or Go Home” moment.

4. Panic from Multi-level Information Asymmetry and Lack of Consensus

It’s both interesting and sad that in this environment, everyone is constantly switching between FOMO and FUD, driven by entirely different reasons. Most seek confidence in their own focus area but realize that, under the AI + crypto tsunami, such efforts are futile.

For example, the February 2026 Consensus Conference in Hong Kong was a completely consensus-free event: no consensus on bullish or bearish, compliance, credit, or value; the only shared understanding was that AI-driven disruption post-OpenClaw created mismatched consensus among crypto participants.

Due to simultaneous, multi-layered, and structural changes, the speed at which different countries and industries acquire, understand, digest, and respond to information varies greatly. Consequently, 2026 will enter a phase of hyper-rapid development and chaos without consensus. The pace of technological progress and cultural differences have caused a panic of non-agreement that already impacts various financial assets and future expectations—more chaotic than the Great Depression of 1929 and its aftermath. Moreover, the disruptive power and speed of AI + crypto far surpass industrial automation and electrification, making gold and safe-haven assets’ roles in the 20th century entirely different today. Currently, we must consider not only risk aversion in turbulent times but also the danger of falling behind irreversibly. Relying solely on safe assets in an environment of exponential upheaval is itself highly risky.

5. The Sequence of Singularities After the Singularity

In an exponential growth curve, what happens once a critical singularity is surpassed? It’s bound to be a series of increasingly dense singularities.

After installing my first OpenClaw agent on January 20, I asked it: “Suppose I give you a mechanical surgical instrument; can you operate with it?” My agent responded that after confirming all external devices, it would need to simulate training for a period to install the surgical program before it could perform surgery.

Beyond the widespread adoption of intelligent robots and machinery, and the AI-Fi financial chips mentioned earlier, countless other directions remain unexplored. As I said, time is limited. I believe the most important thing now is to understand the value of time and how to respond efficiently within this limited window. I cannot confirm whether, once the world’s timeline is inverted, we can find a response mechanism or methodology to ride the exponential curve without being left behind. But one thing is clear: all pre-singularity fixed experiences and most methodologies will become invalid.

6. Fundamental Changes in Global Geopolitical Foundations

In previous articles, I mentioned that global geopolitical conflicts will not unfold along the lines of traditional civilization clashes or Thucydides’ trap based on historical experience.

If crypto finance and stablecoins have broken management mechanisms in front of state machinery—because the value propositions of digital open economies differ greatly—then this singularity of AI will further challenge this principle, tearing open new gaps. Different countries and regions will find themselves unprepared and caught off guard, falling into renewed competition amid unmanageable and unacceptable disruptions.

In other words, the open environment demanded by crypto open finance does not satisfy many countries’ regulatory frameworks. While some consensus on regulation has been found, the borderless openness required by AI development will rapidly shatter this fragile consensus, plunging into a fiercely competitive race. This time, the speed of divergence will be the fastest in history. When nations and regions face the risk of being left behind forever, the strength of adherence to fundamental principles will become a major challenge, reshaping the new geopolitical landscape and splitting destinies across different populations.

Written in London, February 24, 2026