Why? Because we're entering a new phase of adoption where AI, stablecoins, wallet infrastructure, and DeFi are no longer fringe—they're foundational. And in that order, they're what I'm most excited about.
AI: The Infrastructure, the Interface, the Arms Race
AI is not just about chat interfaces or voice commands. We're witnessing a broad transformation across sectors, from generative code to robotics to financial systems. Machines are starting to leverage UI layers, APIs, and autonomous workflows across every domain. We're heading toward a world where software agents interact with the web the way humans do today, only faster and at scale.
This isn't science fiction—it's happening now. We're at the very beginning of a global race, with the U.S. and China leading the charge, competing not just in models but in energy, chips, and deployment infrastructure. It's like the dawn of the internet, but this time on warp speed.
Recent breakthroughs like Generative UI (GenUI), Cursor, Claude Code, and dev workflows powered by AI are drastically lowering the barrier to entry. Developers can iterate faster than ever. We're going to see a rise in solo founders building sophisticated apps, powered by agents, LLMs, and rapid prototyping tools.
AI in Finance: Agentic Systems Are Taking Shape
The rise of agentic systems isn't a niche—it's the new UX layer for applications. We're moving from static dashboards and menus to action-driven flows where AI interacts directly with our wallets, contracts, and financial logic. Agentic Finance is real, and it's showing up in products.
I've worked on voice-enabled AI legal assistants, batch-auction crypto platforms with embedded AI agents, and domain-specific chatbots for verticals like law and venture capital. The tools are here: pgvector, Supabase, RAG pipelines, and AI SDKs that plug right into Next.js. What we need now is better orchestration and infrastructure. That's happening fast.
Stablecoins: From Summer to Standard
We just had Stablecoin Summer, and the wave hasn't crested. Stablecoins are now political, economic, and strategic instruments. With new U.S. leadership signaling clear support, and regulatory clarity emerging, the next administration wants the dollar to win this race.
This is good news for Latin America. In Costa Rica, where I live, we've long felt the inefficiencies of traditional finance. Stablecoins give us a direct upgrade path. No need to replicate legacy rails—we can leapfrog them entirely. El Salvador's Bitcoin experiment showed what's possible. Stablecoins will scale it.
Wallet Infrastructure: The Next UX Layer
The UX gap in crypto is still huge. We need secure, interoperable wallets that do more than hold keys. They need to sign transactions safely, manage identities, and integrate with AI agents and DeFi protocols seamlessly.
I've built wallets with WebAuthn signing, QR-based delegation, token swaps, and onchain auctions. What we need next is convergence: smart contract wallets with great developer tooling, plug-and-play AI integrations, and enterprise-level reliability. The primitives are ready—now it's about productizing them.
DeFi: Regulated, but Ready
DeFi isn't dead. It's maturing. Regulation will bring clarity and wider participation, not just constraints. I see DeFi evolving into a backend infrastructure layer, with better UX powered by AI and wallets on top.
We're finally seeing an alignment of incentives: institutions want yield, users want sovereignty, and builders want primitives that scale. The pieces are coming together.
Conclusion: Infrastructure Season
2026 isn't about speculation—it's about systems. Systems that let people interact with value, information, and identity in simpler, safer, and smarter ways.
AI gives us the interface.
Stablecoins give us the rails.
Wallets give us the access.
DeFi gives us the backend.
We're not early anymore. We're next.