Vitalik wrote a proposal teaching you how to secretly use AI large models

By: rootdata|2026/03/14 00:10:01

Original Title: “Vitalik wrote a proposal teaching you how to secretly use AI large models”

Original Compilation: Deep Tide TechFlow

The whole world is talking about AI, and the voices about cryptocurrency have quieted down quite a bit on the timeline.

At the same time, ETH has been hovering around 2000 for almost two months, and it seems that not many people care about what Vitalik says or does.

However, I recently browsed his X and found that the influence of AI is not limited to us. A significant portion of what he has posted in the past month is related to AI, and it goes into the level of technical solutions.

The most noteworthy is a proposal he co-published with Davide Crapis, the AI head of the Ethereum Foundation, on ethresear.ch on February 11, titled "ZK API Usage Credits."

In one sentence: Use zero-knowledge proofs to allow you to anonymously call AI large models.

Currently, whether you use ChatGPT or call Claude's API, there is only one payment method:

Every conversation, every prompt, the platform knows it was you who sent it. What you asked, when you asked it, how many times you asked, all tied to your real identity.

Vitalik and Crapis's proposal offers another path.

Users deposit a sum of money into a smart contract, for example, 100 USDC.
The contract will register this deposit in a cryptographic list on the chain. After that, every time you call the API, you do not need to present your identity, just generate a zero-knowledge proof.
It can prove two things to the service provider: you are on the list, and your balance is sufficient. But the proof itself does not reveal which one you are on the list.

The service provider can receive payment and prevent abuse, but will never know who you are.

You can understand this proposal as Vitalik's belief that in the AI era, users should not have to give up their identity to use an AI tool.

This proposal is still in the research stage and has a distance to go before implementation; large model providers may not agree to such a method. Meanwhile, the comments section of the proposal is filled with rebuttals and doubts, arguing that AI model providers will always find a way to know your real identity.

However, I believe the significance of this proposal does not solely lie in whether it can be implemented.

Privacy has been something Vitalik has worked on for ten years. From early support for Tornado Cash to promoting zero-knowledge proofs as a core technical route for Ethereum, this line has never been broken. It's just that in the context of the cryptocurrency industry over the past few years, privacy has always lacked a sufficiently large story to support it.

AI has filled this story. When you talk to large models more than you talk to anyone else every day, privacy is a real need.

Vitalik Embraces AI

From February until now, a considerable portion of what Vitalik has posted on X is related to AI, with a density that does not seem casual.

Yesterday he posted a long thread saying that he recently attended a cryptography conference where people cared about privacy, open source, and anti-censorship... but had no feelings for blockchain.

Among that group of people, he conducted a thought experiment:

Forget about "we are the Ethereum community," and think from scratch about where Ethereum is most useful.

His conclusion is that the fundamental value of Ethereum is as a bulletin board. A place where anyone can write, anyone can read, no one can modify, and no one can delete.

In the context of AI, this might be the most important thing Vitalik has said in the past two years.

We are entering an era of generating infinite cheap content. Text, images, videos, identities, AI can produce them in bulk. When everything can be forged, what becomes scarce?

These questions ultimately point to the same place: a public, persistent, irreversible data layer. And a record that no one can tamper with is precisely what Ethereum can do.

In the past two years, the doubts faced by Ethereum can be summarized in one question: what do you have that others cannot replace?

Looking back now, Vitalik did not directly answer this question.

However, the Ethereum Foundation has done a few inconspicuous things over the past year: formed a privacy team of 50 people, established a privacy research cluster of nearly 50 people, released the Kohaku privacy framework, and specifically appointed an AI head; in the 2026 roadmap, institutional-level privacy and faster transaction confirmations are listed as top priorities.

Looking back at his intensive output over the past month, it is basically discussing Ethereum's privacy and efficiency issues in the context of AI.

I think Vitalik is betting on one thing: the more powerful AI becomes, the more rigid the demand for privacy and verification infrastructure will be. Whether Ethereum can meet this demand is another matter, but he has clearly chosen his table.

ETH is still hovering around 2000. Most people still do not pay much attention to what he has been saying recently.

But perhaps in a few years, looking back, what should have been paid attention to is this period of time.

-- Price

On March 16, 2026, in Dallas, Texas, USA, CanGu Company (New York Stock Exchange code: CANG, hereinafter referred to as "CanGu" or the "Company") today announced its unaudited financial performance for the fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2025. As a btc-42">bitcoin mining enterprise relying on a globally operated layout and dedicated to building an integrated energy and AI computing power platform, CanGu is actively advancing its business transformation and infrastructure development.

2025 Full Year and Fourth Quarter Financial and Operational Highlights

• Financial Performance:

Total revenue for the full year 2025 was $688.1 million, with $179.5 million in the fourth quarter.

Bitcoin mining business revenue for the full year was $675.5 million, with $172.4 million in the fourth quarter.

Full-year adjusted EBITDA was $24.5 million, while the fourth quarter was -$156.3 million.

• Mining Operations and Costs:

A total of 6,594.6 bitcoins were mined throughout the year, averaging 18.07 bitcoins per day; of which 1,718.3 bitcoins were mined in the fourth quarter, averaging 18.68 bitcoins per day.

The average mining cost for the full year (excluding miner depreciation) was $79,707 per bitcoin, and for the fourth quarter, it was $84,552;

The all-in sustaining costs were $97,272 and $106,251 per bitcoin, respectively.

As of the end of December 2025, the company has cumulatively produced 7,528.4 bitcoins since entering the bitcoin mining business.

• Strategic Progress:

The company has completed the termination of the American Depositary Receipt (ADR) program and transitioned to a direct listing on the NYSE to enhance information transparency and align with its strategic direction, with a long-term goal of expanding its investor base.

CEO Paul Yu stated: "2025 marked the company's first full year as a bitcoin mining enterprise, characterized by rapid execution and structural reshaping. We completed a comprehensive adjustment of our asset system and established a globally distributed mining network. Additionally, the company introduced a new management team, further strengthening our capabilities and competitive advantage in the digital asset and energy infrastructure space. The completion of the NYSE direct listing and USD pricing also signifies our transformation into a global AI infrastructure company."

"As we enter 2026, the company will continue to optimize its balance sheet structure and enhance operational efficiency and cost resilience through adjustments to the miner portfolio. At the same time, we are advancing our strategic transformation into an AI infrastructure provider. Leveraging EcoHash, we will utilize our capabilities in scalable computing power and energy networks to provide cost-effective AI inference solutions. The relevant site transformations and product development are progressing simultaneously, and the company is well-positioned to sustain its execution in the new phase."

The company's Chief Financial Officer, Michael Zhang, stated: "By 2025, the company is expected to achieve significant revenue growth through its scaled mining operations. Despite recording a net loss of $452.8 million from ongoing operations, mainly due to one-time transformation costs and market-driven fair value adjustments, the company, from a financial perspective, will reduce its leverage, optimize its Bitcoin reserve strategy and liquidity management, introduce new capital to strengthen its financial position, and seize investment opportunities in high-potential areas such as AI infrastructure while navigating market volatility."

Fourth Quarter 2025 Ongoing Operations Financial Performance

Revenue

The total revenue for the fourth quarter was $1.795 billion. Of this, the Bitcoin mining business contributed $1.724 billion in revenue, generating 1,718.3 Bitcoins during the quarter. Revenue from the international automobile trading business was $4.8 million.

Operating Costs and Expenses

The total operating costs and expenses for the fourth quarter amounted to $4.56 billion, primarily attributed to expenses related to the Bitcoin mining business, as well as impairment of mining machines and fair value losses on Bitcoin collateral receivables.

This includes:

· Cost of Revenue (excluding depreciation): $1.553 billion

· Cost of Revenue (depreciation): $38.1 million

· Operating Expenses: $9.9 million (including related-party expenses of $1.1 million)

· Mining Machine Impairment Loss: $81.4 million

· Fair Value Loss on Bitcoin Collateral Receivables: $171.4 million

Profit Situation

The operating loss for the fourth quarter was $276.6 million, a significant increase from a loss of $0.7 million in the same period of 2024, primarily due to the downward trend in Bitcoin prices.

The net loss from ongoing operations was $285 million, compared to a net profit of $2.4 million in the same period last year.

The adjusted EBITDA was -$156.3 million, compared to $2.4 million in the same period last year.

Full Year 2025 Ongoing Operations Financial Performance

Revenue

The total revenue for the full year was $6.881 billion. Of this, the revenue from the Bitcoin mining business was $6.755 billion, with a total output of 6,594.6 Bitcoins for the year. Revenue from the international automobile trading business was $9.8 million.

Operating Costs and Expenses

The total annual operating costs and expenses amount to $1.1 billion.

Specifically, they include:

· Revenue Cost (excluding depreciation): $543.3 million

· Revenue Cost (depreciation): $116.6 million

· Operating Expenses: $28.9 million (including related-party expenses of $1.1 million)

· Miner Impairment Loss: $338.3 million

· Bitcoin Collateral Receivable Fair Value Change Loss: $96.5 million

Profitability

The full-year operating loss is $437.1 million. The continuing operations net loss is $452.8 million, while in 2024, there was a net profit of $4.8 million.

The 2025 non-GAAP adjusted net profit is $24.5 million (compared to $5.7 million in 2024). This measure does not include share-based compensation expenses; refer to "Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures" for details.

Financial Position

As of December 31, 2025, the company's key assets and liabilities are as follows:

· Cash and Cash Equivalents: $41.2 million

· Bitcoin Collateral Receivable (Non-current, related party): $663.0 million

· Miner Net Value: $248.7 million

· Long-Term Debt (related party): $557.6 million

In February 2026, the company sold 4,451 bitcoins and repaid a portion of related-party long-term debt to reduce financial leverage and optimize the asset-liability structure.

Stock Repurchase

As per the stock repurchase plan disclosed on March 13, 2025, as of December 31, 2025, the company had repurchased a total of 890,155 shares of Class A common stock for approximately $1.2 million.

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