§18. From Infrastructure to Economics

Jason St George. "§18. From Infrastructure to Economics" in Next Generation Stores of Value: Privacy, Proofs, Compute. Version v1.1. /v/1.1/read/part-iv/18-infrastructure-to-economics/

§18. From infrastructure to economics

Layers 0–3 answer three questions:

1. Can we trust the machine? (Layer 0)
2. Can we reach it under censorship? (Layer 1)
3. Can we get code onto it and keep it updated? (Layer 2)
4. Can actors prove “who” they are without doxxing themselves? (Layer 3)

Layers 4 and 5 take those answers as given and ask two more:

5. Can we turn machine work into claims that anyone can verify cheaply? (Layer 4)
6. Can we settle those claims as value flows without chokepoints? (Layer 5)

If Layer 0–3 are the nervous system and limbs, Layers 4–5 are the cortex and circulatory system: they decide what counts as action and how it is remembered in economic form.

Infrastructure ≠ Money

Layers 4–5 create markets for proofs, verified compute, and private settlement. They still do not create money unless Part II’s value-capture conditions hold. A working market for verified FLOPs is necessary for the monetary thesis but not sufficient; the base token must capture the economics of that market through fees, burns, and collateral as specified in the Value Capture Lemma (§6).

• Layer 4 – Truth & Work turns arbitrary computation and provenance into proofs with measurable verification cost.
• Layer 5 – Value & Settlement turns those proofs (and plain payments) into flows of value that are private, non‑custodial, and auditable by consent.

Work Credits, Private Money, and AI Money all depend on these two layers behaving as promised.

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