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§18. From Infrastructure to Economics

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Jason St George. "§18. From Infrastructure to Economics" in Next Generation Stores of Value: Privacy, Proofs, Compute. Version v3.2. /v/3.2/read/part-iv/18-infrastructure-to-economics/

From Infrastructure to Economics

Layers 0–3 answer four 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:

  1. Can we turn machine work into claims that anyone can verify cheaply? (Layer 4)

  2. Can we settle those claims as value flows without chokepoints? (Layer 5)

If Layers 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 ≠\neq Money

Layers 4–5 create markets for proofs, verified compute, and private settlement. They do not create money at all. A working market for verified FLOPs is necessary for the monetary thesis but not sufficient: Part II’s value-capture conditions decide whether the market’s economics accrue to the base asset through fees, burns, and collateral (§10: Work Credits: Energy-Anchored Claims), and whether accrual becomes moneyness is the separate question of the three link-9 mechanisms.

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