Xiao Feng: Digital currency is the lifeblood of the smart economy, and existing bank payment systems cannot support AI micropayments

Comparing news, according to live reports, HashKey Group Chairman Xiao Feng shared the keynote speech “Smart Economy Model Innovation - AI Token, Blockchain Token, and Fully Homomorphic Encryption Revolution” at this year's 2026 Hong Kong Web3 Carnival. He pointed out that the two major commercial characteristics of blockchain technology are no trust and no permission, but openness and transparency cause data to go naked, making it difficult for banks and other compliance agencies to go directly to the chain. With fully homomorphic encryption chips expected to be launched in the second half of this year, and the performance can reach about 1,000 strokes per second, privacy computing technology is about to reach the commercial threshold.

He proposed that the integration of AI tokens and blockchain tokens with zero-knowledge proof and fully homomorphic encryption technology is the ultimate form of the smart economy. He used hospitals as an example: medical data is fully encrypted and then converted into a token. Anyone can use the blockchain to call the data for calculation without permission, but cannot obtain personal private information. As a result, the hospital becomes a “token factory.” Individuals can also put the encrypted medical examination data on the chain and issue requests to global insurance companies. Their actuarial models calculate and provide personalized optimal insurance plans in an encrypted state. Since then, there is no need for insurance brokers and intermediaries.

In particular, he corrected a common misunderstanding: AI tokens are not a monetary unit of the smart economy, but rather a means of production. From electricity and chip computing power to large models, algorithms, and applications, they depict the production process of intelligent devices. The currency of the smart economy must be a digital currency that can be programmed, segmented, and settled in real time, because AI agents may only need a few cents each time to call the API, and the cost of the bank's existing payment system cannot support such small payments. Digital currency is the “lifeblood” of the smart economy, and a new financial service system designed for machines rather than humans will appear in the future.