The recent revelation of Manus's acquisition case might be a signal—by 2026, AI application layers could become a major focus of the industry.
Since last year, the Web3 community has been pondering a question: is infrastructure alone enough? The answer is no. Underlying public chains and layer-2 scaling solutions are now commonplace; what’s truly needed are practical AI applications.
This Manus deal hints at more than just capital maneuvering; it signals a market direction recalibration. When major institutions start to acquire and deploy in the AI application layer, it indicates that this track has moved from proof of concept to a competitive phase.
How will 2026 play out? It’s likely that various capital players will compete over the AI application ecosystem—who can most quickly identify and integrate the AI + blockchain intersection will have the chance to define the next market cycle. The logic isn’t complicated, but execution depends on each player’s reaction speed.
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LayerZeroHero
· 8h ago
Damn, Manus is really about to take off this time. The infrastructure is damn boring, just waiting for the application layer to strike back.
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MemeEchoer
· 8h ago
Wait, can this deal with Manus really change the situation? Feels like just hype again, in the end it's still a bunch of PPTs.
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DaoResearcher
· 8h ago
Based on governance proposal voting data, this judgment actually has significant flaws—assuming AI applications will dominate by 2026, but the incentive mechanism design is fundamentally inadequate.
Recalling Vitalik's paper, token weighted voting is highly vulnerable in a fragmented market. Can the Manus case prove this point? Doubtful.
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ruggedSoBadLMAO
· 8h ago
Bro, to be honest, the infrastructure setup is really outdated. Now it's just a matter of who can truly leverage AI.
Wait, is the Manus acquisition real or just the prelude to another round of cutting leeks?
There are real opportunities in AI application layers, but is it really going to be ready by 2026? Feels like we have to wait a long time.
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EntryPositionAnalyst
· 8h ago
Here we go again with the overused rhetoric about infrastructure... But this time, it seems a bit different? Manus' deal really hit on something.
However, the connection between AI and blockchain isn't that easy to untangle. When the time comes, it'll just be a bunch of project teams hyping concepts and harvesting profits.
If 2026 really turns into an explosion of application layer projects, I won't believe it first.
The recent revelation of Manus's acquisition case might be a signal—by 2026, AI application layers could become a major focus of the industry.
Since last year, the Web3 community has been pondering a question: is infrastructure alone enough? The answer is no. Underlying public chains and layer-2 scaling solutions are now commonplace; what’s truly needed are practical AI applications.
This Manus deal hints at more than just capital maneuvering; it signals a market direction recalibration. When major institutions start to acquire and deploy in the AI application layer, it indicates that this track has moved from proof of concept to a competitive phase.
How will 2026 play out? It’s likely that various capital players will compete over the AI application ecosystem—who can most quickly identify and integrate the AI + blockchain intersection will have the chance to define the next market cycle. The logic isn’t complicated, but execution depends on each player’s reaction speed.