Ethereum gains traction as AI agents, RWAs converge

What to Know:

• Autonomous AI agents manage wallets, read on-chain data, and execute transactions.
• Shift from manual orders to continuous, policy-driven automation across financial workflows.

Intelligent Web3 refers to AI agents embedded into the Web3 stack, operating wallets, reading on-chain data, and executing transactions across centralized and decentralized venues. Instead of human-initiated orders and static scripts, autonomous agents negotiate, route, and settle value based on predefined policies.

A recent forecast by Dr. Han positions Intelligent Web3 as a near-term industry engine, with a roughly two‑year horizon to reshape transactional workflows. The practical shift would be from manual execution to continuous, policy-driven automation across custody, trading, payments, and post‑trade settlement.

Ethereum matters here because it hosts the smart-contract logic many agents would rely on for execution, escrow, and verification. As agents coordinate with oracles and compliance screens, real‑world asset (RWA) tokenization could be integrated into end‑to‑end flows that combine issuance, collateralization, and settlement.

Why this matters now: immediate impacts and current signals

Gate’s build‑out of infrastructure, including Gate Layer, a perpetual DEX, and modules like Gate Fun and Gate Vault, has been profiled as part of a move from a trading platform toward a broader Web3 operating system, as reported by Decrypt (https://decrypt.co/346047/gate-reinvents-the-exchange-model-from-trading-platform-to-full-web3-operating-system/). These components are positioned as plumbing for agentic execution and cross‑venue coordination.

A separate industry outlook highlighting five forces in Web3, such as real‑time on‑chain information layers, cross‑border stablecoin payments, and institutional DeFi yield engines, aligns with this trajectory, as reported by PANews (https://www.panewslab.com/en/articles/3f27eaa3-e38b-41e0-9e75-06664ab3c25a/). The themes indicate where early agentic workflows could accrue utility first.

Independent endorsements from major financial institutions or regulators explicitly validating a two‑year timeline have not been widely documented. The available materials primarily reflect the proponent’s thesis and supporting activity rather than sector‑wide consensus.

In summarizing the thesis before offering a direct citation, the central claim is a timeline‑bound view of convergence among AI, TradFi, and Web3. “Intelligent Web3 will become the new engine of the industry, reshaping the way transactions are conducted within two years,” said Dr. Han, founder of Gate.io.

At the time of this writing, GateToken (GT) traded near $7.13 with sentiment described as Bearish and a 14‑day RSI around 41.89. Recent measures indicated volatility near 12.64%, with a 50‑day SMA of 8.64 and a 200‑day SMA of 12.54.

How AI agents will interact with CEXs, DEXs, and compliance

AI agents interfacing with centralized exchanges (CEXs) would likely operate through authenticated APIs tied to verified accounts. Practical safeguards include order‑size limits, withdrawal whitelists, rule‑based pre‑trade checks, and audit logs to preserve traceability under know‑your‑customer and anti‑money‑laundering controls.

On decentralized exchanges (DEXs), agents can use smart contracts to program slippage thresholds, time‑in‑force, and collateral rules directly on Ethereum. Accounts may employ programmable policies so that any on‑chain execution leaves verifiable evidence, enabling reconciliation and risk reviews.

To bridge CEX and DEX flows, agents can orchestrate routing where centralized liquidity is used for depth and decentralized rails are used for settlement finality. In parallel, RWA tokenization could introduce programmatic eligibility checks, attestation capture, and lifecycle events that agents enforce before, during, and after transactions.