The Six Layers of Value Exchange

The transition to Society 6.0 requires understanding and developing six interconnected layers of value exchange that together form a comprehensive framework for this new paradigm:

Layer 1: Foundation Layer - Founders and Startups

The first layer consists of the entrepreneurs, innovators, and organizations building the technological infrastructure and applications that enable new forms of value exchange:

• Protocol Developers: Teams creating the fundamental blockchain protocols and AI systems that underpin decentralized applications

• Infrastructure Providers: Organizations building and maintaining the physical and digital infrastructure required for decentralized systems

• Application Developers: Startups creating user-facing applications that leverage blockchain and AI capabilities

• Research Institutions: Academic and private research entities advancing the theoretical foundations of these technologies

• Educational Organizations: Entities that spread knowledge and skills related to these new paradigms

This foundational layer creates the technological possibilities upon which all other layers depend. The values, incentive structures, and governance models embedded at this layer have profound implications for how the entire system evolves. Therefore, it is critical that this layer incorporates regenerative principles from the outset rather than attempting to retrofit them later.

Key challenges at this layer include:

• Securing funding for public goods that don't capture value directly

• Balancing innovation with responsibility and ethical considerations

• Creating inclusive development processes that incorporate diverse perspectives

• Ensuring interoperability between different protocols and systems

• Navigating regulatory uncertainty while maintaining compliance

Layer 2: Digital Rights Layer - NFTs, IP Licenses, and Access Rights

The second layer involves the creation, representation, and exchange of digital rights through tokens:

• Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs): Unique digital assets that represent ownership of specific items or rights

• Intellectual Property Licenses: Tokenized rights to use, modify, or distribute creative works and innovations

• Digital Access Rights: Tokens that grant access to services, platforms, or resources

• Identity and Credential Systems: Verifiable digital representations of identity and qualifications

• Reputation Systems: Mechanisms for quantifying and transferring trust between participants

This layer enables more granular, transparent, and efficient exchange of rights than traditional systems, reducing friction and enabling new forms of collaboration and value creation. It also allows creators and innovators to capture more of the value they create through direct relationships with users and supporters.

Key innovations emerging at this layer include:

• Programmable royalties that automatically distribute revenue to creators

• Fractional ownership of valuable assets enabling broader participation

• Dynamic pricing based on usage patterns and actual value delivery

• Composable rights that can be bundled, unbundled, and recombined

• Automated licensing and rights management through smart contracts

Layer 3: Liquidity Layer - Token Exchange and Fiat Conversion

The third layer provides mechanisms for exchanging tokens for other forms of value, creating liquidity and enabling value to flow between different systems:

• Decentralized Exchanges (DEXs): Protocols that enable trustless trading of digital assets

• Automated Market Makers (AMMs): Liquidity pools that enable token swaps without traditional order books

• Fiat On/Off Ramps: Services that connect traditional financial systems with token-based systems

• Stablecoins: Tokens pegged to external values (typically fiat currencies) that provide stability

• Cross-Chain Bridges: Protocols that enable value to move between different blockchain networks

This layer is crucial for ensuring that value can flow freely between different micro-economies and between token-based and traditional economic systems. Without effective liquidity mechanisms, even the most innovative token models remain isolated and limited in their impact.

Emerging trends in this layer include:

• Order book and AMM hybrid models that improve capital efficiency

• Fiat-backed stablecoins with transparent reserves and regulatory compliance

• Algorithmic stablecoins that maintain their pegs through code rather than collateral

• Layer-2 scaling solutions that reduce transaction costs and increase throughput

• Privacy-preserving exchange mechanisms that protect sensitive transaction data

Layer 4: Interoperability Layer - Multi-Registry Transactions

The fourth layer enables data and value to flow seamlessly between different registries, markets, and ecosystems:

• Cross-Registry Standards: Protocols that enable different data registries to communicate and transact

• Oracle Networks: Systems that bring external data onto blockchains in a secure and verifiable manner

• Interchain Communication Protocols: Standards that enable different blockchain networks to interact

• API Standards for Decentralized Systems: Common interfaces for decentralized applications

• Identity and Credential Portability: Systems that allow digital identities to function across platforms

This layer is essential for avoiding the "walled garden" problem that has plagued Web2, where data and value become trapped in isolated platforms. True interoperability enables composability—the ability to combine different protocols and applications like building blocks to create more complex and valuable systems.

Key developments in this layer include:

• Cross-chain messaging protocols that maintain security guarantees

• Standardized data formats that enable seamless information exchange

• Automated compliance systems that enable regulatory-compliant transactions across jurisdictions

• Decentralized identity systems that work across multiple platforms and protocols

• Meta-protocols that enable different blockchain systems to communicate

Layer 5: Impact Layer - Data Sharing for Net Zero Financing

The fifth layer focuses on measuring, verifying, and valuing ecological and social impact:

• Impact Measurement Protocols: Standardized methods for quantifying ecological and social outcomes

• Verifiable Carbon Credits: Blockchain-verified units representing carbon sequestration or emissions reduction

• Biodiversity Tokens: Digital assets representing verifiable improvements in ecosystem health

• Social Impact Bonds: Tokenized investment vehicles that pay returns based on measurable social outcomes

• Regenerative Finance (ReFi) Mechanisms: Financial systems explicitly designed to restore natural systems

This layer creates the infrastructure for aligning financial incentives with planetary health and social wellbeing. By creating trusted, transparent mechanisms for measuring impact, it enables capital to flow toward activities that generate the greatest positive externalities rather than merely extracting private value.

Emerging innovations in this layer include:

• IoT-enabled automatic measurement and verification of ecological impacts

• Satellite data integration for large-scale environmental monitoring

• AI systems that process complex ecological data to assess intervention effectiveness

• Community-validated impact verification through decentralized consensus

• Tokenized natural capital that enables investment in ecosystem services

Layer 6: Computational Value Layer - AI Compensation Models

The sixth and most advanced layer addresses the need for new economic models as AI systems become increasingly autonomous participants in value creation:

• Compute Credit Systems: Tokens that represent computational resources used by AI systems

• AI Contribution Metrics: Methods for quantifying the value created by AI systems

• Data Contribution Rewards: Mechanisms that compensate individuals and organizations for data contributions

• AI-to-AI Payment Channels: Infrastructure enabling autonomous economic interactions between AI systems

• Human-AI Value Sharing Frameworks: Models for equitably distributing value between human and artificial intelligence

As AI systems consume increasing computational resources and generate substantial economic value, new models are needed to ensure this value is appropriately distributed and that these systems can "pay their own way" in the broader economy. This layer creates the infrastructure for an economy where artificial intelligence is an active participant rather than merely a tool.

Key developments in this layer include:

• Token models that track and compensate for computational resources

• Reputation systems for AI services that influence their economic value

• Data marketplaces that properly value training data contributions

• Governance models for distributing AI-generated revenue

• Proof-of-useful-work systems that align mining with valuable computation