Web3forGood is a media community that celebrates and critically analyzes how emerging web3 technology could be used to make the world a better place.
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This week the throughline is control and how it shifts as technology evolves. Ethereum’s new AI division signals a bid to make blockchains the rails for intelligent agents. The UN is getting ready to train governments to deploy blockchain and AI for transparency and access. Thailand’s mass account freeze exposes just how fragile trust in traditional finance can be. Even Amex’s playful NFT passport stamps show how quietly blockchain tech can/will weave itself into everyday life.
As power moves between humans, machines, corporations, and states, web3 tech is essential if the goal is to keep the internet open, verifiable, and above all, built for people.
WAGMI (we are going to make an impact!)
What’s Inside
📚 What We’re Thinking About
📣 Latest News
🔈 Watch & Listen
🚀 Opportunities & Calls to Act
🎪 Events
📡 On Our Radar
✨ And One More Thing
📚 What We’re Thinking About
🔮 Ethereum and the AI Future
This week, The Ethereum Foundation launched a new AI division with the big goal of making Ethereum the coordination and settlement layer for the machine economy. Because as AI agents start making decisions spending money and working with each other, they’re going to need a neutral base layer to transact and prove identity. Ethereum wants to be that layer.
The new dAI team is focused on (1) giving AI agents ways to pay and follow rules without middlemen and (2) building a decentralized AI stack so the future is not locked into just a few companies. Vitalik (Ethereum’s founder) has been seeding this vision for a while. In his contributions for the Foresight Institute’s Existential Hope project, he painted a future where AI can empower humanity if built on open rails that align incentives and keep power from concentrating. He echoed the same in his “My response to AI 2027” essay, noting that AI is not just a technical challenge but a governance one.
Who sets the rules for nonhuman agents? This is not just about crypto or trading. It is about who holds power in the AI era. If AI becomes as common as email then having public coordination becomes critical. Ethereum’s bet is that blockchains can enable that. It’s a symbiosis that could define the next decade, and it’s a chance to make sure AI is aligned with human flourishing.
🌐 UNDP Blockchain & AI Training for Govs
The UNDP will launch a Government Blockchain Academy” in 2026 to upskill governments on blockchain and AI. Partnering with the Exponential Science Foundation, it will shift nations from pilots to implementation, doing things like building digital IDs, expanding financial access, ensuring tamper-proof procurement, and enabling climate-smart contracts. With India, Pakistan, and Vietnam leading crypto adoption, the academy positions blockchain as a driver of transparency, resilience, and sustainable economic growth in developing economies.
🧊 Thailand Freezes 3M Bank Accounts: Is Bitcoin the Alternative?
Thailand froze three million bank accounts in an anti-scam crackdown, leaving innocent citizens and businesses locked out of funds. Daily transfer limits and stricter KYC rules now apply nationwide, sparking frustration among locals and expats. With QR payments halted and withdrawals rising, Bitcoin advocates call it “free Bitcoin marketing.” Yet Thailand’s central bank still bans crypto payments—highlighting the tension between financial security and digital freedom as trust in banks falters.
🛫 Onchain Passport Stamps
Amex is handing out NFT passport stamps for travelers, and most people won’t even realize they are onchain. A couple years ago this kind of thing would have been hyped to death with trading and speculation. Now it feels kind of wholesome, just a simple way to make a digital<>physical moment more fun. Look, this isn’t going to change the world, but it does show how blockchain tech is capable of fading into the background and making an experience a little cooler. It’s a small reminder that not every use case has to be heavy or world-saving; sometimes it is just about making the web a bit more playful and spreading a little more joy.
Plus:
🪙 Why Stablecoins > Banks in West Africa: “The value is simple: I control my money. I can spend it whenever and however I want, on fair terms. That’s how it should be.” (@0xKofi)
🏦 America Is Becoming The Crypto Capital of CeFi. Here’s Why That Must Change: “The word “decentralization” is thrown around often these days, and it’s important to remember why it is essential. Decentralization changes power dynamics: it prevents a single entity or government from dictating rules, distorting markets, or seizing funds. Decentralization is democratizing: it promotes user control, transparency, accountability, and resilience. Indeed, the U.S. Constitution itself — with its checks and balances, separation of powers among branches of government, and its deliberate protection of individual rights — is very much an ongoing and quite successful example of decentralization.” (Unchained)
🌱 The Future of Public Goods Funding in Filecoin: Scaling the PL PGF Vision: “The journey of building sustainable funding for public goods in Filecoin is only just beginning. By combining proactive and retroactive funding models, strengthening governance, and aligning incentives across the ecosystem, the FIL PGF network is creating a blueprint for how open-source protocols can thrive.” (Filecoin)
📣 Latest News
New $5m AthenaBIO vehicle aims to bridge the “valley of death” in women's health
Ethereum Foundation Launches AI Team, Underscoring Network’s Future Priorities
Swiss banks claim first binding payment using public blockchain
PayPal Integrates Bitcoin, Ethereum into Peer-to-Peer Payments
American Express is now offering NFT passport stamps for travelers
Global Policy, Regulation, and Adoption News
Bank of England stablecoin limits slammed by UK crypto groups
Pakistan invites global crypto firms to apply for operating licenses: Report
France, Austria, and Italy urge stronger EU oversight of crypto markets under MICA
US House to consider retroactive CBDC ban in market structure bill
Stablecoin News
Tether Unveils USAT Stablecoin for U.S. Market, Names Bo Hines to Lead New Division
Google Teams Up With Coinbase to Bring Stablecoin Payments to AI Apps
Reports & Project Updates
RWA (Real World Assets) Report 2025 via Dune.
🔈 Watch & Listen
Crypto Altruists Podcast - Episode 219 - growthepie & Onchain - From World Computer to World Ledger: Ethereum’s 10-Year Journey of Impact
🚀 Opportunities & Calls to Act
Apply: Ethereum Foundation is hiring an AI Project Manager.
Apply: Ethereum Foundation is hiring a Member of AI Staff.
Fellowship: The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has launched a unique opportunity for mission-driven technologists: the AI Fellows Program. This initiative is a limited 12-month fellowship designed to accelerate the responsible and impactful application of artificial intelligence (AI) in global health, development, and education, with a strong emphasis on equitable outcomes for low- and middle-income countries.
Funding: Gitcoin Grants return October 14-28.
Hack: ETHOnline 2025 is an async hackathon event running from October 10-31 that will bring together some of the top minds and experts in Ethereum Ecosystem. We enable teams to make something great in a little over three weeks by providing an abundance of web3 resources like mentors, partners, and software.
Hack: RealFi Hack from Funding the Commons is a global virtual hackathon bringing together builders creating practical solutions to real problems. Registration is open now.
Visa Support: Going to Argentina for Devcon and need a visa? All Devconnect participants can apply to a special visa program for a smoother application process.
🎪 Events
🆕= New to the roundup this week
Virtual
RealFi Hack Kick-Off & Community Gathering is happening September 23. 🆕
BLI Global Summit on Digital Assets, Blockchain & Technology For Consumers is happening October 23.
The Future of Digital Finance: Emerging opportunities in India, in China and on the African continent is happening September 24-25.
Can Our Tech Future Embrace Joy, Creativity, and Human Connection? is happening October 9. 🆕
The Web We've Built from the Internet Archive is happening October 22.
IRL
Africa Money & DeFi Summit West Africa is happening September 24-25 in Accra, Ghana.
ETHGlobal New Delhi is happening September 26-28 in New Delhi.
BTC in D.C. is happening September 30 - October 1 in DC.
Chain for Impact : Nouvelles Pratiques de Générosité is happening October 9 in Paris.
The Aptos Experience is happening October 15-16 in NYC.
Progress Conference 2025 is happening October 16-19 in Berkeley.
Doors Open 2025: Go Behind–the-Scenes at the Physical Internet Archive is happening October 21 in San Francisco.
Zebu Live is happening October 21-22 in London.
The London Blockchain Conference is happening October 22-23 in London.
Responsible Tech Summit: Centering Humanity in our Tech Future is happening October 27 in NYC. 🆕
FIL Dev Summit 7 @ DevConnect is happening November 13 in Buenos Aires.
LabWeek Web3 by Protocol Labs is happening November 13-19 in Buenos Aires.
Devconnect 2025 is happening November 17-22 in Buenos Aires.
ETHBoulder is coming in 2026…
Recurring
Monthly Earth Day is a global event that happens on the 22nd every month, not just once a year. Get involved next on September 22.
📡 On Our Radar
AthenaBIO is a newly-announced $5 million equity vehicle from AthenaDAO that will pool around 15 vetted scientific assets.
The Web3 Marketing Hackathon is the only hackathon specially designed for growth in Web3, uniquely combining marketers and developers. (The hackathon is a part of ETHDenver, but follow on LinkedIn for more community updates).
Stable SL is bringing G$ closer to everyday use in Sierra Leone.
B<>rder/ess is a Public Good that raises the next generation of web3 developers, contributors and builders from today's universities.
✨ And One More Thing
Crypto Altruists Starter Pack - Ethereum Public Goods Infrastructure
