Author: Turbo Guo @TurboGuo ｜IOSG Ventures

Thanks: Thanks to Meggie for her insights on the content of this article, especially the main point

What is a young person like?

They might be brave, willing to imagine, eager for quick success, but also fearful of missing out, radical, and passionate. 250 years of history can be considered young for a country.

This feeling comes from my experience at the closed-door Trump Crypto Conference & Gala Luncheon at Mar-a-Lago. Mar-a-Lago is Trump's residence and winter White House, as well as a private social club. This venue also determines the uniqueness of the event, much like going to a wealthy, flamboyant friend’s house party, where even the chairs are golden.

The Thirty-Six Month Countdown

The most exposed trait of youth is radicalism. Tony Robbins was one of the speakers; he is a well-known speaker and bestselling author. He stood on stage, repeatedly saying one phrase: thirty-six months. He stated that within thirty-six months, robots would replace a large number of jobs, within thirty-six months quantum computing could reverse old encryption algorithms, and within thirty-six months, self-driving would disrupt eight million driver positions. He packaged this number into a countdown: The thirty-six month countdown has begun. Thirty-six months sounds unsettlingly short, but he had no intention of making it more stable.

Nikil, the founder of Alchemy, presented another kind of radicalism. He bluntly stated, “Within five years, funds transferred by AI agents will exceed the total combined of all humans worldwide, and there will no longer be any dollars passing through bank accounts.” He demonstrated on stage how his agent "Dave the Minion" helps him order Uber, control twenty devices at home, buy flowers for his girlfriend, and monitor the percentage of body fat he gained in Costa Rica.

I continued chatting with Nikil offstage. They mentioned that the company would soon launch agent cards, likely a white-label solution that would allow other projects to release their own agent payment cards. This product logic aligns with Nikil's statement on stage about "in five years, no dollar transactions will go through the banking system."

Wood Sister expressed a similar view. She pointed out that the cost of AI training drops by 75% each year, and inference costs drop by 98%, making it the most “deflationary” technology in history. She stated that AI-generated writing will first exceed human writing in 2025 and predicts that in ten years it will surpass the total amount of all human writing in history. I was fortunate to chat with her for a bit; she holds a generally bullish view of the entire industry, without being particularly conservative.

When these prophecies are heard together, there is a common scent: everyone believes that within the next three to five years, the world will be reshaped by the paths they describe. This is a very American, very youthful way of expressing.

American Ascendancy: Positioning Oneself as a Transit Node

If radical predictions showcase youthful "thought," then resource integration shows youthful "behavior." A common way Americans build success is by connecting different circles, establishing influence, and making themselves a transit point for information and resources.

Tony Robbins is the extreme version of this path.

He walked off stage, weaving between small round tables, no more than half a meter away from me. He talked about many topics like AI, Crypto, and robots. He also mentioned Salesforce’s Marc Benioff, Figure AI’s Brett Adcock, the three 22-year-old dropouts from Mercor, and IBM Vice Chairman Gary Cohn, among others; he used these names to build his credibility. To be honest, his understanding of Crypto isn’t particularly deep, and his judgment may not be more accurate than that of any founder at the event, but he knows more than the average person about each field, yet less than specialists. This position is the most effective for spreading information.

Many CEOs of large companies may no longer conduct first-hand research, so they listen to Robbins speak. Robbins chats with experts from various industries, gaining insights, and presents organized information to these CEOs. He also writes books, bringing information to the public. He successfully combines roles as a bestselling author, resource integrator, and top presenter. He demonstrates the ultimate execution of “business equals resource integration” in America.

Note: French football team

Similar logic can be seen in others present. Andrea from Trendex introduced me to the gameplay of Superstar coin, which tokenizes members of the French national football team, F1 drivers, and various sports stars. Buying a certain amount yields specific fan benefits. Friends with experience in crypto might be familiar with this, but not everyone has the ability to sign so many deals. Interestingly, they brought the World Cup trophy to the venue, making it the first time I saw the trophy up close. The essence of this project is also distribution; you're not selling technology; you're selling the influence the star has accumulated.

Another core conclusion about influence came when I spoke with former a16z GP Arianna Simpson. If all startups use the same AI development tools, the same shipping capabilities mean that technical differences will converge, while distribution channels and user acquisition abilities will become the decisive advantages. This judgment comes entirely from an investor's perspective rather than a technical perspective.

Note: Former a16z GP Arianna Simpson, billionaire Tim Draper, Luke from Delphi Digital

Enthusiastic Audience

If you only look at the podium, this youthfulness seems abstract. But when I shifted my gaze from the stage to the audience, things became more intuitive.

The most interesting part is the group photo. As soon as the people on stage come down, they are surrounded by the audience, forming a small circle. This radicalism is not just the privilege of the speakers; it exists also as a common temperament within the audience. Everyone wants to leave evidence that they were indeed in that room, had indeed spoken to that person, and had indeed captured that moment.

The speakers are predicting the future in terms like 36 months and 5 years, while the audience attempts to capture the present through photos. Both ends share the same mentality: fear of missing out. This is a very real reflection.

Note: Trump among the crowd

Those Already in the Room Don’t Need to Prove Themselves

But there was also a completely different group of people that day. They walked into the venue, networked a bit, then sat down to listen to the speeches, and the whole process didn’t seem particularly excited. They didn’t rush for photos, didn’t push to the front of the guests, and didn’t applaud every time data was presented.

Perhaps when a person truly believes they belong to a place, they won’t be particularly excited about it.

Among this group are representatives from long-established institutions that have been present for over a decade, their close friends, and regulars who view this event as a casual gathering. For them, being at Mar-a-Lago is not a proof of status but a continuation of their daily life. They coexist in the same room with those enthusiastic crowds taking photos, but live on two very different frequencies.

Viewing these two groups in the same room captures the entire picture of this conference.

Young America

This country, at least the people present at that event, does not present a polished, mature atmosphere; it appears as a young person with ambition, eager to prove themselves, and speaking loudly. The Crypto industry also has this temperament; it has just been acknowledged by regulators, recently received friendly policy directions, and seen the SEC's attitude soften. Therefore, it is both excited and anxious, wanting to seize every 36 months while fearing to miss out on every photo.

Speakers use prophecies to lock in the future, audience members use photos to secure the present, and businesspeople use resource integration to define their positions. Only that small group, which has been in the room for many years, quietly sits in the corner, watching the younger generation vigorously proclaim their existence.

This state has its limitations. Youth easily leads to overcommitment. Every prophecy can be dragged slower at the execution level by reality. A young country can also easily confuse “volume” with “capability.” Even more frightening is that these prophecies and volumes appear particularly real in stock prices.

But youth also has its benefits. It is willing to do everything all over again, willing to shove conventional finance, AI, robotics, quantum, and stablecoins—things that should evolve slowly—into a three-year window. It is willing to take on the risk of overcommitting because it believes it has time.

Note: Outdoor pool and bar, photographed in the morning; the bar and small burger bar have not yet been set up

As the event wrapped up, everyone was by the outdoor pool, chatting, eating, drinking. My friends and I were also engaged in casual conversation. To be honest, Mar-a-Lago is quite beautiful, the lawns are neatly trimmed, the food is excellent, the drinks are fantastic, and the sunshine is perfect, making you feel as if you are standing in a high position. This experience can change a person’s confidence, which is a very good thing; it brings a sense of ease when communicating with those much more capable later. However, whether this can truly change anything depends on the individual, just like having fun at a classmate's party, where everyone seems to enjoy themselves, but in the end, they return home to continue their own anxieties.

Author's note: This article is based on the author's on-site recording and discussions while attending the Trump Crypto Conference & Gala Luncheon in Palm Beach, Mar-a-Lago in April 2026. The project information and market views mentioned are for reference only and do not constitute investment advice.