The Evolution of Data Handling in the Digital Age
Traditionally, major technology firms have profited by harvesting user browsing patterns and preferences. However, the emergence of on-chain technology is driving a significant transformation, with "personal intelligence layers" (PILs) emerging as a key development. These layers enable users to maintain encrypted control over their data while allowing AI systems to process it for personalized insights, addressing the long-standing trade-off between privacy and participation. The privacy-preserving AI market is experiencing rapid growth, with projections indicating an annual increase of 27% over the next four years.
PILs challenge fundamental assumptions about data ownership and monetization. Instead of surrendering personal information to access digital services, decentralized models position data as an asset that users can control, selectively share, and potentially monetize. This shift is particularly relevant given recent policy changes, such as the EU's Data Act implemented in 2023, which promotes open access to financial data while upholding privacy protections. As AI agents become more sophisticated in executing complex tasks, the need for negotiation frameworks and commitment mechanisms for interaction with other agents and human users becomes paramount. Intent-based architectures are well-suited for this, allowing agents to operate securely and reliably across different systems.
ConsumerFi: Bringing Personal Intelligence to Consumers
Since the beginning of the decade, specific implementations have begun translating personal intelligence concepts into accessible consumer products. ConsumerFi, for instance, is building infrastructure that converts fragmented consumer data into what can be described as "user-owned intelligence." The platform utilizes an encrypted data structure called 'ConsumerGraph,' which acts as a portable memory bank of digital activity. It leverages NEAR AI for private data processing and NEAR Intents for executing actions across multiple blockchains, thereby transforming everyday interactions into financial opportunities, such as earning rewards for data sharing or making investment decisions based on personalized insights.
ConsumerFi recently debuted on the launchpad Calyx, making these privacy-centric concepts more accessible to a wider audience. The token sale commenced on November 13, offering 25 million CFI tokens, representing approximately 2.5% of its total billion-token supply. Participation required users to connect a wallet on any supported chain and deploy assets through a single transaction. The sale successfully reached its funding target in just 1.5 hours, demonstrating significant market validation for the technology. ConsumerFi has also secured investments from prominent crypto-native entities, including Animoca Brands, Morningstar Ventures, Cypher Capital, Shima Capital, and the NEAR Foundation.
Funding Target Reached! Meaning: you still have 7 days to participate in the @ConsumerFi sale Calyx
— Calyx (@Calyxdotxyz) November 13, 2025
A distinguishing factor of this launch is ConsumerFi's existing operational scale, as it already functions across applications with over 170 million downloads.
The Inevitable Rise of Personal Intelligence Layers
As agentic solutions continue to proliferate, the infrastructure managing consumer data globally, and enabling private AI processing, will become increasingly critical. While scalability and interoperability concerns remain, platforms like ConsumerFi are facilitating a necessary shift towards balancing privacy and verification. The core proposition that individuals should own their data and benefit from its value creation is resonating across diverse demographics and geographies. As the landscape matures and more implementations reach production scale, personal intelligence layers are poised to become an inevitable evolution in how the internet handles information in the coming years.