Who Owns the Future?

AI, Web3, and User Sovereignty in Financial Services

Lending Gets an Upgrade (Whether It Likes It or Not)

By Dain Ehring October 2025

Conversations about artificial intelligence in home lending have become anything but academic. At a recent housing conference in Dallas, a colleague and I found ourselves circling a deceptively simple question: Where does AI fit in the rapidly evolving world of Web3—and is it really just about blockchain anymore?

These aren’t small considerations. By 2025, U.S. residential real estate was valued at $55.1 trillion, representing a $20 trillion increase since 2020. This market now stands at twice the national GDP—a powerful statistic for anyone tracking the direction (and volatility) of American financial life.

Web3, in popular conversation, often gets conflated with cryptocurrency and blockchain. However, the real story is user sovereignty—giving individuals accurate control over their data and assets, and shifting power away from traditional brokers and institutions. AI, in turn, is accelerating that shift by making technology more personal, contextual, and responsive than ever before.

Reflecting on how radically our digital expectations have shifted can be helpful. Years ago, the internet was a static directory; then came e-commerce and new kinds of interactivity. Today’s evolution is less about architecture and more about the extent of agency people possess. AI tools now function almost like extensions of individual intelligence—tailoring, advising, and sometimes even anticipating our needs.

There’s a familiar parallel in how we now consume entertainment. Gone are the days of relying solely on whatever the local theater or Blockbuster had available. Streaming services have put viewers decisively in the driver’s seat, with a broader range of choices than ever deciding what, when, and how to watch, all with the swipe of a finger (and just as quickly cancelled if the mood changes). The financial services sector is experiencing a similar transformation: Expectation for customization and control is now the norm, and technology is making autonomy possible at scale.

For C-level leaders, the lesson is straightforward: Companies that position themselves as enablers of autonomy—not gatekeepers—are poised to lead. Instead of using technology to tighten their grip on users, forward-thinking firms are building trust through empowerment and transparency. In this new financial era, those who best understand and embrace the reality of user sovereignty—powered by AI and the ethos behind Web3—will be the ones setting the pace.

In a not-too-distant Web3 future, borrowers will underwrite themselves. They will retain sovereignty over their digital financial history, their projected future earnings, and the preferences for the home they choose to buy with the loan. The residential lending ecosystem will remain intact but will be democratized, with the friction removed. The ecosystem will serve the future homeowner. Not the other way around.