Ofir Press: Saying tokens replace labor is like saying computers would in 1980
OfirPress · x · 2026-11-11
Princeton researcher Ofir Press pushes back on the "labor will be replaced by tokens" narrative: it's like claiming in 1980 that labor would be replaced by computers. Computers don't compute on their own, tokens don't token themselves — a human operator is still required, and he doesn't see that changing within 4 years.
An attached screenshot grounds the debate in a Stripe-related thesis: assuming Fortune 500 companies spend 0.1% of OPEX on tokens (Stripe already spends 1%), "Fortune 500 replace labor with tokens in 2030" isn't crazy — 1% of OPEX would imply 10x the $75B Q3'26 revenue, i.e. $750B revenue by 2030. Full thesis and model due Wednesday.
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