Crypto Designed for AI Agents, Not Humans, According to Alchemy CEO

The existing financial system was created with human limitations in mind, such as geographical constraints, sleep patterns, and physical presence. However, as AI agents begin to participate in economic activities, this human-centric design is becoming a hindrance, according to Nikil Viswanathan, co-founder of the crypto firm Alchemy. 'It can be argued that cryptocurrency was built for AI agents, not humans,' Viswanathan stated. The disparity is evident everywhere, with banks operating on human schedules and credit cards requiring physical identification. AI agents, on the other hand, do not require sleep, have no physical presence, and do not use traditional banking systems. They are increasingly autonomous and conduct transactions online, making them inherently global. This is where cryptocurrency starts to emerge as the native infrastructure for a new type of economic entity, rather than an alternative financial system. Alchemy, a crypto infrastructure company, provides developers with the necessary tools and services to build blockchain-based applications, including APIs, node infrastructure, and data services. Traditional finance is built on the assumption of friction, with cross-border transactions involving currency exchanges, intermediaries, and fees. However, for AI agents, this is impractical. They require seamless, programmable, and direct control over funds via code, without relying on physical infrastructure or identity. Cryptocurrency offers exactly that - a global, always-on financial layer where value can be transferred as easily as data. The complexity of cryptocurrency, including seed phrases and private keys, is actually a strength when it comes to machines. AI agents operate natively in code and can read zeros and ones, making them a natural fit for cryptocurrency. Viswanathan compares the shift from human-centric crypto tools to AI-driven tools to the transition from the postal system to the internet. Just as email is more powerful than the postal system because it is designed for computers, cryptocurrency is more powerful because it is designed for machines. In the future, AI agents will operate on top of crypto infrastructure, handling complexity, managing wallets, and optimizing capital flows in real time, allowing people to control their funds more easily. The result will be a more global, programmable, and autonomous financial system, with a layered structure consisting of traditional finance, crypto, an agent layer, and a human interface.