Crypto Infrastructure Is Better Suited for AI Agents Than Humans, According to Alchemy CEO

The existing financial framework was never intended for machine-based interactions. Instead, it was built around the constraints of human existence, such as geographical location, sleep patterns, and physical presence. However, as AI agents start to participate in economic activities, this human-centric design is becoming a hindrance, according to Alchemy co-founder Nikil Viswanathan. He argues that cryptocurrency was essentially designed for AI agents, not humans. The disparity is evident everywhere: banks operate on human schedules, payments are tied to geographical locations, and credit cards rely on physical identities. In contrast, AI agents operate without interruptions, are not bound by geographical locations, and do not require physical presence or identification. As AI agents increasingly engage in transactions, the need for a more compatible system becomes apparent. Viswanathan notes that all transactions involving AI agents are online and inherently global. This is where cryptocurrency starts to emerge as the native infrastructure for a new type of economic entity, rather than just an alternative financial system. Alchemy, a crypto infrastructure company, provides developers with the necessary tools and services to build blockchain-based applications, enabling companies to create and scale on-chain products without directly managing the complexities of blockchain systems. Traditional finance is based on the assumption of friction, which is normal for humans but impractical for AI agents. These agents require seamless, borderless transactions that can occur at any time, often in small increments, and need programmability, direct control over funds through code, and systems that do not rely on physical infrastructure or identity. Cryptocurrency offers exactly that: a global, always-on financial layer where value can flow as easily as data. The complexity that has long made cryptocurrency challenging for humans, such as seed phrases and private keys, is precisely what makes it powerful for machines, as they operate natively in code. Viswanathan compares the shift from crypto tools being built primarily for humans to being used by AI agents to the transition from the postal system to the internet, where communication became much faster and more efficient. Looking ahead, Viswanathan envisions a future where AI agents will operate on top of crypto infrastructure, handling complexity, managing wallets, executing transactions, and optimizing capital flows in real-time, allowing people to control their funds more easily. The result will be a financial system that is more global, programmable, and autonomous, with a layered structure consisting of traditional finance and crypto at the base, an agent layer operating on top, and a human interface above that.