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

The modern financial system was not designed with machines in mind, but rather around human limitations 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 Nikil Viswanathan, co-founder of crypto firm Alchemy. Viswanathan suggests that cryptocurrency was actually built for AI agents, not humans. The current financial system has limitations such as banking hours, country-specific payments, and credit cards that require physical identity and presence. In contrast, AI agents do not require sleep, have no physical location, and do not use traditional banking systems or credit cards. They operate globally, conduct transactions online, and are increasingly autonomous. According to Viswanathan, traditional finance is based on friction, with cross-border payments involving currency exchanges, intermediaries, and fees, which is normal for humans but unusable for AI agents. Cryptocurrency offers a global, always-on financial layer where value can move seamlessly, making it the ideal infrastructure for AI agents. The complexity of cryptocurrency, including seed phrases and private keys, is actually a strength when it comes to machine interactions. Viswanathan compares the shift from human-centric crypto tools to AI-centric tools to the transition from the postal system to the internet, where communication became faster and more efficient. In the future, AI agents will operate on top of crypto infrastructure, handling complexity, managing wallets, and optimizing capital flows in real time, making it easier for people to control their funds. This will result in a more global, programmable, and autonomous financial system, with AI agents operating finance, just like computers operate the internet.