According to Alchemy's CEO, Cryptocurrency was Designed for AI Agents, Not Humans

The existing financial system has always been centered around human constraints 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 the crypto firm Alchemy. Viswanathan argues that cryptocurrency was, in fact, designed for AI agents rather than humans. The traditional financial system has limitations such as operating hours, country-specific payments, and credit cards that require physical identity and presence. In contrast, AI agents operate globally, do not require sleep, and do not have physical locations. They can transact online without the need for physical presence or identity verification. Alchemy, a crypto infrastructure company, provides the necessary tools and services for developers to build blockchain-based applications, enabling companies to create and scale on-chain products without having to manage the complexity of blockchain systems themselves. Traditional finance is built on the assumption of friction, with cross-border payments involving currency exchanges, intermediaries, and fees. However, for AI agents, this is not suitable as they require seamless transactions across borders at any time. Crypto offers a global, always-on financial layer where value can be transferred as easily as data. The complexity of crypto, including seed phrases and private keys, is actually a strength when it comes to AI agents, as they operate natively in code. Viswanathan believes that the shift from crypto tools being built for humans to being used by AI agents is similar to the shift from the postal system to the internet. In the future, AI agents will sit on top of crypto infrastructure, handling complexity automatically and optimizing the flow of capital in real time, making it easier for people to control their funds. The result will be a more global, programmable, and autonomous financial system.