Alchemy's CEO Claims Crypto Was Designed for AI, Not Humans

The existing financial system was created with human limitations in mind, such as geographical constraints, sleep patterns, paperwork, and physical presence. However, as AI agents become active economic participants, this human-centric design is becoming a hindrance, according to Nikil Viswanathan, co-founder of the crypto firm Alchemy. Viswanathan argues that cryptocurrency was actually built for AI agents, not humans. The discrepancies are evident everywhere: banks have operating hours due to human needs, payments are tied to countries because people live in them, and credit cards assume physical identity and presence. AI agents, on the other hand, operate differently as they don't sleep, don't have a physical presence, and don't use cards. They are increasingly involved in transactions, not just assisting with tasks. All transactions for AI agents are online and inherently global, making crypto the ideal infrastructure for a new type of economic actor. Alchemy, a crypto infrastructure company, provides developers with the necessary tools and services to build blockchain-based applications. The company offers APIs, node infrastructure, and data services that power various onchain products, from financial apps to non-fungible tokens and games, without requiring companies to manage the complexity of blockchain systems themselves. Traditional finance is built on the assumption of friction, which is normal for humans but unusable for AI agents. These agents require seamless transactions across borders, often in tiny increments, and need programmability and direct control over money via code. Crypto provides exactly that: a global, always-on financial layer where value moves as easily as data. According to Viswanathan, the complexity that has long made crypto difficult for humans is exactly what makes it powerful for machines. AI agents operate natively in code, and crypto's underlying architecture was never built for humans. Viswanathan compares the shift from crypto tools being built primarily for humans to crypto tools being used by AI agents to the transition from the postal system to the internet. He envisions a future where AI agents will sit on top of crypto infrastructure, handling complexity automatically and managing wallets, executing transactions, and optimizing capital flows in real-time, allowing people to control their funds more easily. The result would be a more global, programmable, and autonomous financial system, with a layered structure consisting of traditional finance and crypto as the base, an agent layer operating on top, and a human interface above that.