Alchemy CEO Claims Crypto Was Designed for AI, Not Humans

The conventional financial system was built around human constraints such as geographical boundaries, sleep patterns, and physical presence. However, with AI agents emerging as key economic players, this human-centric design is becoming a hindrance, according to Nikil Viswanathan, co-founder of crypto firm Alchemy. 'Crypto was essentially built for AI agents, not humans,' Viswanathan stated. The disparity between traditional finance and AI-driven systems is evident in various aspects, including banking hours, payment systems tied to countries, and credit cards that require physical identity and presence. In contrast, AI agents operate around the clock, are not bound by geographical locations, and do not rely on physical cards or banking systems. As AI agents increasingly engage in transactions, the need for a more compatible financial system becomes apparent. Viswanathan noted that all transactions for AI agents are online and inherently global. This is where cryptocurrency starts to resemble the native infrastructure for a new type of economic actor, 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, such a system is impractical. They require seamless, borderless transactions, often in small increments, and need programmability and direct control over funds via code. 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, private keys, and code interaction, which has long been a challenge for humans, is actually a strength when it comes to AI agents. Unlike humans, AI agents operate natively in code and can read zeros and ones, which is also the language of cryptocurrency. Viswanathan compared the shift from human-centric crypto tools to AI-centric 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 suited for AI agents. Looking ahead, Viswanathan envisions a future where AI agents will utilize crypto infrastructure, handling complexity, managing wallets, executing transactions, and optimizing capital flows in real-time, allowing people to control their funds more easily. This would result in 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.