Alchemy CEO Claims Crypto is Better Suited for AI Agents Than Humans

The current financial system was not designed with machines in mind, but rather around human limitations such as geography, sleep patterns, and physical presence. However, with AI agents increasingly participating in the economy, this human-centric design is becoming a hindrance, according to Alchemy co-founder Nikil Viswanathan. 'One could argue that cryptocurrency was built for AI agents, not humans,' Viswanathan stated. The disparities are evident everywhere: banks have limited hours due to human constraints, payments are tied to countries where people reside, and credit cards require physical identification and presence. In contrast, AI agents operate without sleep, physical location, or the need for cards. They are also increasingly capable of conducting transactions on their own. 'All transactions for agents are online and inherently global,' Viswanathan explained in an interview. This is where cryptocurrency begins 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 payments involving currency exchanges, intermediaries, and fees. However, for AI agents, this is not feasible. Agents require seamless, programmable transactions across borders, often in small increments, and systems that do not rely on physical infrastructure or identity. Cryptocurrency offers exactly that: a global, always-on financial layer where value can move as easily as data. 'Cryptocurrency is the global infrastructure for money that agents need,' Viswanathan said. The complexity of cryptocurrency, including seed phrases, private keys, and interacting with code, is actually a strength when it comes to machines. Unlike humans, agents operate natively in code and can read zeros and ones. 'Agents speak in zeros and ones, which is also the language of cryptocurrency,' Viswanathan noted. For years, cryptocurrency has attempted to become more human-friendly, but its underlying architecture was never designed for humans. Viswanathan compared the shift from cryptocurrency being built for humans to being used by AI agents to the transition from the postal system to the internet. While people once had to physically write and mail letters to communicate globally, modern communication is much faster. 'Email is far more powerful than the postal system because it is designed for computers,' Viswanathan said. 'Cryptocurrency is similar.' Moving forward, AI agents will utilize cryptocurrency infrastructure, handling complexity, managing wallets, and optimizing capital flows in real-time, making it easier for people to control their funds. 'You can write code to manage a cryptocurrency wallet, but you cannot do the same with a bank account,' Viswanathan said. The result will be a financial system that is more global, programmable, and autonomous. Viswanathan envisions a layered future, with traditional finance and cryptocurrency as the base, an agent layer operating on top, and a human interface above that. 'Just like computers operate the internet and humans use it, agents will operate finance,' he said.