Alchemy CEO Claims Crypto was Designed for AI Agents, Not Humans

The traditional financial system was not designed with machines in mind. Instead, it was built around human limitations such as geographical location, sleep patterns, paperwork, 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 essentially built for AI agents, not humans. The disparity is evident everywhere: banks have limited operating hours because humans do, payments are tied to countries because people live in them, and credit cards rely on physical identity and presence. AI agents, on the other hand, do not sleep, do not have a physical location, do not visit banks, and do not use credit cards. Moreover, they are increasingly capable of conducting transactions on their own. All transactions involving AI agents are online and inherently global, Viswanathan explained in an interview with CoinDesk. This is where cryptocurrency starts to emerge as the native infrastructure for a new type of economic actor, rather than an alternative financial system. Alchemy, as a crypto infrastructure company, provides developers with the necessary tools and services to build blockchain-based applications, including APIs, node infrastructure, and data services. These tools enable companies to create and scale on-chain products without having to manage the complexity of blockchain systems themselves. The traditional finance system is based on the assumption of friction, where cross-border payments involve currency exchanges, intermediaries, delays, and fees. While this may be normal for humans, it is not suitable for AI agents. AI agents require seamless, borderless transactions that can occur at any time, often in small increments. They also need programmability, direct control over funds through code, and systems that do not rely on physical infrastructure or identity. Cryptocurrency offers exactly that: a global, always-on financial layer where value can be transferred as easily as data. According to Viswanathan, the complexity that has long made cryptocurrency difficult for humans to use, such as seed phrases, private keys, and interacting directly with code, is actually what makes it powerful for machines. Unlike humans, AI agents operate natively in code and can read zeros and ones as their native language, which is also the language of cryptocurrency. For years, cryptocurrency has attempted to become more user-friendly for humans, but its underlying architecture was never designed for humans in the first place. 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. Just as email is more powerful than the postal system because it is designed for computers, cryptocurrency is similar. Looking ahead, Viswanathan envisions a future where AI agents will operate on top of crypto infrastructure, handling complexity automatically, managing wallets, executing transactions, and optimizing capital flows in real-time, making it easier for people to control their funds. The result will be a financial system that is more global, programmable, and autonomous. Viswanathan sees a layered future: traditional finance and crypto as the base, an agent layer operating on top, and a human interface above that. Just as computers operate the internet and humans use it, AI agents will operate finance.