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

The existing 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 the economy, 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 current financial system is filled with examples of this mismatch, such as banks having operating hours and payments being tied to specific countries. In contrast, AI agents do not require sleep, have no physical location, and do not use traditional banking systems or credit cards. As AI agents increasingly engage in transactions, the need for a more suitable financial system becomes apparent. According to Viswanathan, all transactions for AI agents are online and global, making cryptocurrency an ideal fit. Alchemy, as a crypto infrastructure company, provides the necessary tools and services for developers to build blockchain-based applications. The company's APIs, node infrastructure, and data services enable the creation of a wide range of on-chain products, from financial apps to non-fungible tokens and games, without the need for companies to manage the complexities of blockchain systems themselves. Traditional finance is based on the assumption of friction, with cross-border payments involving currency exchanges, intermediaries, and fees. However, for AI agents, this is not only inconvenient but also unusable. AI agents require seamless, borderless transactions, often in small increments, and need programmability, direct control over funds via 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. The complexity of cryptocurrency, including seed phrases, private keys, and interacting with code, is actually a strength when it comes to AI agents, as they operate natively in code. Viswanathan compares the shift from crypto tools being built for humans to being used by AI agents to the shift 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 suitable for AI agents. Looking to the future, Viswanathan envisions a financial system where AI agents sit 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. This would result in a more global, programmable, and autonomous financial system, with a layered structure consisting of traditional finance and crypto at the base, an agent layer operating on top, and a human interface above that.