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

The modern financial system was not designed with machines in mind, instead it was built around human constraints such as geographical location, sleep patterns, and physical presence. However, as AI agents start to participate in the economy, this human-centric design is becoming a hindrance, according to Alchemy co-founder Nikil Viswanathan. 'One could argue that crypto was built for AI agents, not humans,' Viswanathan said. The current financial system is filled with limitations, such as banks having operating hours and payments being tied to specific countries, which are based on human needs. In contrast, AI agents do not require sleep, have no physical presence, and do not use traditional payment methods like credit cards. As AI agents start to transact and participate in the economy, they require a system that is inherently global and always available. According to Viswanathan, crypto provides the necessary infrastructure for AI agents to operate, offering a global and always-on financial layer where value can be transferred easily. Traditional finance is built on the assumption of friction, with cross-border payments involving currency exchanges, intermediaries, and fees. However, for AI agents, this friction is a major obstacle. Crypto, on the other hand, provides a system that is programmable, allows for direct control over funds via code, and does not rely on physical infrastructure or identity. What has made crypto difficult for humans to use, such as seed phrases and private keys, is actually a strength when it comes to AI agents, which operate natively in code. Viswanathan compared the shift from crypto being used primarily by 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 was designed for computers, crypto is more powerful because it is designed for machines. Looking to the future, Viswanathan sees a financial system where AI agents sit on top of crypto infrastructure, handling complexity and managing wallets, transactions, and capital flows in real-time. 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.