Alchemy CEO: Blockchain Infrastructure is the Native Layer for AI Economic Agents

The intersection of artificial intelligence and decentralized finance is shifting from a novelty to a structural necessity. Nikil Viswanathan, CEO and co-founder of infrastructure provider Alchemy, posits that cryptocurrency was fundamentally built for AI agents rather than human users. Traditional financial systems are designed around human limitations, including geographic borders, operating hours, and physical identity verification. Viswanathan argues these features act as bottlenecks for AI agents, which operate continuously and without physical presence. While humans find seed phrases and private keys cumbersome, these elements are native to the binary language of AI. Because AI agents operate natively in code, the friction humans experience with crypto is actually a functional advantage for machines. This allows for seamless, programmable, and borderless transactions in tiny increments—capabilities that are currently unusable within the framework of traditional banking. Comparing this shift to the transition from postal mail to email, Viswanathan envisions a layered financial future. In this model, traditional finance and crypto form the base, an AI agent layer manages the complexity and capital flows in real-time, and a human interface sits at the top for user control. As AI agents transition from task assistants to active economic participants, the demand for programmable financial rails is expected to grow. This positions blockchain infrastructure as the primary engine for a new era of autonomous machine economies.