NEAR Co-founder Foresees AI Agents as the Unseen Masters of Blockchain Finance

Key Takeaways

• AI agents are poised to become the dominant users of blockchain technology, eclipsing human interaction with the underlying infrastructure.
• Blockchain's role will shift towards providing a neutral, secure, and programmable financial backbone for AI-driven applications.
• Current crypto experimentation with AI, particularly speculative tokens, is distracting from the technology's true potential.
• Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs) require clearly defined problems and economic incentives to succeed, a lesson often overlooked.
• The cultural divide between AI and crypto, fueled by memecoins and scams, hinders collaboration and innovation.

Illia Polosukhin, the co-founder of NEAR Protocol, predicts a significant paradigm shift in the blockchain landscape. He argues that artificial intelligence will soon act as the primary interface for all things digital, including cryptocurrencies, effectively masking the complexities of wallets, transaction hashes, and blockchain explorers from everyday users.

According to Polosukhin, the focus should be on abstracting the underlying technology. Instead of directly interacting with blockchain protocols, individuals will engage with AI agents that autonomously execute payments, manage digital assets, coordinate services, and participate in governance systems on their behalf.

This vision contrasts sharply with the recent surge in AI-themed crypto projects centered on speculative tokens and trading bots. Polosukhin believes that blockchain's inherent financial capabilities will be best utilized by providing a neutral and reliable financial infrastructure for AI systems.

He is critical of the current approach to both AI and governance within the crypto space. Polosukhin contends that the industry often proposes technical solutions without first identifying the core problems they aim to solve. He cites the struggles of DAOs as an example, emphasizing the need for clearly defined objectives and economic incentives to drive effective decentralized governance.

Polosukhin also highlights the cultural clashes between the AI and crypto communities, pointing to the proliferation of memecoins and scams as a significant barrier to collaboration. He suggests that these activities have damaged the industry's reputation and alienated serious AI researchers.

Looking ahead, Polosukhin anticipates a convergence of AI and blockchain focused on infrastructure development. As AI systems become more autonomous in managing finances and coordinating services, the need for secure execution, privacy, and programmable financial coordination will increase, making blockchain an essential component.

Ultimately, Polosukhin envisions a future where AI serves as the operating system of the internet, with blockchain acting as the invisible settlement layer that ensures trust and security behind the scenes.

Why it matters

If Polosukhin's vision materializes, it signifies a fundamental change in how we interact with blockchain technology. Instead of being a visible and often complex system, blockchain will become a seamless and secure foundation for AI-driven applications, potentially unlocking widespread adoption and transforming various industries.