NEAR co-founder: AI agents will be blockchain’s primary users
NEAR co-founder Illia Polosukhin says artificial intelligence agents — not human users — will become the primary interface for blockchain services. Polosukhin argues AI will sit on the front end, abstracting wallets, explorers and transaction details, while blockchain becomes an invisible back-end settlement layer providing trusted execution, ownership and programmable finance. He criticizes current crypto approaches to AI and governance (noting DAOs’ failures when unbounded) and warns memecoin-driven speculation harms crypto’s reputation among AI researchers. Polosukhin frames crypto’s long-term role as neutral financial rails for AI-driven actions like payments, asset management and governance voting. Key themes: AI agents, blockchain as settlement/infrastructure, DAOs and governance, reputation risks from memecoins.
Neutral
Polosukhin’s remarks frame a structural, long-term shift — AI acting as front-end interfaces with blockchain as back-end rails — rather than an immediate market-moving event. For traders, the announcement is neutral: it doesn’t directly change token fundamentals, liquidity or supply. Short-term market moves are unlikely unless tied to product launches, partnerships or funding news from NEAR or major AI/crypto firms. In the medium-to-long term, the narrative supports demand for infrastructure-focused tokens and projects that provide privacy, settlement and programmable finance for AI agents. That could be mildly bullish for layer-1s and infrastructure tokens (especially those with NEAR’s tech or confidentiality features), while offering no direct lift to speculative memecoins — which Polosukhin criticizes. Historical parallels: infrastructure narratives (DeFi rails, MEV, or privacy rollups) tend to produce gradual, sector-specific appreciation rather than sudden market-wide rallies. Traders should monitor concrete milestones (product launches, integrations, on-chain activity by AI-related services) and broader risk sentiment; without tangible adoption signals, expect a neutral impact with selective upside for infrastructure-focused assets.