Haseeb Qureshi, general partner at Dragonfly Capital, says that crypto infrastructure will ultimately be mass adopted by machines, not humans.
Qureshi Says Crypto Technology Works, But Not for “Our Society’
In an article posted to X, Qureshi addresses the “fantastical story” that everyone would begin using smart contracts, rather than traditional legal contracts, for everything.
That never came true, he says, “not because the technology doesn’t work, but because the technology doesn’t work for our society.”
Qureshi says crypto tech is too risky, clunky, and difficult for humans to use. Blind signing transactions, stale approvals, worrying about opening up a drainer… All of it makes mass adoption impossible for humans, but ideal for artificial intelligence (AI).
Qureshi wrote:
“And that’s the tell. It’s why crypto always felt slightly misshapen for us. Long unreadable cryptographic addresses, QR codes, event logs, gas fees, and footguns everywhere–none of it conforms to our intuitions about money.
That’s when it clicked for me: it’s because crypto wasn’t built for us.
An AI agent doesn’t get lazy. It doesn’t get tired. It can verify a transaction, check every domain, and audit a contract in seconds. And more importantly, an AI agent trusts code more than it can trust the law.”
Qureshi, who oversees $4.1 billion in assets at DragonFly, says that the things that always made crypto feel broken, “in retrospect were never bugs,” but signs that humans were the wrong target user.
He predicts that in the future, it will be laughable that humans were ever expected to navigate blockchain tech. He added:
“In 10 years, we will look back at amazement that we ever subjected humans to wrestle with crypto directly.
This change won’t happen overnight. But a technology often snaps into place once its complement finally arrives. GPS had to wait for the smartphone, TCP/IP had to wait for the browser. For crypto, we might just have found it in AI agents.”
FAQ 🤖
- What did Haseeb Qureshi say about who will adopt crypto? He argues that crypto infrastructure will be mass adopted by AI agents and machines, not everyday humans.
- Why does Qureshi think crypto hasn’t gone mainstream with people? He says it’s too risky and clunky for humans—blind signing, stale approvals, drainers, gas fees, and confusing addresses.
- Why are AI agents a better fit for blockchain and smart contracts? Machines can verify domains, audit contracts, and execute transactions consistently without fatigue or human error.
- What’s his long-term prediction for crypto UX? In about ten years, he expects it’ll seem absurd that humans were ever expected to operate blockchains directly, as AI becomes the “missing complement.”