Autonomous AI Agents and Crypto: Dragonfly’s Haseeb Qureshi and Kraken’s Arjun Sethi Clash at NEARCON 2026

The future of crypto and artificial intelligence took center stage at NEARCON 2026, where Dragonfly Managing Partner Haseeb Qureshi and Kraken co-CEO Arjun Sethi debated how soon autonomous AI agents can safely manage real capital. As blockchain innovation accelerates, the conversation highlighted a growing divide over the readiness of AI-powered trading systems and self-driving crypto wallets.

Both leaders agree that autonomous finance is coming. The disagreement lies in timing and risk tolerance. Qureshi argued that even 90% or 95% reliability is not enough when real money is involved. In financial markets, small failure rates can translate into significant losses. According to him, today’s AI agents remain in an experimental phase, despite impressive social media demos and viral showcases. He warned that hype around AI in crypto can distort reality, urging the industry to avoid basing expectations on flashy demonstrations rather than proven infrastructure.

For Qureshi, systems managing meaningful capital must meet an extremely high reliability threshold before mainstream deployment. Consumer platforms, he suggested, cannot afford preventable AI errors in live financial environments.

Sethi offered a more bullish outlook on AI-driven crypto trading. He emphasized the exponential pace of innovation in blockchain technology and machine learning, arguing that agent-based financial tools are closer to large-scale adoption than critics believe. Kraken, he revealed, is developing advanced agent-like capabilities that could launch within weeks or months, not years. As AI systems evolve, Sethi said, security measures will scale alongside emerging risks, balancing the growing attack surface.

The contrast became clear when both were asked how much of their own portfolios AI could manage today. Qureshi said 5%. Sethi said 100%, adding he would allocate all his crypto assets to an autonomous agent within six to twelve months.

The debate underscores a pivotal question for the cryptocurrency industry: Is autonomous AI finance ready for prime time, or is it still a high-risk frontier?