Opinion by: Dylan Dewdney, co-founder and CEO at Kuvi.ai
Everyone is discussing AI these days, often reiterating the vague, overhyped statement that “it’s going to change everything” or suggesting that ChatGPT could take the place of your therapist.
However, there’s little conversation about how AI could simplify the tedious, frustrating aspects of personal finance. It’s not just about dashboards, robo-advisors, or the latest DeFi application with an appealing user interface; it’s about something more transformative — agentic finance.
This term may sound a bit academic, but it’s straightforward. Instead of navigating various interfaces and clicking buttons, you assign an AI agent a goal, such as “maintain solvency this month” or “maximize stablecoin yield without incurring excessive gas fees.” The agent then manages the chaotic array of accounts, exchanges, wallets, and swaps — whatever is necessary.
The purpose isn’t to replace you, but to organize your choices. It’s absurd that people seek guidance from a large language model about anxiety yet hesitate to trust AI with executing a Uniswap trade.
The crypto chaos no one openly acknowledges
DeFi resembles a mashup of 2010 web forums and bank back offices. You find yourself switching between Coinbase, Binance, MetaMask, possibly a Solana wallet on your phone, along with Discord threads debating “best” yield farms. Each screen appears different, and every transaction comes with hidden complexities. Gas fees surge, bridges fail, approvals vanish into thin air.
This is why many individuals keep their funds on centralized exchanges, even after the FTX collapse. The user experience of self-sovereign finance remains dismal, highlighting the importance of agentic finance.
Imagine instructing an AI agent: “Invest 20% of my ETH into a low-risk yield strategy, and adjust it if USDT even slightly de-pegs.” You don’t want to read multiple blog posts or memorize which pool utilizes Curve versus Balancer; you just want it accomplished. The agent acts on your behalf, interpreting, executing, and adjusting as needed.
Markets are overlooking agentic finance
Here’s the frustrating part. If the world is excited about AI agents, why are fintech and crypto professionals still focused on dashboards? Every new “personal finance super app” appears to be merely a more attractive spreadsheet: lacking coordination, autonomy, or genuine intelligence.
Related: How to use ChatGPT Agent for crypto trading in 2025
People confide their most profound secrets to ChatGPT, treating it like a therapist or companion. Yet, requesting it to transfer $1,000 from USDC to stETH while managing carbon footprint and limiting slippage to under 1%? Suddenly, the entire industry acts as if that’s an insurmountable obstacle.
It’s not, it’s fear. Regulators may panic, and platforms might hesitate to relinquish user control. While the threat of malicious actors creating unreliable agents is real, avoiding the future won’t prevent its arrival.
Consider the market repercussions for a moment. If agentic finance gains traction, the loyalty of users to platforms like Coinbase or Robinhood diminishes. Loyalty will shift towards the entity that develops the best coordinator, rather than the one controlling the exchange. Envision your agent managing positions across five centralized exchanges and ten DeFi protocols — no more vendor lock-in.
This prospect may terrify centralized exchanges, but it also presents an opportunity. The first entity to conquer this challenge will redefine financial frameworks. Not wallets, not brokerages, not apps — the agent becomes the entry point.
Users will willingly embrace this evolution because no one enjoys waking up at 2 a.m. to authorize a transaction before a pool dries up. No one relishes explaining to their partner that their funds are “stuck in a bridge” for 48 hours. People desire results, not platforms.
Discontinue dashboards, develop agents
It’s time to acknowledge that dashboards aren’t the future. Play-to-earn had its hype, memecoins had their moment, and currently, “AI integrations” are the trend of the month. The breakthrough lies in enabling agents to manage the tedious aspects of finance, especially within crypto.
Objections will arise.
Some will argue it’s too risky to let AI handle your funds. Others will claim regulators will never permit it. Some will contend individuals “should” learn the intricacies themselves. Similar arguments emerged against online banking, automated bill payments, and algorithmic trading.
Agentic finance doesn’t aim to make humans obsolete. It seeks to provide space for focusing on strategy instead of struggling with convoluted user interfaces. It’s about transforming finance into something closer to managing Spotify playlists and far less like debugging Excel.
Companies that understand this will prevail. Those that don’t will hold onto their dashboards, convinced that people appreciate the struggle. But just wait — once the first trustworthy financial agent is introduced, no one will revert to the old ways.
Opinion by: Dylan Dewdney, co-founder and CEO at Kuvi.ai.
This article is for general information purposes and is not intended to be and should not be taken as legal or investment advice. The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed here are the author’s alone and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.
