Autonomous Finance: Experts Divided on Readiness and Risk

A recent debate at NEARCON 2026 between Kraken's co-CEO Arjun Sethi and Dragonfly's Haseeb Qureshi has sparked intense discussion about the readiness of autonomous AI agents to manage real money. The two industry experts presented opposing views on the timing and risk tolerance of these agents, highlighting the complexities involved in their deployment.

Qureshi emphasized that even 95% reliability is not sufficient for major consumer platforms, citing the need for a higher threshold before widespread adoption. He also warned against relying on viral demos and social media hype, which can create unrealistic expectations about the capabilities of autonomous systems.

In contrast, Sethi expressed confidence in the exponential pace of innovation and improvement in AI technology. He argued that the industry is already witnessing significant progress in building agent-like capabilities for customers and predicted a near-term inevitability of autonomous finance. Sethi's willingness to trust AI with 100% of his crypto within a year underscored his optimism about the potential of these agents.