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Kraken’s co-CEO is confident in AI managing all of his cryptocurrency, while Dragonfly’s Haseeb Qureshi remains skeptical.
During NEARCON 2026, Haseeb Qureshi from Dragonfly and Arjun Sethi, co-CEO of Kraken, engaged in a vigorous discussion regarding the timeline for trusting autonomous agents with actual funds.
Dragonfly Managing Partner Haseeb Qureshi and Kraken co-CEO Arjun Sethi @ NEARCON 2026 (Margaux Nijkerk/ CoinDesk)
What to know:
- The cryptocurrency sector often announces forthcoming innovations prematurely. Recently, this tendency has centered on autonomous AI agents, self-operating wallets, and trading mechanisms that execute transactions without human intervention.
- At NEARCON 2026, Haseeb Qureshi from Dragonfly and Arjun Sethi, co-CEO of Kraken, engaged in a spirited discussion on the timeline for trusting these agents with actual capital.
- The primary disagreement revolved around the timing and risk appetite, rather than the belief that agents will eventually handle capital, which both acknowledge.
San Francisco, CA – The cryptocurrency sector often announces forthcoming innovations prematurely. Recently, this tendency has centered on autonomous AI agents, self-operating wallets, and trading mechanisms that execute transactions without human intervention.
At NEARCON 2026, Haseeb Qureshi from Dragonfly and Arjun Sethi, co-CEO of Kraken, engaged in a spirited discussion on the timeline for trusting these agents with actual capital.
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The primary disagreement revolved around the timing and risk appetite, rather than the belief that agents will eventually handle capital, which both acknowledge.
“A system that is effective with money 90% of the time is not suitable for genuine economic activities,” Qureshi stated. He argued that even a 95% success rate is inadequate. “It’s a lot of nothing, nothing, nothing… then something, and then everything. And right now, we’re still in the nothing phase.”
Qureshi expressed concern that the industry might be exaggerating the readiness of the technology. He advised caution against drawing conclusions from viral demonstrations on social media, citing instances of autonomous systems failing. “You should be very careful about forming your perspective on technology based on Twitter hype and watching Twitter demonstrations,” he remarked.
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For Qureshi, striking demonstrations do not equate to systems that are sufficiently robust for managing significant capital. Regarding major consumer platforms, he bluntly added, “You cannot do that sh**.”
Sethi, on the other hand, contended that the rate of advancement is exponential and is already transforming financial infrastructure. “We believe we know what’s going to occur,” he stated. “The pace and magnitude of innovation… is exponential.” He noted that Kraken is already developing agent-like capabilities for clients that are “weeks and months away — not years away.”
While Qureshi identifies a considerable reliability threshold before widespread use, Sethi perceives rapid iteration as bridging the gap. “The attack surface expands as much as the security surface expands,” he mentioned, indicating that defensive capabilities will grow in tandem with risk.
The debate intensified during a quick-fire round. When asked what portion of his own portfolio an AI could manage more effectively today, Qureshi cautiously replied: “Five percent.”
Sethi’s counter was: “One hundred.”
When further pressed on whether he would invest all his cryptocurrency into an autonomous agent within a year, Sethi responded without hesitation.
“Everything,” he stated. “In the next six to twelve months.”
This exchange highlighted a broader division within the cryptocurrency sector: whether autonomous finance is an imminent reality or still an experimental frontier, and how much risk the industry is prepared to accept in determining this.
Read more: Crypto venture capital firm Dragonfly raises $650 million despite ‘gloom of a bear market‘
