Venture capital firms are excited about artificial intelligence agents but have yet to invest in them, according to a panel discussion at Consensus 2025 in Hong Kong.
Paul Veradittakit, managing partner at Pantera Capital, Dragonfly partner “GM,” Maelstrom head of investments Akshat Vaidya and CMCC Global co-founder Martin Baumann shared their outlooks on AI agents during the Consensus 2025 event.
From bringing high-frequency trading to retail investors and enhancing crypto security to becoming the most dominant form of user interaction, crypto VC executives shared their perspectives on AI agents and how they may impact the digital asset space in the future.
Still, the panelists noted that while AI agents present exciting possibilities, they have yet to commit capital to the niche, suggesting it may be too early for investment.
Panel on crypto VCs and artificial intelligence. Source: Consensus 2025 Hong Kong
How AI agents and crypto intersect
Veradittakit said there are significant opportunities to utilize AI agents in crypto. He identified crypto trading as a logical area for AI agent integration, predicting that AI-powered trading may increase volumes exponentially as the AI agents are smart and quick and can act on behalf of users.
They could seamlessly enter and exit different types of products and make decentralized finance (DeFi) trades. “It’s really the future of how financial services will be done,” Veradittakit said.
Dragonfly partner GM added that AI agents could also benefit from crypto. The executive said that crypto could reinforce and improve the safety of AI agents.
According to GM, AI agents could participate in hackathons with crypto as the prize. It could incentivize the push for safety enhancements for AI agents. “I think that’s actually one of the very interesting angles where crypto helps AI agents and AI agent research to improve,” he said.
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AI agents are not “investable” yet
While the VC executives laid out potential crypto interactions with AI agents, they said they had not yet invested in the niche.
Vaidya said that AI agents are “not investable yet.” However, the executive was hopeful that AI agents will be able to participate in real-world interactions in the future. He said he’s most excited about a future where agents can interact with the regulatory compliance infrastructure. He said:
“You can imagine using an AI agent, for example, to execute a rollup strategy of veterinary labs in New Jersey, right? They can go and create the LLCs. They can go hire the people and actually execute the deals, or at least help you execute the deals.”
The executive said that this is when the world completely changes. “I don’t think any of us prepared for a world that looks like that.”
Baumann also said that while the CMCC team was monitoring AI agents, they had not yet invested in them. The executive said they are more focused on the infrastructure at the moment.
GM echoed this sentiment, saying that it’s currently difficult to make an investment on what the landscape may look like, especially for those operating in a venture capacity. The executive said that VCs must consider what may happen in a three- to five-year timeline before deploying their funds.
While AI agents are exciting, Veradittakit said they will take “a bit of time to get there.”
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