Crypto CEO Trusts AI with 100% of His Crypto, But Dragonfly’s Qureshi Isn’t Convinced

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Kraken’s co-CEO could trust AI with 100% of his crypto — Dragonfly’s Haseeb Qureshi isn’t convincedFinance

What to know:

  • Crypto has a habit of declaring the future early. In recent months, that instinct has fixated on autonomous AI agents, self-driving wallets and trading systems that can move capital without human oversight.
  • At NEARCON 2026, Dragonfly’s Haseeb Qureshi and Kraken co-CEO Arjun Sethi delivered a sharp debate over how soon those agents can be trusted with real money.
  • The core disagreement wasn’t about whether agents will eventually manage capital, both believe they will, but about timing and risk tolerance.

In this article

BTCBTC$64,626.52◢4.44%

The world of cryptocurrency is known for predicting future trends, and recently, all eyes are on AI-powered systems. These include self-operating wallets and trading programs designed to manage money automatically, without needing human control.

During NEARCON 2026, Haseeb Qureshi from Dragonfly and Arjun Sethi, co-CEO of Kraken, had a lively discussion about when it will be safe to let AI agents manage real financial transactions.

The main point of contention wasn’t *if* automated systems would eventually handle investments, but *when* and how much risk they should take. Both sides agreed automation was coming, they just differed on the pace and acceptable level of risk.

According to Qureshi, systems that function reliably with money most of the time aren’t practical for real-world economic use. He believes even a 95% success rate isn’t good enough, explaining that things often start with a long period of inactivity before a sudden surge in activity. He feels we’re currently experiencing that period of inactivity.

Qureshi believes the tech industry might be exaggerating how advanced the technology actually is. He warned against getting overly excited by impressive demos seen on social media, noting that self-operating systems often have problems. He advised people not to base their understanding of technology on hype and short videos found on platforms like Twitter.

Qureshi believes that flashy demos don’t equal reliable systems capable of handling real money. He stated frankly that major consumer platforms simply can’t operate with such instability.

Sethi believes progress in this area is happening incredibly fast and is already changing how financial systems work. He stated, “We have a good idea of what’s coming,” emphasizing that the speed and level of innovation are growing exponentially. He also mentioned that Kraken is developing features that will act like personal assistants for customers, and these advancements are expected in just a matter of weeks or months, not years.

Qureshi believes new technology needs to be extremely reliable before it can be widely used, but Sethi thinks improvements will happen quickly, closing any reliability gaps. Sethi explained that as technology becomes more complex and introduces new vulnerabilities, security measures will also improve to match those risks.

The discussion reached a clear point during a quick question-and-answer session. When asked how much of his investments AI could currently handle better than he could, Qureshi responded carefully: “Just five percent.”

Sethi’s response: “One hundred.”

When asked if he’d invest all of his cryptocurrency into an automated system within a year, Sethi answered immediately without hesitation.

“Everything,” he said. “In the next six to twelve months.”

As I’ve been observing, a real divide is forming within the crypto space. The core question seems to be whether we’re on the verge of a fully self-running financial system, or if that’s still a long way off. Tied to that is how much risk the industry is willing to take to actually find out – it’s a debate about speed versus caution, really.

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2026-02-24 00:39