At NEARCON 2026, a heated debate unfolded between Dragonfly's Haseeb Qureshi and Kraken co-CEO Arjun Sethi regarding the readiness of AI to manage cryptocurrency. Both leaders agree on AI's eventual role in capital management but differ on timing and risk. Qureshi emphasized the need for extreme reliability, arguing that current AI systems are not yet robust enough for significant economic activity. He cautioned against overestimating AI's capabilities based on social media demonstrations. Conversely, Sethi highlighted the rapid pace of AI development, asserting that Kraken is close to deploying agent-like capabilities for its customers. He believes that AI's exponential improvement will soon make it viable for managing substantial portfolios. The debate highlighted a growing divide in the crypto industry over the immediacy of autonomous finance and the acceptable level of risk in its adoption.