OpenLedger’s Ram Kumar sees agentic payments as crypto’s first AI ‘killer app’

OpenLedger core contributor Ram Kumar sees agentic payments as crypto's first AI "killer app," arguing that AI agents will turn to crypto because they cannot open bank accounts or complete know-your-customer checks.“The natural way for an agent to use and transact, at least in the next few years, will be crypto," Kumar told The Block's Kelvin Sparks at the Wyoming Blockchain Symposium 2026."An agent cannot create a bank account, it cannot do KYC and stuff," he said. “The easiest access is obviously to use crypto to pay."Kumar said agent-driven trading would be the next major use case for AI in crypto. He said people already use AI to research tokens and stocks, with agents eventually taking on more of the trading process."The next evolution is to use agents to trade," Kumar said. “At least start with, like, very small amount and then increase from there."OpenLedger is also preparing to expand beyond its B2B-focused product to serve consumers, Kumar said. The platform will allow users to fine-tune AI models and access models available on the platform, while the company plans to add more privacy options."The next couple of years will also be a focus on the B2C market from OpenLedger," Kumar said.The company has focused on AI infrastructure since raising an $8 million seed round led by Polychain Capital and Borderless Capital in 2024. Last November, it launched OPEN Mainnet, designed to track AI data provenance and distribute rewards to contributors.Kumar said OpenLedger views blockchain as a service layer for AI rather than the product itself. He envisions it for privacy, data transparency, and reward distribution.The company is also betting on open-source models. Kumar said OpenLedger wants to eventually let consumers build customized AI models without code, extending its existing model fine-tuning capabilities beyond developers and enterprises."We want to make sure that how we can bring it to the larger masses," Kumar said. "In the future, we would ideally want any Joe and Jack to go ahead and use our product and build their own version of AI that they need, which is completely no code."Disclaimer: The Block is an independent media outlet that delivers news, research, and data. As of November 2023, Foresight Ventures is a majority investor of The Block. Foresight Ventures invests in other companies in the crypto space. Crypto exchange Bitget is an anchor LP for Foresight Ventures. The Block continues to operate independently to deliver objective, impactful, and timely information about the crypto industry. Here are our current financial disclosures.© 2026 The Block. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.