At first, I was skeptical about the Kite project. Over the past few years, I've heard too much about the AI + blockchain narrative, often involving grand promises paired with superficial demonstrations, and I've hardly seen any that can actually be implemented. The idea of AI agents paying each other sounds like a concept that hasn't yet found a real demand.
But after delving deeper, my doubts gradually faded. It's not because they are making grand claims about changing the world. On the contrary, what moved me was their calmness in addressing the problems that are right there; we are simply here to solve them.
You see, the current software, especially AI, is already capable of reasoning, planning, and working by itself. But once it comes to making a payment or settling a bill, it gets stuck immediately. The existing payment systems are all designed for humans, with each step assuming someone is there to click and press. As for blockchain, it's either managed by individuals with wallets or it's hard-coded smart contracts, which is also not quite right. What Kite does is build a bridge in between.
They created a dedicated Layer 1 blockchain, compatible with EVM, but optimized the underlying layer for real-time, high-frequency payment coordination between AI agents.
The key aspect of their design thinking is that they divide users, agents, and each specific session into three layers. As a user, you are always the boss; the agent is your authorized assistant, and the session is like a task assignment that limits what this assistant can do and how much they can move. This idea is not geekily romantic at all; it resembles the safety guidelines we follow during engineering. With layered defenses, if something happens, it can be precisely cut off without starting over. This gives me a sense of security; they acknowledge the risks and are seriously designing fallback plans.
Kite feels reliable because it emphasizes practicality over showmanship. Network optimization for real-time trading is necessary because agents need speed and stability, not just a visually appealing leaderboard. Costs must be low enough to support frequent small payments, and delays should be reliable rather than occasionally extreme. Kite does not attempt to be an all-purpose chain; its scope is intentionally narrow, targeting agents that require high-frequency reliable trading. EVM compatibility further reflects pragmatism, allowing developers to quickly get started, test, and integrate using familiar tools without needing to learn from scratch.
This makes me reflect that too many people in our industry have the order reversed. The project has hardly any users yet, but they first create a bunch of complex governance models; the product isn't even finished, and the token economics are thicker than the white paper. Kite's token planning appears quite restrained, encouraging everyone to use and play with it first, and only gradually introducing more complex functions once the ecosystem has truly developed. This is a practice that respects the rules.
Of course, there are still many issues. With AI agents running so fast, how can they be effectively supervised? If they mess up, who is responsible? Kite provides a programmable toolbox but does not arrogantly claim to solve everything. This honesty actually increases my favorability. I know that to truly make this work, having technology alone is not enough; it also requires a trust, norms, and supervision mechanisms that are built over time.
In summary, Kite did not make me feel exhilarated; instead, it made me think, yes, there should be something like this. The software is already running autonomously, and providing it with a safe, controllable payment method is like building a road for a moving car; it's a natural infrastructure. If it succeeds in the future, when we look back, we probably won't feel shocked, only that: oh, things should have been this way all along. In this industry, this sense of the obvious might be the rarest.
