I've been keeping an eye on Kite AI these past few weeks.
To be honest, it just happens to coincide with the holiday, and the overall crypto circle has slowed down, becoming less noisy, which makes such projects more prominent. It doesn't rely on memes, it doesn't paint big dreams, nor does it rush to shout slogans. It feels more like: it knows something is happening, and it doesn't need you to believe it immediately.
That matter is —
AI agents will eventually learn to manage money on their own.
Not every step requires confirmation from others, and not every expenditure prompts a pop-up asking you 'Do you agree?'. It's about truly functioning independently.
First, lay out the surface information.
KITE launched in early November through Binance Launchpool, being the 71st project. On the third day, the trading volume surged to over $260 million. Then, quite naturally, the price fell back.
Around December 24, the price is near $0.09, with a market cap of about $160 million and a daily trading volume of over $30 million.
Circulation of 1.8 billion, total of 10 billion, fully diluted valuation is just over $900 million.
These numbers, to be honest, are not what I care about the most.
What really makes me take a closer look is what problem it is actually solving.
Kite is an EVM-compatible Layer 1, using PoS, but the core is not the old phrases of 'faster and cheaper'.
It is specifically designed for agent payments.
What about the AI tools you are currently using, whether for data scanning, discussing authorization, or doing some collaborative creation, where are you stuck?
Money.
Costs.
Delay.
And those hands of yours that always need confirmation.
What Kite wants to do is to streamline this link.
Stablecoins can circulate natively.
Spending has a programmatic cap.
Every agent has a clear, verifiable identity to avoid the confusion of 'who is spending the money'.
For example, the design of sub-accounts is quite realistic.
A main wallet with several agents underneath.
Each agent has different permissions:
Research-based, spending up to $2,000 a month on subscriptions;
Execution-based, can only be used within designated services.
The fast parts are done off-chain, leaving traces of the final result on-chain.
There are some interesting details.
x402, this old network standard is being pulled out again for direct negotiation between machines.
Someone is already discussing the integration possibilities of Shopify—
If it really gets going, robots placing orders and managing procurement is not a fantasy.
Where does the money come from?
Currently disclosed financing exceeds $33 million.
Series A $18 million, led by PayPal Ventures and General Catalyst.
Coinbase Ventures, Samsung Next are also involved.
These names at least indicate one thing:
They are not here to speculate on concepts.
Of course, I am not at the point of being fully bullish.
The path of AI + blockchain has been hot in the past, and also cold.
The problem is there:
Will developers really create things around this architecture?
Can agents really get to a point of 'not being able to leave'?
Will unlocking the rhythm cause price congestion?
If the agent spends money incorrectly, how is the responsibility calculated?
And don't forget, competitors are not fools either.
Parallel thinking is already being sketched out.
But think from another angle.
If by 2026, agents start doing some 'small and dense' things:
Small-scale arbitrage.
Copyright collaboration revenue sharing.
Low-friction donation routing.
Once this railway is laid, you might not even notice it; it is already running in the background.
No wonder such posts on Binance Square and Creator Pad are more likely to spark discussions rather than mindlessly shouting bullish.
Because it's not asking 'will it rise or not',
But it's a more poignant question:
Are you willing to let agents manage money themselves?
Is this a leap, or a risk point that needs to be checked repeatedly?
In these days of the overall market slowing down, this problem is even clearer.
