AI agents need intent-based blockchain infrastructure
Opinion by Adrian Brink, co‑founder of Anoma
Web3 was built around decentralization, sovereignty, verifiability and resilience. The rapid emergence of AI agents threatens those values unless agents are integrated with intent‑centric, sovereign infrastructure. If developers keep grafting opaque, centralized agent stacks onto blockchain systems, they risk replicating the same power asymmetries and privacy failures that Web3 set out to fix.
AI agents promise much—smoother user experiences, automated workflows, and more intuitive interactions with on‑chain services. Yet most agents today rely on black‑box large language models that are unverifiable and prone to hallucinations. That combination is particularly dangerous when agents handle financial assets or sensitive personal data.
Privacy is non‑negotiable
Many current agent implementations run on centralized infrastructure and closed algorithms, leaving users with little control over their data or how decisions are executed. That model risks recreating Web2‑style data ownership and surveillance inside the crypto ecosystem.
Intent‑based systems offer a different approach. An intent defines a user’s desired outcome and becomes the unit of interaction between users, agents and the blockchain. When intents are resolved by a decentralized network of competing solvers or agentic nodes, users retain control over their data and outcomes, while the UX benefits of automation are preserved.
The centralization trap
Without intent‑centric design, agent adoption could accelerate market consolidation. If agent marketplaces are not decentralized and competitive, dominant LLM providers or a single mega‑agent could capture order flow and exert outsized influence over transactions and user decisions.
By contrast, intent infrastructure enables interoperable marketplaces of specialized agents. In such a marketplace, agents can communicate, specialize, share order flow and compete to satisfy users’ intents. That competitive environment reduces the risk of monopolization and creates clearer accountability for outcomes.
Realizing the full potential of agents
Intents do more than protect values; they expand agent capabilities. Acting as a common language, intents let agents interoperate—coordinating multi‑step operations, trading with one another and executing cross‑chain transactions. Generalized intents allow agents to tackle complex, end‑to‑end user requests, unlocking novel DeFi applications and UX improvements that can make Web3 competitive with Web2 experiences.
A match made in DeFi
Combining AI agents with intent‑based infrastructure can redefine how users interact with decentralized systems while preserving the core tenets of Web3. Intents bridge users and agents, delivering UX enhancements without sacrificing decentralization, sovereignty or verifiability. As AI grows more pervasive, intent infrastructure will be a fundamental requirement for integrating AI into DeFi in a way that serves users rather than consolidating power.
Intents are not merely a UX convenience; they are critical infrastructure. Adopting intent‑centric systems now gives the industry a better chance of maintaining an open, decentralized future as agentic technologies mature.
Disclaimer: This article is provided for general information and reflects the author’s opinions. It should not be taken as legal or investment advice.
