About this episode
AI agents want to buy things. The internet tells them to ask a human.Coinbase’s Kevin Leffew joins ZEROPOD to talk wallets for agents, crypto-native payments, and why AgentKit might be the missing link between AI and autonomy.Timestamps:0:00 Intro — “Every agent deserves a wallet”1:52 Opening monologue and guest intro2:24 What is Zero Rights Media?3:35 Kevin’s early life and interest in tech4:55 Founding the Wake Forest “Fintech” Club6:00 First crypto aha moment6:53 Microsoft and early blockchain work8:03 Azure Blockchain Workbench9:15 File integrity, POA Ethereum, and L2s10:00 Working at Storj and S3 compatibility11:13 Decentralized object storage and crypto incentives13:10 Transitioning to AI — distributed infra and agents13:35 Working at Replit + Hugging Face hackathon14:53 What is Replit?15:49 AI-native coding environments16:52 From crypto aha to AI aha17:33 Joining Coinbase & the “every agent needs a wallet” thesis19:00 AgentKit: letting AI agents take onchain actions20:35 Agents procuring cloud resources autonomously21:53 Onchain kit + trust in agentic commerce25:01 Natural language agents with real-time data26:16 Can agents create content too?27:26 Are we past the Turing Test?28:40 Crypto as global registry + file integrity30:33 Why AI needs crypto-native payments31:59 Replacing API keys with microtransactions (X-42)33:14 Agents accessing GPU, storage, and APIs34:22 Guardrails, alignment, and the “paperclip” problem36:02 Agents need cloud + context to perform37:57 Human adaptation and tech anxiety39:19 Coinbase AI Hackathon recap40:42 Jailbreaking agents to improve alignment41:59 Autonomous agents vs human-extensions43:33 The future of trading bots and flattened edge45:14 Meme coins, cults, and AI-led virality47:32 Determinism vs probabilism: crypto’s role in AI media49:01 X-42 platform: gasless micropayments over HTTP50:59 Why AI agents will face paywalls too52:04 Advice for new AI + crypto builders53:58 Lightning Round: Food, music, parenting, boxing55:56 Books: Gödel, Escher, Bach + The Sovereign Individual58:07 Favorite gadget (not iPhone)59:08 Travel: China, Colombia, Machu Picchu story1:01:12 Inspirational figures & risk-taking1:02:34 Productivity tips + AI tool stack1:04:27 “Not your models, not your brain”1:04:58 Black Mirror + AI satire1:05:18 Alternate career path: Venture1:06:06 Getting started with AgentKit1:07:00 “We’re all devs now”1:07:43 Outro and contact info
