Everyone in the blockchain community is talking about "modularization," but very few have actually implemented it thoroughly. I recently came across an architecture called Kite, which has a very unique approach—it doesn't pursue a large, all-encompassing general-purpose chain, but instead completely shifts its focus to serving AI agents (intelligent agents). Just like a highway specifically designed for autonomous driving, it's definitely different from a regular road.
1. Why is the general-purpose blockchain "laborious but thankless"?
Current blockchains like Ethereum and Solana are like "digital Swiss Army knives," trying to support everything: NFTs, DeFi, games, DAOs... The result is increasingly complex architectures, but stagnant efficiency. It's like a highway trying to accommodate bicycles, large trucks, and pedestrians—how can it not be congested?
Kite said: Stop messing around, let's just focus on serving one type of user—AI agents. They are the "main labor force" of the future digital economy.
The two- or four-layer architecture, with each layer addressing a real problem.
Layer 1: The underlying chain optimized specifically for proxies
It doesn't perform general calculations; it focuses solely on the operations that agents need most: stablecoin payments, status channels, and rapid final confirmation. In short, it makes transferring funds between agents as fast as sending a WeChat red envelope, and almost free.
The second layer: the platform layer – making developers as comfortable as Web2.
This layer is crucial. Previously, on-chain development required knowledge of cryptography, consensus mechanisms, gas optimization, and more. Now, Kite handles all of that, providing ready-made identity authentication, access control, and payment APIs. Developers only need to focus on the business their agents need to perform, without worrying about "how to put it on-chain."
The third layer: the programmable trust layer—issuing "digital passports" to agents.
This is the coolest layer, in my opinion. Each agent has a "Kite Passport," which is not just an ID, but also records its reputation, historical behavior, and which rules it has followed.
Even more impressive is the "Agent SLA" (Service Level Agreement). For example, an agent might promise to "process an order within 10 minutes," and this promise will be automatically recorded, enforced, and arbitrated. If problems arise, there will be no wrangling; instead, they will be handled automatically according to the agreement.
Fourth layer: Ecosystem layer – the agent's "app store"
This floor has two markets:
AI service marketplace: Agents can come here to "purchase capabilities", such as speech recognition and data analysis.
Proxy Marketplace: Different proxies can call and collaborate with each other. For example, a KYC proxy can be directly called by a payment proxy without redundant development.
III. What pain points does it actually solve?
Development efficiency: Previously, to put AI on the blockchain, the team had to become blockchain experts first. Now it's as simple as using a cloud computing API.
Trust cost: Through standardized SLAs, collaboration between agents does not require building trust from scratch; they can simply follow the agreement.
Interoperability: Many blockchain projects fail within their own small ecosystems. Kite is directly compatible with traditional protocols such as A2A and OAuth 2.1, and its agents can work with both Web3 and traditional systems.
Economic model: Agents can earn money, spend money, and buy services themselves—a true "digital labor economy" may emerge from here.
IV. A Possible Future Scenario
Imagine this:
You have a financial advisor who notices you often have tight cash flow at the end of the month, so it automatically borrows a short-term loan from a DeFi protocol, contacts your calendar advisor to reduce two meetings next week so you can take on more freelance work, and finally reminds your health advisor: "Master is under a lot of stress, don't push fitness classes tonight."
All of these operations are performed automatically, are traceable and auditable on Kite, and their execution quality is guaranteed through SLAs.
V. Remain Calm: Challenges Still Exist
Ecosystem cold start: No matter how good the architecture is, it's just an empty shell without enough proxies and services.
New security risk: Agents can act autonomously, and if manipulated by hackers, they may automatically execute malicious operations.
Regulatory adaptability: How are automatically enforced SLAs legally defined? How is liability allocated?
Conclusion: The next stage for Web3 may be the "proxy internet".
Kite inspired me to think that the next breakthrough for blockchain might not be direct human use, but rather AI-powered applications. Just like how the early internet saw people browsing web pages, and later programs calling APIs.
It doesn't try to replace existing blockchains, but rather says, "You take care of people's needs, and I'll provide the infrastructure for the agents."
If this idea holds true, in the future we may not interact directly with the blockchain, but rather through a proxy—this is the true "invisible blockchain".
