Bluwhale cofounders Han Jin and Adam Rowell quickly recognized that if consumers are going to trust AI agents to manage their financial security, they’ll need a better system than simply giving those agents blind access to banking and investment accounts. Their creation is an AI-native financial operating system that allows the user to retain control of data, accounts and permissions via blockchain technology and zero-knowledge proofs.
Jin’s AI experience dates back two decades. He said a main motivation behind creating Bluwhale was his fears over centralized AI.
“We fear for the future and what OpenAI and Anthropic can do for your financials.”
Why AI has grown so fast
Like many, Jin didn’t expect AI to progress this fast. Credit the progress of large language models after the advent of ChatGPT and OpenAI. That allowed creators to deliver an acceptable user experience.
However, in the wake of this AI explosion, many questions remain. What’s the best way to train agents? What’s the best way to transfer information to them? How should AI act in the physical world?
The race is on to address these concerns because younger consumers want their AI. Jin said Gen Z doesn’t want to go to banks and financial advisors for financial planning; they expect a more liquid process than sticking money in the bank and (slowly) watching it grow. Bad news for the establishment, as we’re in the early stages of a historical generational wealth transfer.
Why Bluwhale’s betting on the AI/blockchain combination
Bluwhale believes AI will do a better job of financial management. It works around the clock and makes more rational decisions. An organized system could deploy hundreds of agents to act on your behalf.
The Bluwhale system is a blockchain-based orchestration layer where agents use an individual’s financial services information to transact for them. It leverages zero-knowledge proof technology to encrypt information that is only available to user-permissioned agents.
Users can attach their information to a wallet or blockchain-based ID so agents can learn what services are best for them. They initially allocate small sums to control their risk exposure.
“Now, you’re in this self-sovereign environment where your data is protected and safe,” Jin said.
Jin contrasts his approach with the recent OpenAI/Plaid announcement that allows customers to securely connect their accounts to ChatGPT.
“That sounds scary to me,” he said. “Another agent I don’t understand is going to go into my bank account and start moving funds around?”
How Bluwhale is building trust
How does Jin plan on convincing users that Bluwhale’s system is safer? He doesn’t. Agents who want access have to pay users for their attention. Similar to when a credit card company checks your score, but this pays the user while providing personalized services.
“I’m being incentivized to give them visibility,” Jin said. “I’m getting better financial services that are tailored to me, and all of a sudden, this agent is growing my capital.”
Jin envisions Bluwhale being a modern-day Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval for agents appearing in the Bluwhale store. Working with regulators, Bluwhale will assess effectiveness and reliability before providing store access.
That will take time as regulators wrap their heads around the union of AI and financial services.
“We are in this grey zone period where agents work with regulators and rails to protect retail investors’ risk exposure,” Jin said. “They must address security, privacy and risk management.”
Moving beyond Web3 – It’s just a matter of time
Over time, Jin sees Bluwhale moving into Web2. That’s a much more regulated space than Web3. Agentic finance has some hurdles to jump over first.
“If we can manage that user journey in a way that a lot of things that could go bad are controlled through the application, then I believe that long-term, it’s approving the right AI for those services,” Jin said.
How quickly consumers adopt agentic AI also depends on how quickly the industry addresses AI-based scams. Fraudsters are early adopters of most technologies; left unchecked, they could weaponize agentic commerce and give the sector a black eye.
“It’s going to take time,” Jin conceded. “At some point, the regulator is going to crack down on this space. We’re in a period where it’s grey and very unregulated, but the willingness from Gen Z to interact with those services is incredible.”
And why is that?
“With adoption, my biggest bet is always on convenience,” Jin concluded. “Every technology you’ve seen that consumers adopted, no matter how advanced it was, was based on convenience.”