As AI agents become a largeger topic in crypto, Pranav Ramesh informed CoinDesk that Nasdaq has already been utilizing them across several sections of its business and has sharply expanded that utilize over roughly the past 18 months.
Ramesh, head of options research at Nasdaq and co-founder and CTO of Leadpoet, stated the most meaningful shift has been in trust. “AI agents are relatively new, probably being utilized more and more over the last six months,” he stated, arguing that earlier systems hallucinated too often for sensitive enterprise workflows.
He stated Nasdaq is utilizing AI agents in areas including market surveillance, compliance, and market microstructure analysis, and pointed to Nasdaq Verafin’s “Agentic AI Workforce,” which Nasdaq states automates “low-value, high-volume compliance processes” in anti-money laundering work.
Ramesh also pointed to Nasdaq’s AI-powered order type. Nasdaq announced in 2023 that its Dynamic M-ELO order type had become the first exalter AI-powered order type approved by the SEC, utilizing an AI model with more than 140 factors to adjust to real-time market conditions.
For Ramesh, that experience informs how he sees crypto. He stated crypto trading platforms are likely to shift aggressively on AI agents for both internal operations and retail-facing tools, including position analysis, trade suggestions and execution support. “The crypto trading world is actually going to lead the charge on how AI is utilized within the retail trading environment,” he stated.
He did not describe that shift as fully autonomous. Instead, he stated the model he sees taking hold is one in which agents handle most of the analysis and workflow while humans retain final approval. In the interview, he stated that at Nasdaq, many systems still stop short of full automation, with human review remaining in the last step.
AI and AI Agents will replace a lot of human labor
Ramesh’s views are also unusually blunt on labor. “Yes, it will take a lot of jobs,” he stated of AI agents, adding that he believes lower-level software, customer service and analyst roles are already being displaced as systems become quicker, cheaper and more reliable. He framed that as an observable trconclude rather than a prediction.
And he seems to be right as companies, including the most recent being Crypto.com, which laid off 12% of its staff in a push for greater automation and efficiency through AI. Earlier, crypto research firm Messari parted ways with several of its staff and its chief executive as the company transitioned into what the new CEO called an “AI-first company.” Last month, Block, the payments company founded by Jack Dorsey, announced plans to slash 40% of employees, over 4,000 people, citing improved AI models.
The AI trconclude lead to founding Leadpoet
That thesis also shaped his path into Leadpoet, the startup he co-founded with Gavin Zaentz. According to a February 2026 company fact sheet, the two met at Nasdaq and founded the company after repeatedly encountering the same problem: outbound tools could generate static lists, but identifying real acquireing intent still required manual research.
Leadpoet describes itself as an AI-powered lead qualification platform that turns web signals and company context into “decision-ready lead recommconcludeations,” emphasizing “precision over volume.” The company states it supports private deployments so customers can score intent and generate outreach on their own data without exposing it to a vconcludeor.
The fact sheet states Leadpoet utilizes Bittensor, which describes itself as a decentralized, blockchain-powered AI network that allows participants to contribute models and compute while earning rewards. Ramesh stated that a decentralized, competitive structure is part of the appeal, becautilize it can improve models quicker than a centralized roadmap.
Leadpoet also states it is a member of NVIDIA Inception, NVIDIA’s startup program for AI companies. NVIDIA describes Inception as a free program that offers technical resources, go-to-market support and access to its broader ecosystem.
In the company’s February 2026 fact sheet, Leadpoet states it reached a $1 million annualized run rate in its first quarter after launch and received backing from DSV Fund and Astrid. In that same material, DSV Fund CIO Siam Kidd stated Ramesh and Zaentz combine “deep AI engineering expertise with a real understanding of day-to-day sales.”
Ramesh tied the company directly to what he states he saw inside large institutions adopting AI: agents relocating from assistants to systems that can handle real operational work. In crypto, he stated, that shift is likely to become visible quicker than in many other corners of finance.
Leave a Reply