Crypto’s next billion users might be AI agents, and they’re paying with stablecoins
Major fintech and crypto companies are developing payment infrastructure specifically for AI agents to conduct autonomous transactions. Stablecoins are currently favored for these machine-to-machine payments due to their efficiency and programmability.
Why it matters
This represents a fundamental shift in the digital economy where software, rather than humans, becomes the primary driver of transaction volume.
Those users may soon arrive, but not in the form executives once expected. They won’t be underbanked people in the developing world, or people seeking a way to escape hyperinflation. In fact, the industry’s next big wave of users might not be people at all — they might be software.
AI agents, artificial intelligence software capable of carrying out multi-step tasks, are now transacting on behalf of their users. To perform these tasks, an agent often needs to purchase something.
Crypto and fintech giants alike are rushing in to build the rails — and the money — these agents will use. Coinbase has developed x402, a payment protocol for AI agents, while MoonPay’s PayBox gives agents access to their users’ cards and crypto wallets.
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