TLDR
- BlackRock says AI adoption could become a major driver of digital asset demand.
- AI agents may use stablecoins to pay for data, APIs, services and computing power.
- Stablecoins are expected to lead machine-to-machine payments because of stable pricing and 24/7 settlement.
- Computing capacity could eventually be tokenized, traded or used as collateral.
- BlackRock says both agent payments and tokenized compute markets are still at an early stage.
Artificial intelligence could become a major new source of demand for crypto infrastructure as autonomous agents begin making purchases without direct human involvement, according to new research from BlackRock.
In its paper, The Machine-Native Economy, the world’s largest asset manager argues that AI provides the intelligence needed to make decisions, while digital assets could provide the payment infrastructure needed to act on those decisions.
Stablecoins Could Power AI Agent Payments
BlackRock sees payments as the clearest near-term opportunity. AI agents could eventually pay for data, API calls, digital services and computing capacity automatically rather than waiting for a person to approve each transaction.
The firm said stablecoins are particularly suited to this type of activity because their value is relatively stable and blockchain networks can operate around the clock. BlackRock also pointed to programmable crypto infrastructure that could support frequent, very small machine-to-machine payments.
One example is the x402 payment protocol, which allows software agents to pay for online resources during a request. Circle has also launched Agent Stack, which gives AI agents tools to hold USDC, discover services and make payments programmatically.
Circle said in August that more than 900 paid services were already available through Agent Stack and that USDC accounted for 99.3% of x402 agent-payment volume tracked by the company.
Computing Power Could Become a Tradable Asset
BlackRock also sees a longer-term opportunity around AI computing capacity. As demand for processors and cloud infrastructure grows, companies may want new ways to secure capacity, lock in costs and manage exposure.
The firm suggests that claims on computing capacity could eventually be tokenized and then transferred, traded or pledged as collateral. AI agents themselves could use these markets to automatically purchase additional computing resources when required.
BlackRock cited analyst estimates suggesting revenue from the major cloud businesses of Amazon, Microsoft and Google could reach roughly $1.1 trillion by 2030.
A liquid market for standardized compute contracts does not yet exist, however, and BlackRock stressed that this part of the idea remains at an early stage.
The broader thesis is that AI and digital assets could increasingly reinforce each other, with autonomous software creating demand for programmable money while blockchain infrastructure gives AI agents a way to transact. For investors, the opportunity remains largely prospective, and adoption will depend on regulation, infrastructure, security and whether businesses choose blockchain-based payments over improving traditional systems.
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