Investment firm BlackRock has released an analytical report titled The Machine-Native Economy. Experts within the company assert that the widespread adoption of artificial intelligence will serve as a significant, albeit currently underestimated, factor driving demand for digital assets.
The report's authors argue that the development of autonomous AI agents will necessitate a new financial infrastructure for machine-to-machine payments. Traditional banking channels are unsuitable for these tasks, as they require human intervention for account creation and data verification, and the fees associated with transactions make micropayments that cost less than a cent impractical.
Blockchain networks, stablecoins, and tokenized real-world assets are seen as the most appropriate solutions for round-the-clock automated transactions. Analysts highlighted that stablecoins are poised to lead the way in transactions between software agents.
Another promising area identified by BlackRock is the market for computational power. The demand for chips used in training neural networks is rapidly increasing. Developers seek price guarantees, while equipment suppliers need risk protection. Rights to computational resources could be tokenized, allowing them to be freely sold, transferred, or used as collateral in financial markets. Consequently, AI agents would be able to purchase processing time independently, without intermediaries.
These insights from the Wall Street giant align with views expressed by leaders in the crypto industry. Earlier, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong stated that the rise of neural networks would only bolster the position of cryptocurrencies. He noted that autonomous programs require programmable money rather than traditional bank accounts.
Developers are already working on the necessary tools for such transactions. For instance, protocols like x402 from Coinbase and the Machine Payments Protocol from Tempo enable AI agents to directly pay for access to servers and online services.
It’s worth noting that in March, Bernstein specialists described digital assistants as the future of stablecoins. Later, Franklin Templeton remarked that AI agents could become a driving force behind crypto payments.
In August, Max Wodington, a senior analyst at Fidelity Digital Assets, evaluated the limits of AI’s impact on the crypto market.
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