#11: Are Stablecoins the Native Currency of AI?

What happens when money that can move itself meets AI that can act on its own?

We may be on the edge of a major shift in how value flows online.

This article explores:

• What “AI in crypto” currently means

• What agentic AI is and why it matters

• Why stablecoins are positioned to become the native money for autonomous AI systems

• The potential impact on commerce, payments, and financial infrastructure

AI in Crypto Today

At the moment, most “AI in crypto” falls into a few categories:

• Trading automation and quant optimization

• AI developer tools and code assistants

• Market analytics and research agents

• Infrastructure tokens related to compute or data (e.g., FET, RNDR, GRT, AGIX)

Useful, but these are still AI tools supporting humans.

The next phase is very different: AI systems acting independently, not waiting for instructions.

What Is Agentic AI?

Agentic AI refers to AI systems that:

• Set and pursue goals

• Break tasks into steps

• Gather information

• Make decisions

• Execute actions autonomously

They don’t just answer queries.

They do work.

Familiar examples outside crypto:

• An AI assistant that books your flights, hotels and transport end-to-end

• An email agent that prioritizes messages and replies automatically

• A warehouse robot system that manages its own routing and scheduling

The defining feature:

Continuous decision-making without human oversight.

Why Stablecoins Matter Here

For an autonomous agent to operate in the real economy, it needs:

1. Money it can hold and control programmatically

2. A payment system that works globally and instantly

3. Predictable pricing (no volatility)

4. The ability to transact without relying on bank-hours or intermediaries

Stablecoins solve all of these.

Stablecoins are:

• Digital dollars, globally available

• Fiat-pegged, so value is stable

• Programmable via smart contracts

• Fast and cheap to move

• Native to the internet

Stablecoins are the closest thing to a native currency for autonomous software.

They give AI spending power.

Agentic E-Commerce: A Near-Term Shift

Instead of users manually visiting shops, websites, and marketplaces, the flow flips:

You state intent:

“I need new running shoes.”

Your AI agent:

1. Searches across merchants

2. Compares prices, delivery speed, return policies, environmental ratings

3. Negotiates discounts or matches loyalty benefits

4. Selects the optimal option

5. Pays with stablecoins

6. Tracks delivery and handles returns if needed

The shopping experience moves from:

Store → Consumer

to

Consumer Intent → Agent → Market → Delivery

Commerce becomes API-first, not website-first.

Stablecoins make settlement:

• Instant

• Borderless

• Low-cost

This greatly reduces payment friction, especially for international merchants.

Other Practical Use Cases Emerging

• Autonomous subscription and bill payments

• DAO treasury agents executing financial strategies

• Freelancers and microworkers paid directly in stablecoins

• Stablecoin-based machine-to-machine payments (charging stations, compute markets)

• Early experiments in agent-driven trading and liquidity management

We are early, but prototypes are already visible.

What Infrastructure Will Be Needed Next

To support agentic AI economies, several layers must mature:

• Wallets that AIs can operate safely (permission frameworks, spending limits, audit logs)

• Identity and authorization systems (who “owns” the agent and the money it controls)

• Compliance rails (KYB/KYC for autonomous entities)

• Secure execution environments that ensure agents act as intended

• Market protocols designed for negotiation and price discovery between agents

These are not small tasks — but they are solvable.

Closing Thoughts

Stablecoins are money that software can move.

Agentic AI is software that can make decisions.

Combine the two, and you don’t just automate payments —

you create economic agents that participate in markets.

This could shift the internet from:

• Human-led payments

  to

• Autonomous, intent-driven economic interactions

The long-term implication is profound:

Money will not just be held by humans.

It will be used by software acting on our behalf — and sometimes on its own.

We may be witnessing the early blueprint of an economy where value moves by itself.

A bit scary, but man, what a time to be alive!

Thanks for reading in 🤍

// Kai