TL;DR
- BlackRock says AI agents could create new demand for crypto infrastructure as autonomous software begins paying for data, APIs, computing power and other services.
- Stablecoins could become the preferred payment rail because they support programmable, low-value transactions without requiring traditional banking workflows.
- The firm also identifies tokenized claims on computing capacity as a potential digital-asset market, although current agentic payment activity remains at an early stage.
BlackRock is linking the growth of artificial intelligence with a potential new source of crypto demand. In its latest research paper, “The Machine-Native Economy,” the asset manager argues that autonomous AI agents could increasingly use blockchains, stablecoins and tokenized assets to pay for services without direct human intervention.
Our latest research paper explores the growing connection between AI and digital assets and explains why broad AI adoption may drive new demand, utility and applications across the digital asset economy. https://t.co/z5T88Orble pic.twitter.com/GMxQqTVmUN
— BlackRock (@BlackRock) September 22, 2026
BlackRock Sees AI Agents Driving Crypto Demand
The central idea is the emergence of software that can plan and execute multi-step tasks independently. An AI agent could purchase an API call, access a dataset, rent computing capacity or complete another digital service while managing payment as part of the same workflow.
BlackRock argues that traditional financial infrastructure was primarily designed around human users, accounts and authorization processes. By contrast, stablecoins can provide programmable, continuous settlement that fits machine-to-machine transactions, particularly when individual payments are extremely small.
The paper describes AI as “machine-native intelligence” and digital assets as “machine-native money.” BlackRock also identifies several emerging payment standards, including Coinbase’s x402, as infrastructure that could connect autonomous software with digital services.
The technology is already moving beyond theory. Coinbase says x402 has processed more than $54 million in cumulative volume and more than 230 million transactions, while Amazon Bedrock AgentCore Payments supports autonomous stablecoin payments through x402 and Coinbase infrastructure.
However, current activity remains relatively small compared with the potential market BlackRock describes. TRM Labs analyzed $52.7 million in x402 settlements and estimated that only 0.6% to 7.5% of screened commerce appeared genuinely agentic, depending on the methodology used.
Tokenized Compute Could Expand Crypto’s Role
BlackRock’s thesis extends beyond payments. The firm sees computing capacity itself potentially becoming a standardized digital asset market, allowing claims on compute resources to be traded, financed or used as collateral.
That could give AI agents another reason to interact with blockchain infrastructure. Instead of negotiating traditional cloud contracts, an autonomous system could potentially identify available capacity, compare prices and settle for computing resources through programmable transactions.
The broader implication is that crypto could serve as financial infrastructure for increasingly automated economic activity. Stablecoins would handle payments, blockchains could provide settlement, and tokenization could connect digital systems with financial and physical resources.
