AI agents are entering a new phase, moving beyond simply providing answers to making financial decisions and conducting transactions. This evolution is causing investors and major technology companies to reconsider how machine-driven commerce will be powered and which financial networks will benefit.
AI agents and decentralized finance
Cathie Wood, CEO of ARK Invest, said at Robinhood’s Summit in Houston that investors should now “follow the agents” to identify coming trends in technology. Wood referred to AI agents—software programs capable of performing tasks on behalf of users—as the next major area for investor focus. She stated that as these agents become more autonomous, their choices could significantly influence which networks and services rise to prominence.
Developers have historically indicated momentum in technology adoption since they tend to be early adopters of valuable tools. As AI agents start making independent choices regarding payment methods and service providers, their aggregated behavior could serve as an indicator of shifting demand in the digital economy.
Industry experts suggest that stablecoins and blockchain technologies are increasingly positioned to become essential payment rails for AI agents. With the automation of transactions like purchasing data, renting computing power or securing digital services, blockchains could enable these payments to occur directly between software agents, bypassing the need for traditional intermediaries.
The battle for agentic finance infrastructure
Joseph Chalom, co-CEO of SharpLink and previously head of digital assets at BlackRock, recently argued that the development of agentic finance should remain open, rather than being dominated by a small set of banks or technology companies. In a recent post, Chalom emphasized the importance of maintaining user control over how much authority is delegated to AI agents and preserving the ability to revoke such permissions or monitor agent activity.
In his analysis, Chalom stated that open blockchains like Ethereum could operate as universal financial networks for agents, apps and companies, removing the need for a single technology provider or bank to control every transaction across the system.
He further highlighted the importance of letting users transfer their AI agents—including identity and permissions—between financial providers, thus preventing lock-in to any single company. This approach would mirror number portability in the telecom sector, giving users more flexibility and control.
BlackRock’s research has taken a similar view. The asset manager noted that as AI agents increasingly carry out tasks such as paying for API calls, accessing data, or purchasing cloud computing time, there will be a growing need for payment systems tailored to machine-to-machine transactions.
Stablecoins and payment protocols for AI agents
Stablecoins have the potential to provide always-on, programmable transactions, while blockchain payment protocols can facilitate direct micropayments between software systems. Coinbase has responded to this trend with its x402 initiative, designed to let machines pay for key online resources without human involvement for each payment.
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong recently commented on X that Grok is currently the platform’s most active client among agentic traders, signalling early adoption, though no specific usage figures were released.
At the same time, established financial and technology companies are exploring their own solutions. Stripe, Visa, Google and OpenAI are all developing ways for AI agents to interact with traditional and modern payment systems, and BlackRock projected that conventional payment rails will continue to play a role even as new alternatives emerge.
Investor focus on payment networks and tools
This competitive landscape highlights why Wood’s guidance to “follow the agents” is now relevant for crypto investors and industry observers. If AI agents become central economic actors, tracking how they transact will be crucial in assessing whether new payment technologies—such as stablecoins and blockchains—gain practical traction or whether agent-driven commerce remains anchored in traditional systems.
Given the rapidly shifting market, investors are increasingly seeking integrated and privacy-focused solutions for monitoring charts, news, and portfolios. In a market where a single Fed decision or a sudden altcoin listing can change everything in seconds, the need for responsive tools is growing. Privacy-first apps like CryptoAppsy are gaining traction among active traders, enabling real-time monitoring, smart price notifications, and access to critical macroeconomic data without requiring users to create accounts or switch between multiple platforms.
If AI agents continue to assume greater roles in handling digital transactions, both investors and developers will likely pay close attention to which networks gain adoption—whether on open blockchains, centralized systems, or a combination of both.
