BlackRock says AI agents could use stablecoins to pay for data and computing power
Summary
BlackRock says autonomous AI agents could boost digital-asset adoption by using blockchains to pay for services, data and computing without human intervention. Stablecoins may benefit first because they offer relatively stable pricing and round-the-clock settlement; Coinbase’s x402 protocol is one emerging option for agent payments, though traditional payment networks are also adapting. Longer term, digital-asset infrastructure could support trading or financing standardized claims on computing capacity as AI demand rises. The paper notes that agent payments are still nascent and liquid markets for compute contracts have not yet developed.
