Franklin Templeton Says Agentic AI Is Crypto's 'Killer Use Case'
Franklin Templeton’s Sandy Kaul argues that agentic AI will drive crypto adoption because autonomous AI systems need payment rails built for machine-to-machine transactions, not traditional bank networks. Agentic AI goes beyond chatbots: once authorized, it can shop, book, and pay independently. Forecasts cited in the paper suggest agents could handle 15% to 25% of U.S. e-commerce by 2030, with agentic commerce potentially reaching $3 trillion to $5 trillion. Kaul says conventional payment systems are too slow and settlement-heavy for high-volume micropayments, while blockchains can record and settle transactions directly. She points to faster chains like Solana, Aptos, and BNB, plus emerging agent payment tools from Coinbase, Google, and the x402 initiative. Her main conclusion: investors seeking exposure to decentralized AI commerce may need to own the underlying cryptocurrencies and tokens.
