BlackRock: AI Robots Could Become Crypto's Next Big Buyers

The world's largest asset manager says AI agents making their own payments could drive huge demand for stablecoins.

Imagine a robot assistant that not only finds you a flight, but also books it and pays for it — all on its own. BlackRock, the world's largest asset manager (a company that invests money on behalf of others, handling trillions of dollars), thinks this future is coming fast. And it says crypto could be the money these robots use.

In a new research paper called *"The Machine-Native Economy,"* BlackRock argues that AI agents (smart computer programs that can plan and complete tasks by themselves) will soon need to pay for things. The problem? Traditional payment systems weren't built for machines.

Here's why:

Opening a bank account or getting a credit card requires a real human with an ID.
Card fees make sense for a $40 purchase, but not for tiny payments worth a fraction of a cent.
AI works 24/7 and needs to pay instantly.

BlackRock's solution: stablecoins (a type of cryptocurrency tied to a steady value like the U.S. dollar, so the price doesn't jump around like Bitcoin). Stablecoins can move any time of day, settle almost instantly, and don't need a bank.

The numbers show fast growth:

Stablecoin transactions topped $11 trillion in 2025 — roughly matching Visa and Mastercard.
Stablecoin volume has grown about 80% per year since 2020.
The older bank transfer system (ACH) grew just 8.5% per year.

But real usage by AI is still tiny. A study by TRM Labs (a company that tracks blockchain activity) found AI agents account for only 0.6% to 7.5% of payments on Coinbase's new x402 system. Most traffic is still ordinary automated scripts, not true AI.

BlackRock also floats a bold new idea: turning computing power (the server capacity needed to run AI) into tradable contracts — similar to how oil or wheat is traded today.

The takeaway: BlackRock isn't saying this is happening at scale yet. Instead, it believes the "plumbing" is being built now, ahead of a future where machines shop and pay for themselves.

This is an AI-generated summary. Read the original article at: https://decrypt.co/379070/blackrock-ai-agents-crypto-next-demand-wave