Stablecoins Seen Powering Future AI-Driven Machine Payments

TheNewsCryptoPublicado a 2026-03-23Actualizado a 2026-03-23

Resumen

Bernstein analysts highlight the growing potential for stablecoins, particularly USDC through the collaboration of Circle and Coinbase, to power future AI-driven machine payments. These transactions are fully automated, programmatic, and executed by software or autonomous devices without human intervention. Stablecoins are deemed ideal for this use case due to their programmability, speed, micro-payment capability, and global accessibility. They enable real-time decision-making, instant settlements, and eliminate the need for traditional banking infrastructure like SWIFT or FX conversion. Companies such as Coinbase, Circle, and Stripe are already developing infrastructure to support these agentic payments, with early protocols showing initial transaction volumes. This represents a significant future growth driver for stablecoins.

Bernstein analysts noted Circle and Coinbase as prominent vehicles for stablecoin exposure, highlighting the USDC collaboration between the two companies and the emerging role of stablecoins in agentic machine payments as a potential upside driver.

The analysts headed by Gautam Chhugani wrote in a note to clients on March 23 that “we see agentic machine payments as an upside optionality for stablecoins. And this is not a ‘here and now’ material influence on stablecoin demand but some potential role of stablecoins in the agentic machine economy.”

The analysts marked out machine payments as transactions started, authorised and settled completely by software or autonomous devices instead of humans. Dissimilar to automated bill payments or repeating subscriptions, these payments are naturally programmatic, permitting real-time decision-making, price negotiation, and settlement without human interference.

Bernstein mentioned stablecoins are mainly suited to this environment, as they are programmable, quick, micro-payment-friendly, and accessible all over the globe. Payment logic like escrow, conditional release, or revenue cutting can be rooted directly in stablecoins, permitting agents to transact without calling a bank or waiting for confirmations.

The Contribution To The Future

According to the note, transfer settlements can be done in seconds, permitting AI agents to pay for compute or data in real time. To make it financially efficient, high-throughput blockchains and state channels can be used to perform microtransactions at scale.

Also, stablecoins are borderless, eliminating the need for SWIFT, correspondent banking or FX conversion, the analysts mentioned. A lot of companies have started making infrastructure to operationalise these capabilities.

Coinbase is making the x402 agent payments protocol, which sets payments into the HTTP layer of the internet, while Circle rolled out nano-payment infrastructure for agents. Meanwhile, Stripe, via its blockchain investment in Bridge and Privy, rolled out the Machine Payments Protocol on the Tempo blockchain.

Bernstein mentioned that the traction on machine payments protocols has already been restricted, highlighting that Stripe’s MPP registered $5,000 in volume in its first week of launch. Coinbase’s x402 protocol has generated around $25 million in volume in the past month.

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Preguntas relacionadas

QWhat are the two companies highlighted by Bernstein analysts as prominent vehicles for stablecoin exposure?

ACircle and Coinbase.

QAccording to the analysts, what is the emerging role of stablecoins that is seen as a potential upside driver?

ATheir emerging role in agentic machine payments.

QWhat are the four key attributes that make stablecoins particularly suited for the agentic machine economy?

AThey are programmable, quick, micro-payment-friendly, and accessible globally.

QWhich two specific machine payment protocols are mentioned in the article and which companies developed them?

ACoinbase developed the x402 agent payments protocol, and Stripe rolled out the Machine Payments Protocol (MPP).

QWhat volume did Coinbase's x402 protocol generate in the past month, according to the Bernstein note?

AAround $25 million in volume.

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