BlackRock sees AI as an underappreciated driver of crypto demand

BlackRock’s latest research paper, “The Machine‑Native Economy,” highlights AI as a structural catalyst for digital‑asset adoption. The firm argues that the rise of autonomous AI agents and machine‑to‑machine payments could increase demand for blockchain‑based payment infrastructure, especially stablecoins, and open a new market for tokenized computing capacity.

AI agents and machine‑native payments

The paper notes that existing payment systems often require human involvement for account setup, credentialing and authorization, and that merchant fees can make low‑value, high‑frequency transactions uneconomic. Stablecoins and other on‑chain assets, the authors say, are well suited to sub‑cent, round‑the‑clock transactions, positioning them as the likely leaders in transactional use for AI‑driven commerce.

Tokenized compute as a new crypto market

BlackRock also identifies a potential role for digital assets in the growing compute market that powers AI training and inference. By tokenizing claims on computing capacity, firms could lock in costs, manage risk, and use these tokens as collateral or tradable assets. This could broaden institutional participation in the crypto ecosystem.

Industry response

Crypto executives have echoed similar views. Coinbase’s CEO has said AI agents will need programmable money, reinforcing crypto’s relevance. Companies such as Coinbase, Circle, and OKX are already developing protocols and tools—like agent wallets and payment protocols—to enable automated AI‑driven transactions.