Why crypto bulls think AI agents will make stablecoins the default payment layer

The article discusses the potential for AI agents to revolutionize the payments landscape, favoring stablecoins over traditional credit card networks. As AI agents automate tasks and require frequent, low-value transactions (fractions of a cent) for services like data access and API calls, the high fees associated with card networks become prohibitive. Crypto solutions like Coinbase’s x402 protocol, which embeds stablecoin payments directly into HTTP requests, offer a more economically viable alternative. While current volume is low and artificial activity is present, the potential for machine-to-machine payments is significant. Traditional finance players like Visa and Mastercard are also developing agent-based payment solutions, but a likely outcome is a split system: regulated commerce on card rails and machine-to-machine payments on stablecoins.

(Source：CoinDesk)