AI-Driven Demand for Stablecoins and Blockchain Payments on the Horizon
BlackRock's recent paper highlights how AI and digital assets are converging. The asset manager argues that autonomous AI systems may require financial infrastructure built for machines, which could lead to new demand for stablecoins and blockchain payments.
The firm points out three areas where these technologies overlap: tokenization, agentic commerce, and computing capacity.
Tokenization involves large language models dividing text into tokens that can be processed numerically, while blockchains represent value and ownership claims as digital tokens. In agentic commerce, AI agents can make financial transactions, which could increase demand for programmable payment infrastructure.
The third area is computing capacity, where BlackRock notes that hyperscaler cloud revenue could exceed $1 trillion annually by 2030. Standardized claims on computing capacity could become a digital asset use case for financing and programmable settlement.