AI Agents Poised to Become Top Stablecoin Users, Driving Explosive Growth in Transactions

AI agents will be stablecoins' top users: Galaxy Digital's Novogratz

Galaxy Digital CEO Mike Novogratz predicted that AI agents will soon be the biggest users of stablecoins, driving an explosion in stablecoin transactions. Galaxy Digital CEO Mike Novogratz said that AI agents will soon become the top users of stablecoins. During an interview with Bloomberg published on Wednesday, Novogratz said that "in the not-so-distant future, the biggest user of stablecoins is going to be AI." He said he expects users will be able to ask an AI to buy their groceries, and have it independently engage in the necessary transactions: "Your grocery agent, who knows what you like to eat, knows that you're on a diet or not on a diet, is going to figure out what groceries to buy from where." AI agents are autonomous software programs that can perceive their environment, make decisions, and take actions to achieve goals without constant human intervention. The primary feature that distinguishes these systems from most current AI systems is their higher degree of independence. Novogratz highlighted that such an agent would not "send a wire instruction or a Venmo" and instead would rely on stablecoin transactions. He said that he is unaware of whether such systems will be in place in one or five years, but he expects us to "see an explosion of stablecoin transactions." Related: $1M Bitcoin in 2026 would signal trouble: Galaxy's Mike Novogratz Novogratz's remarks follow reports suggesting that stablecoin adoption in payments is growing significantly. Early June reports indicated that at least four tech companies, including Apple, X, Airbnb, and Google, were exploring stablecoins as a means to lower fees and improve cross-border payments. Last month, global grocery giant Spar announced support for stablecoin and cryptocurrency payments in its stores across Switzerland. In mid-June, e-commerce giant Shopify rolled out early access to stablecoin payments in Circle's USDC in collaboration with major US exchange Coinbase. At the end of July, payment company Visa expanded its stablecoin offerings on its settlement platform by adding support for the Global dollar (USDG), PayPal USD (PYUSD), and euro Coin (EURC) stablecoins. A mid-May survey of 295 executives across traditional banks, financial institutions, fintech companies and payment gateways revealed that 90% of institutional players are using or exploring the use of stablecoins in their operations. Related: How to develop an AI agent for crypto trading Novogratz's statements on AI agents follow those of the Coinbase development team members, who said that such systems "are about to become Ethereum's biggest power users." AI agents have distinct capabilities compared to humans and interact with these systems differently, resulting in the need for specialized infrastructure and middleware. For instance, Adrian Brink, co-founder of Web3 AI agent infrastructure firm Anoma, recently claimed that such systems require intent-based blockchain infrastructure. Such infrastructure utilizes user-defined goals or desired outcomes expressed at a high level, preventing unexpected transaction outcomes. Decentralized AI agent infrastructure startup Kite AI recently raised $18 million in its Series A funding round led by PayPal Ventures, bringing total cumulative funding to $33 million. An example of an AI agent service integrated into Web3 infrastructure is Clanker, a decentralized application (DApp) built around an artificial intelligence agent that creates memecoins based on prompts. "Clanker is an AI that launches crypto tokens for you," the DApp's website said. "Give it a name and symbol, and it handles deployment, market creation, and fee sharing automatically."

Galaxy Digital CEO: AI Agents Will Soon Be Leading Stablecoin Users, Transactions Jump 92%

Michael Novogratz (in image) | Credit: Steven Ferdman / Getty Images. * Galaxy Digital CEO Michael Novogratz predicts that artificial intelligence agents will soon drive the majority of stablecoin payments. * Novogratz's view is echoed by other industry leaders like Matthew Graham of Ryze Labs. * According to DefiLlama, transaction volumes hit $3 trillion in August, a 92% increase from July. AI could soon become the dominant driver of stablecoin payments, according to Galaxy Digital's CEO Michael Novogratz, who has suggested that AI-powered agents may one day conduct routine purchases in digital dollars. The comments come as the market for fiat-backed tokens continues to expand at pace, surging 92% in August over the month prior. Stablecoins and AI Agents Speaking at Goldman Sachs' Asia Leaders Conference in Hong Kong, Novogratz outlined a scenario in which automated systems handle everyday spending, including groceries, and settle bills using stablecoins. "In the not so distant future, the biggest user of stablecoins is going to be AI," he said on Bloomberg TV. "You're going to pick up your phone and say buy my groceries and your grocery agent who knows what you like to eat knows if you're on a diet, it's gonna know which groceries to buy and from where," he added. Novogratz said they will not send a wire instruction, but instead a "digital currency over a crypto rail." The CEO stopped short of fixing a precise timeline, but said the shift could take place over the next one to five years. "So sometime in the distant future, I don't know if it's one year or five years, you're gonna see an explosion of stablecoin transactions," said Novogratz on Bloomberg TV. AI Agents on the Way In a recent interview with Matthew Graham, Founder of Ryze Labs, he echoed the sentiment to CCN that AI agents will soon be making autonomous decisions and financial transactions. "They are going to have to be making transactions, microtransactions, whatever it is... this is very naturally a crypto rail situation." Graham envisioned that AI agents will soon become deeply personal AI assistants. He has even already named his digital twin, Marty. "Marty, you know everything about me and once you know everything about me, you start to know about the people around me... Marty, what does mom like? Go order some Christmas gifts for mom." Stablecoins Surging The AI agent comments come as the stablecoins have been dramatically surging. Data compiled by DefiLlama shows that the sector's overall value reached $284.6bn by early September, up from $267bn a month earlier. Transaction activity processed in August also hit $3tn, a 92% jump on the previous month. The lion's share of that growth came from tether (USDT), which accounts for about 59% of the sector and now has a market capitalisation close to $168bn. Circle's USDC also recorded strong gains, adding nearly $8bn to reach a $72bn valuation, while newer entrants such as Ethena's USDe have been gathering momentum, increasing supply by more than 40% over the month.