Crypto’s unique features are ideally suited for the complex requirements of machine-to-machine transactions in the artificial intelligence (AI) economy.

That’s according to a new report from Bernstein Research, released Friday. “Crypto solves almost all the criteria” for AI payments, the report states.

There’s a growing need for “identity proven, cross-border, permission-less, micro payments at almost zero marginal cost with instant settlements linked to AI consumption patterns,” Bernstein stated.

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Crypto has a real opportunity to capture the AI payments pool by allowing greater programmability and financial autonomy to AI agents, Gautam Chhugani, lead analyst at Bernstein, explained.

The current financial infrastructure is an aggregate of jurisdiction-specific systems, connected through global cooperative inter-bank bridges like SWIFT. This system requires individuals and businesses to undergo multiple financial and identity checks to obtain bank accounts and access financial services.

“How would AI agents obtain bank accounts and credit cards without identity?” the report asks. For AI agents to make payments, they would need bank accounts or cards. That’s challenging under the current system, which relies on clear identity documents.

The real bottleneck to the AI financial economy is the inability for machines to make so-called micro-payments. That’s the ability to relay money in the smallest of bits without friction.

The report asks: “Can you stream money (like streaming video) in micro sums based on consumption?”

Also, digital dollar stablecoins currently have more than $150 billion in circulation on the blockchain with annualized settlement value exceeding $7.5 trillion. While these have mostly seen crypto-native use cases, the report suggests they may find new relevance in the AI economy.

The potential integration of blockchain wallet systems into Large Language Models, or LLMs, are a starting point for enabling AI agents with crypto capabilities. This could lead to users allowing agents to process financial transactions through simple natural language commands.

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