finance
Report Says Stablecoins Handle Most AI Agent Payments
A Keyrock report states AI agents completed $73 million in blockchain transactions over the past year. Traditional card networks face challenges processing payments below 30 cents, while stablecoin settlement costs fractions of a cent.
May 24, 9:00 AM·1m read1 source
medium.comAudio version
Tap play to generate a narrated version.
Developing·Limited corroboration so far. This page will refresh as more sources emerge.
A report from Keyrock states that stablecoins on blockchain networks handled more than $73 million across 176 million transactions by AI agents between May 2025 and April 2026. The volumes remain small compared with traditional payment systems. 5 trillion annually.
Coinbase, Stripe, Google and Visa have introduced separate systems for machine-to-machine payments. Coinbase released the x402 protocol for direct USDC payments. Stripe launched the Machine Payments Protocol on its Tempo blockchain. Google introduced the AP2 system for delegated spending authorization. Visa extended its network with tokenized credentials for AI-driven commerce.
Seventy-six percent of the recorded agent transactions fell below the 30-cent fixed fee typical of card networks, with most payments between one and 10 cents. Settlement on blockchains such as Base and Tempo costs fractions of a cent. 6 percent, settle in USDC, the stablecoin issued by Circle.
GENIUS Act and the EU AI Act—are scheduled to take effect around mid-2026. None of the measures currently address liability or identity questions for autonomous machine transactions.
