Stablecoins could become the financial backbone of AI agents, providing a cash payment system tailored to autonomous assistants. Their rapid adoption and growing utility place Circle and Coinbase at the heart of this new digital economy. Are stablecoins poised to disrupt traditional payment giants such as Visa and Mastercard?
Stablecoins: the financial backbone of AI agents?
Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire has been very optimistic about the integration of stablecoins into Artificial Intelligence (AI) processes.
During a roundtable discussion on stablecoins at the World Economic Forum (WEF), Jeremy Allaire shared his vision of how stablecoins will evolve over the next 3 to 5 years.
🔴 “Within the next 3 to 5 years, billions of AI agents will be using cryptocurrencies and stablecoins to transfer value in real time.” Jeremy Allaire, CEO of Circle. pic.twitter.com/eLgBjIaj30
— Cryptoast (@CryptoastMedia) January 23, 2026
He emphasizes that AI agents need a real economic system and appropriate payment mechanisms. In his view, stablecoins are currently the only solution capable of effectively meeting this requirement.
This view was also echoed by Changpeng Zhao, co-founder of Binance. More broadly, he believes that the native currency of AI will be crypto.
According to him, blockchain is the native technological interface for AI agents. By agents, he means assistants capable of booking a table at a restaurant, for example.
This promise makes sense, given that in May 2025, Coinbase unveiled its open-source protocol called “x402.” Inspired by the long-unused HTTP 402 status code, this standard aims to fundamentally rethink the way payments are made on the internet.
Within this infrastructure, the Coinbase Developer Platform (CDP), developed by Coinbase, is establishing itself as a benchmark. The USDC thus appears well positioned to become the underlying payment infrastructure.
This approach places Circle and Coinbase at the heart of a payment system that is likely to be adopted by thousands of AI agents and automated services as the autonomous agent economy takes shape and matures.
USDC: a rival to Visa and Mastercard?
In a second interview with CNBC on the sidelines of the WEF, Circle’s CEO said that the amount of USDC in circulation has grown by 80% over the past two years. He also highlighted a marked increase in the usefulness of stablecoins, whose use cases are multiplying.
In his words, “the more usage increases, the stronger the network effects and the more circulation increases.” That’s why, when asked by the journalist, “when you wake up and see Visa starting to take an interest in stablecoins and their integration into payment systems, what is your reaction?”, he replies:
It’s fantastic. Visa and Mastercard are both major partners.
He believes that stablecoins need to rely on a neutral infrastructure, a quality that Circle has. He has no desire to compete with banks, payment providers, or exchange platforms.
🇧🇲 In the news – Bermuda wants to build an “entirely on-chain” economy with Coinbase and Circle
That’s why he’s not hostile to the development of other stablecoins, explaining that they are “platforms on which we build and integrate, infrastructures to which users connect.”
Stablecoins have thus established, on solid foundations, their position as cash payment instruments for AI agents.
Today, as evidenced by the debates surrounding the Clarity Act, traditional finance and the major players in stablecoins are engaged in a decisive battle over the issue of returns associated with stablecoins.
