The convergence of AI and Web3 emerged as a hot topic of discussion at the World Economic Forum conference being hosted in Davos this week. During a panel discussion focussed on the coming together of AI and Web3, Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire predicted that by 2031, AI will be independently driving a major chunk of financial transactions via crypto for us.
According to Allaire, “literally billions of AI agents” will be conducting economic activities around the world in a continuous basis. The 54-year-old crypto mogul then added that stablecoins will emerge as the preferred mode of transaction for AI by 2031.
“New blockchain networks are actually being designed specifically for agentic compute. AI agents that are making these high velocity transactions at very low cost to do work or or consume data. right now what we’re seeing is this proliferation in new technology standards for payment protocols for AI agents that primarily use stable coins,” Allaire said in conversation with Animoca Brands’ chairman Yat Siu and others on the panel.
Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ) also spoke along the same lines, forecasting the eventuality of crypto becoming the currency for AI in the coming years.
“Crypto and blockchain are the most native technology interfaces for AI agents. Today AI agents do not buy tickets for you, don’t pay at restaurants for you — but when they actually do, those payments will be in crypto,” CZ said in a separate panel discussion.
The voices batting for the growth of AI agents’ engagement with crypto are getting louder, especially from the crypto industry — which, at this point, stands as a more structured and regulated industry compared to AI.
Last year, Coinbase upgraded its x402 payment protocol to enable AI agents initiate stablecoin payments for services like travel bookings, video games, and online content that typically throw up age restrictions.
Once the upgrade was deployed on x402, it started allowing AI agents to get a machine-readable invoice responding to a payment requirement and then process the invoice and signing of a cryptographic proof of payment using the user’s wallet. The AI agent, through this protocol, can also retire the original request to curb duplication in transactions.
As per Allaire, the special blockchains being created to work with AI agents would address the existing challenge of verifying who an AI agent is working on behalf of and whether its genuine or not.
The WEF conference 2026 kicked off in Davos on January 19 and will conclude on Friday. The crypto industry has marked a notable representation at the event with leadership figures like Zhao, Allaire, and Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong among others participating in discussions.