AI’s Money Bots Are Here and Everyone Wants to Handle Their Cash

For years, the stablecoin industry has been waiting for its killer app — the use case that would prove digital dollars are more than a tool for crypto speculators, by powering everyday commerce at global scale.

When the idea took hold that AI agents would need fast, cheap, programmable money to transact at machine speed, it looked like the moment had finally come. The thesis captivated markets — a single Citrini Research scenario imagining agents bypassing card fees wiped billions off Visa Inc., Mastercard Inc., and American Express Co. in a day.

But the companies actually building payment systems ...