Agents Pay in Stablecoins
JZ@jzdeveloper
The idea
I believe AI agents will handle most online buying and settle in stablecoins, while stocks, funds, bonds and loans migrate on-chain as tokens. Rather than hold the coins themselves, I own the companies collecting fees on that shift: stablecoin issuers and exchanges, tokenization platforms, and the custodians, banks and market operators bringing traditional assets on-chain. I keep core positions diversified across many names so no single bet carries the thesis, hold some cash on the side, and plan to stay invested for years unless the shift toward tokenized, agent-driven settlement stalls out.
What will be bought
- These companies issue or distribute the dollar tokens agents would pay with, and they earn on every dollar held. · Coinbase GlobalIt distributes USDC to millions of users and earns a share of the interest generated by its stablecoin reserves, so growth in agent payments through stablecoins expands its fee revenue., Circle Internet GroupIt issues USDC and earns most revenue from interest on the reserves it holds, so it depends on USDC circulation continuing to expand as rates fall., PayPal HoldingsIt already processes payments for a vast base of merchants, has issued its own stablecoin and put agent checkout on millions of screens, so it earns fees if agents shop through its rails.25%
- These firms turn stocks, loans and funds into tokens and run the places they trade. · Robinhood MarketsIt has moved further than most brokers toward tokenizing stocks so they can trade around the clock outside normal hours., Figure Technology SolutionsIt puts loans on a blockchain to make them faster and cheaper to issue, sell and settle, capturing the tokenized lending part of the take., Galaxy DigitalIt has positioned itself early in putting company shares on-chain and serves large institutions entering the crypto market., BullishIt runs an exchange built for institutions to trade digital assets, where tokenized stocks, bonds and stablecoins will need to change hands., Gemini Space StationIt is a small exchange and custodian sized as a low-cost bet on more trading volume moving on-chain as its user base grows.25%
- Exchanges and settlement operators move trading and collateral onto tokens and charge for running the rails. · NasdaqIt is working to keep its main exchange central to tokenized stock trading rather than losing that volume to crypto-native venues., Broadridge FinancialIt runs the quiet plumbing where banks do short-term loans backed by bonds as tokens on a blockchain., Intercontinental ExchangeIt owns the largest stock exchange and collects fees if it leads the move to on-chain trading and settlement instead of being bypassed.15%
- Big banks hold stablecoin reserves and build their own on-chain cash and settlement, so they win even if crypto natives don't. · JPMorgan ChaseIt built its own bank deposit token to keep payments inside the banking system as they move on-chain and continues building infrastructure for on-chain money., State StreetIt holds trillions in assets for institutions and stands to keep doing so even as those assets become tokens, balancing riskier crypto holdings., Goldman SachsIt is building systems to issue and settle tokenized funds and bonds for institutions, moving real client business onto those rails.13%
- Asset managers putting money market and Treasury funds on-chain give agents and stablecoins somewhere to park cash. · BlackRockIts tokenized fund for short-term Treasury and money market assets is one of the largest on-chain and serves as collateral and reserves across crypto platforms., Franklin ResourcesIt runs one of the earliest money market funds living on a blockchain and gains if parking cash in tokenized funds becomes standard practice.11%
- Cash10%