AI and Crypto: Why BlackRock Sees a Major Convergence

BlackRock Sees AI and Crypto Converging

BlackRock, the American asset management giant, has just released a report titled The Machine-Native Economy, authored in part by Robert Mitchnick, the group's head of digital assets. Its thesis can be summarized as follows: artificial intelligence represents a native intelligence for machines, while cryptocurrencies constitute a native currency for machines. Currently, these two realms are beginning to converge.

This convergence is particularly linked to the rise of agentic AI, capable of planning and executing complex tasks with little to no human intervention. For BlackRock, blockchain provides the programmable infrastructure that connects this intelligence to real economic activity, particularly payments.

Stablecoins and x402, the Duo That Attracts Machines

The report emphasizes the inadequacy of traditional payment rails (ACH, credit cards) for transactions between agents. In contrast, stablecoins offer near-instant settlement, available 24/7, and lower fees.

Our latest research paper explores the growing connection between AI and digital assets and explains why broad AI adoption may drive new demand, utility and applications across the digital asset economy. https://t.co/z5T88Orble pic.twitter.com/GMxQqTVmUN

--- BlackRock (@BlackRock) September 22, 2026

Their market capitalization now exceeds $300 billion, and the adjusted transaction volume surpassed $11 trillion in 2025, a scale comparable to Visa and Mastercard.

BlackRock highlights the x402 protocol developed by Coinbase, which utilizes HTTP 402 code to enable AI agents to settle services in stablecoins. Alongside it, other standards are emerging, such as Stripe's Machine Payments Protocol and Tempo, or the Agentic Commerce Protocol designed with OpenAI.

Ethereum, a Potential Winner

The report notes that the rise of stablecoins also benefits the blockchains that host them. USDC predominantly circulates on Ethereum, with over $46 billion, ahead of Hyperliquid, Solana, Base, and Arbitrum. The more activity related to stablecoins intensifies, the greater the demand for space on blockchains and validation services, which could support the value of native assets like Ether (ETH), currently priced at $2,747.

Another avenue explored is computing power, which has become a strategic resource with the rise of artificial intelligence. BlackRock estimates that the cloud revenues of tech giants could reach $1.1 trillion by 2030, representing an average annual growth of 29% since 2025.

This computing capacity could eventually be divided into digital assets, traded on blockchain markets, or even used as collateral to obtain financing. In other words, the computing power necessary for the operation of AI models could become a negotiable financial resource just like other assets.

The agreement reached by Stripe last August to acquire OpenRouter, a platform that directs queries between over 400 AI models, illustrates this growing convergence between digital payments and the consumption of computing resources.

A Strong Signal for the Crypto Ecosystem

Despite the still nascent nature of agentic activity, BlackRock believes that this topic deserves close monitoring by investors. This position is significant coming from the world's largest asset manager, which already manages the Bitcoin ETF IBIT and participates in the validation of Circle's Arc blockchain.

Stablecoins, Ethereum, and more broadly programmable blockchains could thus benefit from a demand engine that has largely been overlooked: the machines themselves.

Sources: BlackRock Digital Assets Research, Visa Onchain Analytics / Allium, x402 whitepaper -- Coinbase