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BlackRock has published a research whitepaper on AI and digital assets arguing that an autonomous AI agent economy urgently requires machine-native settlement rails, and that blockchain is the layer positioned to provide them. The asset manager frames this as a fundamental shift: blockchains evolving from a vehicle for human speculation into the decentralized settlement network for a machine economy.
Why it matters
The paper maps three intersections. First, high-frequency machine-to-machine micropayments, where autonomous agents settle natively in fiat-backed stablecoins without human intervention, via protocols such as x402, Stripe and Tempo's MPP, and OpenAI's ACP. Second, programmable interaction with tokenized real-world assets, letting AI systems execute trades and manage funds directly through smart contracts. Third, the financialization of computer resources, with compute itself becoming a digital asset that can be priced and collateralized.
Market impact
BlackRock anchors the thesis in scale: adjusted stablecoin transaction volumes surpassed $11 trillion in 2025, and regulatory clarity is emerging across the US, Europe, and APAC. When the world's largest asset manager describes blockchains as infrastructure for autonomous commerce rather than a trading venue, it adds institutional weight to agent payments and RWA tokenization alike. What to watch is whether agent-native payment protocols convert that framing into live transaction share, and whether tokenized assets gain the smart-contract depth AI systems would need to manage funds on their own.
Source: [source](https://blackrock.com/us/individual/literature/whitepaper/the-machine-native-economy.pdf)
Frequently asked questions
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What are the three AI and blockchain intersections BlackRock identifies?
Machine-to-machine micropayments settled in fiat-backed stablecoins, programmable interaction with tokenized real-world assets via smart contracts, and the financialization of computer resources as collateralizable digital assets.
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Which payment protocols does BlackRock name for AI agent micropayments?
The whitepaper cites x402, Stripe and Tempo's MPP, and OpenAI's ACP as protocols through which autonomous agents can settle natively in fiat-backed stablecoins without human intervention.
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How large were stablecoin transaction volumes in 2025?
BlackRock cites adjusted stablecoin transaction volumes surpassing $11 trillion in 2025 as evidence that the settlement layer for a machine economy is already scaling.
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How would AI systems use tokenized real-world assets?
Through smart contracts, AI systems could execute trades and manage funds directly across tokenized RWAs, the second core intersection BlackRock identifies between AI and digital assets.
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What does the whitepaper say about compute resources as digital assets?
Computer resources are the third intersection: compute itself becomes a financialized digital asset that can be collateralized, extending blockchain rails into the raw inputs AI systems run on.
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