1. Artificial Intelligence and the Limitations of Current Financial Systems
2. The Role of Cryptocurrencies in Modern Micropayments
3. New Technologies and the Future of the AI Economy

Analysts at Bernstein have examined the importance of cryptocurrency micropayments in light of the growth of artificial intelligence (AI) and its impact on the global economy.

Artificial Intelligence and the Limitations of Current Financial Systems

Analyst Gautam Chhugani from Bernstein highlighted the limitations of the current global financial system in a note to clients today. The main focus was on jurisdiction-specific networks like SWIFT and companies like Mastercard and Visa that require identity verification for transactions. This poses a hurdle for fully autonomous AI agents that lack human credentials.

The Role of Cryptocurrencies in Modern Micropayments

Chhugani believes that the use of human-authorized bank accounts or credit cards would limit the potential of a truly autonomous AI economy. The fundamental problem, according to Chhugani, is the inefficiency of traditional financial systems in handling micropayments (transactions as small as fractions of a cent), which will be crucial for AI agents that consume data or digital content. To support the demands of an AI-driven economy, the financial system must evolve to enable seamless, low-cost microtransactions. This is where cryptocurrency gains importance.

New Technologies and the Future of the AI Economy

Cryptocurrency offers near-instant settlement for global, permissionless digital payments and micropayments, which aligns with the needs of machine-to-machine payments in an AI economy. AI agents can use crypto wallets for transactions, bypassing traditional banking systems. Chhugani also noted advances in zero-knowledge proof technology, which can tie AI agent identities to human or business owners, and improvements in blockchain scaling through Layer 2 solutions that make micropayments more cost-effective.

Thus, the combination of artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency micropayments could become a key factor for developing a future economy adapted to new demands and challenges.