John Collison, co-founder and president of Stripe, said he expects a surge of AI-driven “agentic commerce” as autonomous software agents begin executing real economic activity. Speaking on a podcast, Collison said stablecoins and high-throughput blockchains are structurally suited to power machine-to-machine payments and capital allocation.
Stripe has expanded its crypto footprint to support this shift. Earlier this year, the company integrated the x402 standard, enabling AI agents to transact in USD Coin on Base, an Ethereum Layer 2 network developed by Coinbase. The move allows autonomous agents to send and receive stablecoin payments through Stripe’s infrastructure without traditional checkout flows.
The effort aligns with broader industry initiatives to equip AI systems with wallets and onchain capabilities. Stablecoins offer continuous settlement and programmable functionality, making them attractive for automated transactions.
Stripe’s crypto push comes as its valuation climbed to $159 billion following a recent tender offer, reinforcing its position among the world’s most valuable private fintech firms.
