In the early days of cryptocurrency, the tech world was electrified by the promise of programmable money—a future where code could move value as easily as sending an email, and financial infrastructure would be open to all. The vision was intoxicating: money without borders, intermediaries, or gatekeepers, governed by math and accessible to anyone with an internet connection. For a while, it seemed like the world was on the cusp of a financial revolution. We thought the world was going to be fixed if banks were to lose their power.
But as the years rolled on, the reality of crypto adoption has been far messier.
“The vision of digital cash – of a decentralised payment infrastructure based on cryptography – went awry when blockchain networks became congested in 2017, resulting in soaring transaction fees… Transacting cryptos on blockchains can be inefficient, slow and expensive; they face the blockchain trilemma, whereby aiming for optimal levels of security, scalability and decentralisation at the same time is not achievable.”
European Central Bank
The Friction and the Fizzle
Despite massive investments and relentless hype cycles, real-world use cases for cryptocurrencies remain rare. The friction involved in participating in Web3—managing wallets, safeguarding private keys, navigating clunky interfaces, and risking irreversible mistakes—has kept mainstream users at bay. Even today, the majority of Americans are skeptical: 63% say they have little to no confidence in the safety and reliability of cryptocurrencies, and usage hasn’t grown in years7.
The dream of global, decentralized money has collided with technical and practical limitations: slow transaction speeds, high fees, security risks, and the daunting responsibility of self-custody. Even landmark experiments, like El Salvador’s adoption of Bitcoin as legal tender, failed to spark meaningful usage4.
DeFi: Democratizing Wall Street
Yet, within the crypto world, Decentralized Finance (DeFi) has emerged as a genuine innovation. DeFi platforms have unlocked financial tools—lending, borrowing, trading, yield generation—that were once the exclusive domain of Wall Street elites. Anyone with an internet connection can now access complex financial services without a bank or broker, powered by open-source smart contracts. People can clown on NFTs, and rightfully so, but it's hard to deny the value and utility of DeFi.
The Rise of Stablecoins
But the real breakthrough has come from stablecoins: digital tokens pegged to the value of fiat currencies like the US dollar. Unlike volatile cryptocurrencies, stablecoins offer price stability and are rapidly gaining traction as a medium of exchange and store of value. Major payments giants—Visa, Mastercard, PayPal, and Stripe—have all launched their own stablecoin initiatives. In a remarkable twist, stablecoins now process more transaction volume than Visa itself (according to industry data as of 2024).
The AI Catalyst: Autonomous Agents and Instant Intent
The next chapter is being written by artificial intelligence. Imagine a world swarming with autonomous agents—digital entities that can negotiate, transact, and fulfill human intent instantly, without human intervention. In this future, you might instruct your AI assistant to “find the best deal on a flight, book it, and pay,” and it would coordinate with other agents, handle payments, and confirm your itinerary in seconds.
To achieve this vision, the financial infrastructure must meet three requirements:
- Programmable money: Agents need money that can move and act according to code, not paperwork.
- Permissionless access: No gatekeepers or intermediaries should limit participation.
- Global reach: Value must flow freely across borders, instantly and at low cost.
The Tipping Point
This is where cryptocurrency gets serious. The convergence of AI agents and stablecoins means every use case once imagined for programmable money—automated commerce, machine-to-machine payments, instant settlements—becomes not only possible, but inevitable. The friction that once held crypto back is being dissolved by the relentless march of AI and the rise of stable, programmable digital dollars.
The world is on the verge of a new era: where intent is executed instantly, by autonomous agents, using global, permissionless, programmable money. The infrastructure is finally catching up to the dream.
Crypto’s real revolution may be about to begin.