Stablecoins became the default settlement layer for AI agents as crypto payment rails can handle sub-dollar transactions more efficiently, says a report from Keyrock. Artificial intelligence agents settling payments have gone from concept to reality in the last 12 months, with $73 million settled across 176 million transactions from May last year through April 2026, according to crypto investment firm Keyrock. In a report released Thursday, written in collaboration with crypto exchange Coinbase and the blockchain Tempo, Keyrock researcher Ben Harvey said that “in the past 12 months, machine-to-machine payments have gone from concept to a developed ecosystem.” “Agents have settled over $73 million across 176 million transactions, and incumbents have deployed more than $8 billion in acquisitions to secure their position in what is emerging as an entirely new payment stack,” Harvey added. Read more
"We’re not going to be outspent or out-organized by entrenched interests protecting their monopolies," said John Bivona, head of government relations at Kalshi. Kalshi has backed a new lobbying group for prediction markets called Americans for Fair Markets, which has tapped former deputy White House chief of staff Taylor Budowich as its strategic advisor. Kalshi said on Friday that the organization is positioning itself against sportsbooks and casinos, which it claims are “focused on protecting their monopolies and seeding lies about prediction markets to policymakers.” Americans for Fair Markets, which Kalshi said was launched with its support, would join a broader lobbying push that includes the Coalition for Prediction Markets, an advocacy group for prediction markets launched in December 2025, backed by Coinbase, Crypto.com, and Robinhood. Read more