(As first published on Investor Daily__)
Crypto and emerging technologies are poised to play a pivotal role in the financial infrastructure of an AI-driven economy.
Crypto and emerging technologies are poised to play a pivotal role in the financial infrastructure of an AI-driven economy, with AUDC chief executive and co-founder Effie Dimitropoulos arguing stablecoins will serve as the critical settlement layer for agentic commerce.
“Stablecoins are emerging as the native currency and the payment rails for AI agents,” she told InvestorDaily.
Agentic commerce – where AI agents autonomously research, negotiate, and transact on behalf of users – is rapidly moving from experimental to mainstream, with global projections indicating it will manage US$3 trillion to US$5 trillion in consumer commerce by 2030. According to global IT services and consulting firm Cognizant, Australian consumers are expected to drive $903 billion in spending via agentic agents by that year.
The global payments system is undergoing the most dramatic transformation in its history, according to KPMG.
“The majority of today’s payments infrastructure was built for an offline, often card-centric world, yet it now sits in stark contrast to the realities of the modern web: always-on, frictionless, high-speed and instantly available,” the firm said.
This view is echoed by Dimitropoulos, who notes that the traditional banking system is designed for human interaction.
“They use authentication layers, set operating hours, and manual processes that don’t work well with autonomous systems,” she told InvestorDaily.
Stablecoins, by contrast, are programmable, always-on 24/7, and API-driven – making them well-suited to machine-initiated transactions.
“They are unlikely to replace every payment method, but they will play a critical role as the underlying settlement layer for agentic commerce, especially for global, frequent, or automated transactions.”
Asia Pacific is the fastest-growing agentic commerce economy in the world, driven by rapid adoption of mobile-first autonomous shopping. Agentic AI is reshaping entire retail operations across the region, from supply chains to customer engagement, Deloitte says.
“Agentic AI is reshaping the world as we know it … The implications are vast, and the pace of change is accelerating. Nowhere is this transformation more profound than in Asia Pacific.”
In its report The future of commerce: Agentic shopping in Asia Pacific, released on 30 March, Deloitte highlighted that the region has the greatest potential for agentic commerce to evolve and define its future trajectory. Around 29 per cent of consumer businesses are adopting agentic AI today—a figure expected to surge to 76 per cent within two years.
“As agentic AI begins to rewire commerce, its impacts will be felt across markets, business models and operations,” the report stated.
Dimitropoulos says scaling agentic commerce requires coordination across three layers.
“First, the currency layer, where stablecoins like AUDD provide trusted digital money. Second, the intelligence layer, where AI platforms enable decision-making. Third, the payment and acceptance layer, where networks, wallets, and merchants enable real-world execution,” she said.
“No single player can deliver this alone. Interoperability and collaboration across these layers will be critical.”
Australia is tightening rules around stablecoins, with growing emphasis on licensing, custody, AML/CTF compliance, and consumer protection. Companies must also maintain robust operational safeguards, including wallet security, fraud controls, identity verification, and dispute resolution frameworks.
“A new challenge emerging in agentic commerce could be described as ‘Know Your Agent,’” Dimitropoulos told InvestorDaily. “This means ensuring that autonomous systems have the right permissions, can be audited, and are linked to verified users.”
Industries with structured, repeatable, or time-sensitive transactions will benefit first from agentic commerce, she says.
“This includes B2B procurement, logistics and supply chains, software and API-based services, financial services, and digital marketplaces. These sectors already operate with defined rules and data structures, making them well-suited to automation.”
Consumer retail is expected to evolve more slowly due to higher trust and liability requirements.
“The focus is not on letting agents spend whatever they want but on delegated, rule-based payments, where AI works within set budgets, permissions, and controls,” Dimitropoulos said.
“Agentic commerce will not be adopted as an all-or-nothing model. It will build gradually, starting with low-risk use cases.”
KPMG’s The next era of payments report, released on 19 February, argues that today’s rails still fall short of supporting the emerging era of machine-native, AI-driven autonomous commerce.
x402, the report notes, is the internet’s missing payment layer. Launched by Coinbase in May 2025, x402 is designed for AI agents, apps, and APIs. The open-source protocol enables instant stablecoin transactions directly over HTTP, addressing the growing demand for frictionless, internet-native payments and supporting automated micropayments across the web. “x402 represents a step-change: an open, internet-native payments standard designed to let systems pay each other as easily as sending an email,” KPMG’s Shane Garahy said.
Meanwhile, Mastercard delivered Australia’s first fully authenticated agentic transactions on its network in January. Visa is also actively developing agentic commerce capabilities in Australia, aiming to enable AI agents to securely browse, compare, and purchase products on behalf of consumers.