AI Agents and stablecoins might look like parallel tracks, but they’re starting to converge — and the result could reshape finance. In the legacy system, payments were full of friction: slow settlement, high fees, endless approvals. Stablecoins are stripping away that friction, while AI Agents are pushing “frictionless” transactions into a new, high‑frequency world. When capital flow and machine decision‑making both hit the limit, what kind of shift does our financial system need?

Cobo Stable Weekly #23 highlights:

• Fed’s October Payment Innovation Meeting: AI payments and stablecoins to be discussed side by side — why might stablecoins become the default currency for AI Agents?

• Stripe launches Tempo: a payment‑first blockchain. What signal does this send to the industry?

Market Overview & Growth Highlights

Total stablecoin market cap reached $288.119b, with a week-over-week increase of $4.813b. In terms of market structure, USDT continues to maintain its dominant position at 59.21%; USDC ranks second with a market cap of $72.109b, accounting for 25.03%.

Blockchain Network Distribution

Top 3 Networks by Stablecoin Market Cap:

1. Ethereum: $153.131b

2. Tron: $81.643b

3. Solana: $12.223b

Top 3 Networks by Weekly Growth:

1. Falcon USD (USDf) : +24.58%

2. M By M^0 (M): +15.30%

3. Circle USYC (USYC) : +12.49%

Data from DefiLlama

🎯Entering the Fed’s Agenda: AI × Stablecoins in Payments

Stablecoins have already established a high-speed track for cross-border payments, and the emergence of AI agents could push the use of this track to its limit. Imagine a future where everyone has multiple personal AI agents automatically handling various tasks for us. This would inevitably generate a continuous, massive demand for payments. Such a demand could not be met by traditional payment channels; only stablecoins could support real-time settlements at this scale and frequency. The Federal Reserve has keenly recognized this trend. At the upcoming October 21st payment innovation conference, the Fed will list "AI and Payments" and "Stablecoin Applications" as core topics. Although not directly merged as "AI + Stablecoin Payments," the synergy between the two is almost self-evident.

The synergy between AI and stablecoins is almost "natural." AI agents are borderless; they might simultaneously use computing power in Japan, purchase digital goods in Brazil, and pay a developer in India. In contrast, the banking system is inherently national and currency-specific. Stablecoins standardize the currency format, providing low-cost, real-time cross-border settlements, making global payments as seamless as local transactions. More importantly, AI's operating model itself involves a large number of micropayments and conditional trigger logic. A single task might be broken down into hundreds of API calls, each requiring automatic settlement and distribution. Credit cards and bank transfers are completely unsuitable for this frequency. Stablecoins, with their programmability and smart contracts, can directly turn payments into "intelligent actions," allowing tasks to be paid for automatically and usage to be settled in real-time.

On a deeper level, payments are not just a flow of funds for AI but also a flow of information. Traditional payment records contain only amount and time and lack context, whereas on-chain stablecoins naturally have the attributes of data traceability and real-time readability. For AI agents, payment data itself is an asset that can be trained and optimized. This means stablecoins not only solve the execution of payments but also provide intelligent potential that the traditional system cannot support.

For this reason, the financing market has already started placing its bets. This week, PayPal Ventures led the investment in Kite, an AI payment infrastructure company. Its core product, Kite AIR, provides AI with identity verification, risk control guardrails, and a programmable payment track, essentially transplanting the "compliance and security module" from traditional payments directly into AI scenarios. This allows AI agents to become trusted and controllable economic entities.

In the past, PayPal connected Venmo and the PayPal network to lay the groundwork for consumers and merchants. It also launched the PYUSD stablecoin and "Global Venmo" to pre-install channels for global distribution and low-cost settlement. Kite provides the security and execution layer on the AI agent side, while PayPal provides the stablecoin and distribution network. The combination is beginning to form the prototype of an automated payment network driven by AI agents.

🎯Stripe Launches Tempo: A Dedicated Blockchain for Payments

Following multiple rumors and job postings, Stripe has officially confirmed the launch of its dedicated blockchain for payments, Tempo. This new Layer 1 blockchain is designed to bridge the performance gap between traditional blockchains and real-world payment needs. While Bitcoin and Ethereum handle transactions in the tens of TPS (transactions per second), Stripe can process over 10,000 transactions during peak periods. Tempo is claimed to support 100,000 TPS with sub-second finality, is EVM-compatible, and allows for gas fees to be paid in various stablecoins. In its initial phase, it will use a select group of validators to prioritize performance and security before gradually decentralizing, addressing concerns around centralization and compliance.

Unlike most public blockchains that build infrastructure first and then search for use cases, Tempo is launching with specific applications already in place, including cross-border settlements, merchant payments, tokenized deposits, and AI agent payments. Its list of partners includes major players from banking, merchant platforms, and fintech, such as Deutsche Bank, Standard Chartered, Shopify, DoorDash, Revolut, Visa, Nubank, and Mercury. Stripe also introduced the concept of "Agentic Payments," which enables AI agents to autonomously complete on-chain payments. This means that from day one, Tempo could handle real-world business from large institutions, focusing on the very areas where stablecoins excel: cross-border flow, merchant settlements, and smart agent payments—areas that have also been a focal point for regulators, including the Federal Reserve, in recent years.

Strategically, by integrating its own wallet entry point and compliance infrastructure, Stripe is now bringing the settlement layer into its own ecosystem with Tempo, directly competing with Visa's settlement capabilities. Interestingly, Visa has not taken an adversarial stance but has joined as a partner. This is likely because the two companies occupy different positions within the stablecoin ecosystem. Visa's strength lies in its global merchant network and brand, not on-chain performance. Its approach is to use VTAP (Visa Token and Asset Protocol) to connect to multiple blockchains (Ethereum, Solana, Tempo) and then direct flow back to its own merchant system, securing its central role. Stripe, on the other hand, is taking a different path, positioning Tempo as a "stablecoin-neutral layer" to attract native liquidity from all stablecoins. Although their paths diverge, both are essentially vying for control over the global payment liquidity infrastructure. This also means that besides Visa, another player directly impacted is Circle, as Tempo and Circle's stablecoin network, Arc, may enter into a direct competition for global payment liquidity.

Regulatory Compliance

🏛Ukraine's parliament passed a bill to legalize and tax cryptocurrencies in its first reading. The bill proposes an 18% income tax and a 5% military tax on digital asset profits, with a temporary 5% tax on initial fiat conversions. This framework aims to attract crypto investment and encourage the return of assets held abroad by Ukrainian crypto enthusiasts. The legislation aligns Ukraine with a global trend of countries like Denmark, Brazil, and the U.S. moving to regulate crypto taxation. The country already ranks eighth globally in crypto adoption, and this move will help its economy recover and modernize its markets.

🏛India's Regulatory Gridlock Puts It Behind in Asia's Stablecoin Race. India is falling behind in the global stablecoin race due to a bureaucratic stalemate, according to a Polygon executive. With no government department willing to take charge of regulation, banks are hesitant to integrate stablecoins into their payment systems. This gridlock could cost India an estimated $68 billion annually in savings from international payments, and has already caused up to 85% of its top crypto talent to move overseas. While countries like Japan, South Korea, and Hong Kong are rapidly advancing their own stablecoin frameworks, India’s regulatory paralysis threatens its competitive edge in the global shift toward programmable money.

🏛European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde is urging policymakers to address stablecoin regulatory gaps, especially for those issued outside the EU's MiCA framework. She emphasized that non-EU stablecoin issuers must meet a "robust equivalency regime" to operate within the bloc, ensuring investors can redeem assets at face value and that issuers hold full reserves. This push comes as other major economies, particularly the U.S. with its GENIUS Act, are establishing stablecoin frameworks. The ECB is concerned that a lack of robust regulation could lead to a shift of euro deposits to U.S.-backed stablecoins, further cementing the dollar's role in cross-border payments. The EU is now scrambling to protect the euro's status in this global race for stablecoin dominance.

🏛The EU is moving forward with a proposal to regulate Real-World Asset (RWA) tokenization, with a new plan expected in December. The goal is to balance innovation with investor protection and financial stability. While Europe leads in tokenized fixed income, officials worry the bloc is falling behind the U.S. and Asia by moving too slowly. Instead of a "MiCA 2.0," the EU plans to upgrade its DLT Pilot Regime to act as a regulatory sandbox, helping them integrate fragmented capital markets and stay competitive in the digital asset space.

🏛South Africa to Open Payment System to Non-Banks. The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) plans to allow non-bank institutions direct access to the National Payment System (NPS) in the first half of next year. This move would end the current monopoly held by commercial banks. The central bank believes this will boost competition, efficiency, and financial inclusion. With non-banks like Walmart already moving into real-time payments globally, this change could fundamentally reshape South Africa's financial landscape, enabling direct participation from innovative fintech players and improving market efficiency.

🏛JPY Stablecoin Launches Ahead of Expected BoJ Rate Hike. Japan's Financial Services Agency (FSA) is expected to approve the country’s first yen-pegged stablecoin, with fintech firm JPYC planning to launch a 1:1 JPY-backed stablecoin as a licensed money transfer business. This timing is critical. Top bankers and economists predict the Bank of Japan (BoJ) will hike interest rates as early as October, following two previous hikes. This would likely strengthen the yen, making yen-based assets more attractive. The launch of a JPY stablecoin now positions it perfectly to capitalize on this macroeconomic shift, offering a new on-ramp for global investors.

New Launches

👀Bybit Launches Crypto Debit Card in Europe. Bybit, one of the world's largest crypto exchanges, has launched a new debit card across the European Economic Area (EEA). Powered by Mastercard, the card allows users to spend crypto like Bitcoin and USDC at millions of merchants. It's compatible with Apple Pay and Google Pay, and users can also withdraw cash from ATMs. The card is fully compliant with Europe's new MiCA regulations, reflecting a growing trend of crypto firms entering markets with clear regulatory frameworks. To kick things off, Bybit is offering new users cashback on purchases and rewards for subscriptions like Netflix and Spotify.

Catena Labs Launches ACK-Lab to Build Trust Infrastructure for AI Agents. Catena Labs, a company building the first AI-native financial institution, has launched a developer preview for ACK-Lab. Based on the open-source Agent Commerce Kit (ACK) protocol, the platform provides AI agents with encrypted identity, secure wallets, and enforceable policies. Developers can now test how agents can autonomously execute simulated swaps from USDC to SOL, or negotiate data access in a marketplace. This initiative allows developers to build securely and efficiently, laying the groundwork for a future where AI agents can conduct financial transactions with built-in trust and auditable trails.

👀 Visa Opens Its MCP Server to Accelerate AI Agent Commerce. Visa has opened production access to its Model Context Protocol (MCP) server, allowing developers to connect AI agents directly to Visa's commerce APIs. This move slashes custom development time from weeks to hours. Visa also launched the Acceptance Agent Toolkit, which lets non-technical teams use natural language to generate invoices and create payment links. The goal is to extend the trust of the Visa brand into the world of AI agent commerce, which is seen as the next evolution of e-commerce. By providing a secure and standardized integration layer, Visa is helping AI agents achieve the same universality and reliability as a card swipe.

Market Adoption

🌱Ripple Launches $700M RLUSD Stablecoin in Africa for Climate Insurance Pilot .Ripple has partnered with fintechs like Chipper Cash and exchanges like VALR and Yellow Card to bring its RLUSD stablecoin to African businesses and institutions. The goal is to provide a stable digital dollar for cross-border payments and on-chain settlements. With over $700 million in supply, RLUSD is also being used in a climate risk insurance pilot in Kenya, run by Mercy Corps Ventures. This program uses satellite data to automatically trigger payouts for farmers in response to extreme weather, showcasing a tangible use case for stablecoins beyond just payments.

🌱Ethena's USDe Supply Soars to $12B, Overtaking 15% of USDC. Ethena's USDe is rapidly challenging USDC and USDT with its unique yield-bearing design, offering an annualized yield of 9%-11%. Its supply has skyrocketed to $12 billion by leveraging a delta-neutral hedging strategy on ETH and BTC collateral, capitalizing on positive funding rates in a bullish market. The surge is fueled by complex yield-amplification loops on platforms like Pendle and Aave. While USDe's explosive growth shows strong demand for innovative stablecoin models, its reliance on leverage raises concerns about systemic risk if funding rates turn negative, making it a key area for both innovation and potential risk.

Big Picture

🔮Galaxy Digital CEO Predicts AI Agents Will Be Stablecoin's Biggest Users. Mike Novogratz, CEO of Galaxy Digital, predicts that AI agents will soon become the largest users of stablecoins. He envisions a future where AI agents autonomously handle tasks like grocery shopping for users, using stablecoins to complete the transactions. This would trigger an explosive growth in stablecoin volume. The forecast aligns with broader trends: tech firms are exploring stablecoin payments, Visa is expanding its stablecoin support, and 90% of institutions are already using or exploring stablecoins. As Web3 projects build infrastructure for AI agents, the convergence of AI and crypto is accelerating.

🔮Financial Times: Stablecoins Will Force Financial Systems to Modernize. According to the Financial Times, stablecoins are exposing the inefficiencies of the current financial system. As U.S. stablecoin legislation progresses, other nations fear that dollar-backed stablecoins will further cement the dollar's dominance in international payments. The European Central Bank has even warned of a potential loss of monetary autonomy. The FT argues that the best response isn't to restrict stablecoins, but for central banks to modernize their own payment systems, reduce friction in cross-border payments, and rebuild trust in their own currencies. Stablecoins are essentially forcing a long-overdue upgrade of the global financial infrastructure.

🔮Citi: Stablecoins and AI to Drive Post-Trade Settlement Revolution. A new Citi survey reveals that 10% of global market transactions will be tokenized by 2030, primarily driven by bank-issued stablecoins. With strong retail crypto demand and regulatory support, the APAC region is leading this adoption. The report also highlights that 86% of institutions are already testing AI for client onboarding, and 57% are piloting it for post-trade processing, as the industry rushes to meet accelerated T+1 settlement deadlines. This convergence of digital assets and AI is seen as crucial for modernizing financial infrastructure, enhancing collateral efficiency, and automating core services—marking a major transformation for the global capital markets.

🔮Report: Check Fraud is 31x More Risky Than Real-Time Payments. A new report reveals that only 2% of businesses experienced fraud with real-time payments (RTP or FedNow), while 63% reported check fraud. Despite this, 78% of financial institutions are only implementing real-time payments in "receive-only" mode due to perceived risk. However, real-time systems are inherently more secure, with features like a push-based architecture and API-level security. The data suggests that overblown fears about fraud are holding back the adoption of what is actually one of the safest payment channels available.

Capital Deployment

💰Utila Raises $22M to Meet Surging Stablecoin Demand. Utila, a crypto infrastructure provider, has secured $22 million in new funding led by Red Dot Capital Partners, nearly tripling its valuation in just six months. The company's digital asset operations platform, which handles payments and treasury management for businesses, now processes over $15 billion in monthly transactions. The funding comes as the stablecoin market has grown past $280 billion, solidifying its status as a killer app for blockchain technology. Utila plans to use the capital to expand into emerging markets in Latin America, Africa, and the Asia-Pacific, where demand for stablecoin infrastructure is booming.

💰Obita Raises $10M for Stablecoin-Based Cross-Border Payments. Obita, a digital finance network, has secured a $10 million seed round to build its stablecoin-based cross-border payment network. The funding will accelerate the deployment of its "Obita Mesh" framework, which integrates enterprise-grade compliance with a blockchain-native payment system. The company aims to solve high FX costs and settlement delays for businesses in high-growth markets like Central Asia, Southeast Asia, and Africa. This investment underscores growing confidence in stablecoins as a more efficient and transparent alternative to traditional payment rails.

💰Kite Raises $18M in Funding Co-Led by PayPal Ventures to Power AI Agent Payments. Kite, an AI company, has closed an $18 million Series A round co-led by General Catalyst and PayPal Ventures, bringing its total funding to $33 million. The company is building infrastructure for autonomous AI agents, using its flagship product, Kite AIR, to provide agents with verifiable identities and programmable payment rails. The platform allows AI agents to use stablecoins for authenticated transactions and payments, avoiding high fees from traditional processors. The investment from PayPal signals a major move by a payment giant into the emerging AI agent economy, solidifying the belief that stablecoins will be the default payment layer for autonomous systems.

💰Reflect Money Raises $3.75M to Launch Solana Yield-Bearing Stablecoin. Reflect Money has secured $3.75 million in funding led by a16z crypto CSX, with participation from Solana Ventures and others. The company is launching its flagship yield-bearing stablecoin, USDC+, on Solana. The Reflect Protocol aims to boost capital efficiency by a factor of 100 by eliminating idle assets and middlemen, which are common in traditional stablecoins that rely on off-chain custody for yield. This innovation allows developers to create their own yield-bearing stablecoins without any custody overhead, providing a new way for users to earn passive income while keeping assets on-chain.