Points of Focus

• AI agents settled $73 million across 176 million crypto payments in the past year.
• More than three-quarters of transactions were too small for traditional card networks to process efficiently.
• USDC handled 98.6% of settlements, exposing the sector’s reliance on a single stablecoin.

AI agents settled more than $73 million across 176 million blockchain transactions between May 2025 and April 2026, according to a report published by crypto investment firm Keyrock in collaboration with Coinbase and Tempo.

The figures cover the period from May 2025 through April 2026 and offer one of the clearest snapshots yet of how autonomous software is beginning to purchase data, computing resources, API access, and other digital services without human approval for each transaction. The report argues that the growth of machine-to-machine payments is creating a new market where traditional payment infrastructure struggles to compete.

AI agent payments reached scale through micropayments

Keyrock found that more than 104,000 agents are now registered across at least 15 directories and registries, with many conducting transactions worth only a few cents. The average payment size stood near $0.31, while 76% of transactions fell below the $0.30 fixed-fee floor commonly associated with card payments.

Those economics help explain why stablecoins have emerged as the preferred settlement method for autonomous agents. An AI agent paying a few cents for a weather-data query or market-data request can complete the transaction on blockchain networks for fractions of a cent, while traditional payment fees would consume most of the transaction value.

In one year, machine payments have evolved from concept to live ecosystem, with agents settling 176M transactions.

Our research with @CoinbaseDev, @tempo, and featuring @virtuals_io analyses the payment stack’s evolution, how the economics work, and what stands in the way. pic.twitter.com/W6DGGYAUC0

— Keyrock 🔑🪨 (@keyrock) May 21, 2026

USDC dominates machine-to-machine settlements

The report found that 98.6% of recorded settlements used Circle’s USDC (USDC) stablecoin. The report said USDC’s dominance highlights growing adoption of machine payments while increasing the ecosystem’s dependence on a single stablecoin issuer.

According to Keyrock, heavy reliance on a single stablecoin issuer means regulatory action, technical disruptions, or a loss of confidence in USDC could affect a large share of current agent-payment activity. The report identified this concentration as one of the least discussed risks in the emerging machine-commerce sector.

Major firms position for an AI payment economy

The study also highlighted growing competition among payment and technology companies seeking to build infrastructure for autonomous commerce. Keyrock estimates that more than $8 billion has been deployed through acquisitions and strategic moves tied to agent-payment infrastructure during the past year.

The researchers noted that activity remains small relative to global payment networks and that existing regulations, such as Europe’s Markets in Crypto-Assets framework (MiCA), the proposed US GENIUS Act, and the EU AI Act, don’t directly address autonomous machine-to-machine transactions.

Keyrock reported weekly payment volumes reaching a sustained $11 million-$15 million range in early 2026, indicating continued growth in machine-to-machine payment activity despite unresolved regulatory questions.