Forget retail traders: The real multi-trillion-dollar crypto future is building infrastructure for machines

Finance Forget retail traders: The real multi-trillion-dollar crypto future is building infrastructure for machines While legacy banks keep corporate money idled in slow regional accounts, a new protocol allows software systems to settle multi-currency trade instantly. By Olivier Acuna | Edited by Jamie Crawley Jun 17, 2026, 10:29 a.m. 2 min read Make preferred on Share Share this article Copy link X icon X (Twitter) LinkedIn Facebook Email Make preferred on thinks AI software agents will run the entirety of global commerce within the next five years. (Olivier Acuna/CoinDesk) Summary Show Singapore-based startup Stables is building AI-native payment middleware to route stablecoin transactions across Asia’s fragmented cross-border trade infrastructure. CEO Bernardo Bilotta says the real growth opportunity is in machine-to-machine payments, as AI agents increasingly move money on behalf of businesses rather than human retail users. By embedding an Anthropic Model Context Protocol server into payment rails, Stables aims to let autonomous software handle compliance, FX and settlement for a share of a B2B e-commerce market projected to top $28.9 trillion in Asia-Pacific this year. With 60% of stablecoin payments flowing through a fragmented Asian corridor, new backend middleware lets autonomous software move capital without human steps. This is the aim of Stables, which is introducing a universal AI payment plug into Asia's multi-trillion dollar trade ecosystem to bypass legacy cross-border fragmented infrastructure. Singapore-based Stables targets a massive region where roughly 60% of the global stablecoin payments take place. Conversely, however, the zone remains the most fragmented and undeserved. . Last year, globally, stablecoins moved $35 trillion , a figure that could exceed $700 trillion by 2035 . The staggering volume surge highlights a deeper shift in global trade. Stables CEO and co-founder Bernardo Bilotta argues that the actual growth vector in the region is no longer human-to-human retail volume, which is true on a global scale. The real opportunity, he added, lies building specialized rails for automated machines. "Between now and the next five years, I think the entirety of commerce will be moving through AI agents," Bilotta said in an video interview with CoinDesk. "We're entering a world where money won't only move between people and businesses. It will increasingly move through software and AI systems acting on their behalf." Many experts share Bilotta’s AI agent outlook, including Charles Hoskinson, founder and CEO of Cardano’s Input Output, who said that by 2035 they will become more relevant than humans. The macro numbers support his stance. Data from the U.S. International Trade Administration via Trade.gov shows that business-to-business (B2B) e-commerce across the broader Asia-Pacific region is expanding at a 15% annual clip, with market values projected to climb past $28.9 trillion by the end of this year. Yet, despite that explosive growth, the plumbing underneath remains broken. The problem is fundamentally an issue of legacy infrastructure and compliance, Bilotta noted. Global financial regulations, banking protocols and identity verification checks were built strictly for humans. An autonomous AI software agent cannot pass a standard compliance check, he said or execute a payment loop unless a human manually intervenes to clear the transaction. To bridge this structural gap, the industry requires a compliant backend middleware that acts as a universal interpreter. Bilotta explained that by dropping an Anthropic-standard Model Context Protocol (MCP) server directly into the payment infrastructure, software agents can programmatically navigate compliance, pull real-time FX quotes, and settle transactions natively across borders without human steps. While institutional gatekeepers like Stripe and Mastercard have spent billions acquiring fiat-to-crypto APIs to secure traditional corporate treasuries, the automated machine-to-machine economy across emerging corridors remains heavily underserved. "The next phase of stablecoin adoption won't be driven by crypto traders," Bilotta concludes. "It will be driven by businesses, fintechs, and eventually AI systems moving real money in the real economy." Stablecoins Latest Crypto News 1 BitGo offers Europe’s crypto firms a MiCA-compliance lifeline as license deadline looms 4 hours ago 2 Forget the price charts. 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RWA perpetual futures volumes rose 10.4% against the trend, hitting a new all-time high. By CoinDesk Research Jun 15, 2026 In May, combined exchange volumes fell 3.45% to $4.41T; the lowest since September 2024. RWA perpetual futures volumes rose 10.4% against the trend, hitting a new all-time high. Why it matters : In May, combined exchange volumes fell 3.45% to $4.41T; the lowest since September 2024. RWA perpetual futures volumes rose 10.4% against the trend, hitting a new all-time high. View Full Report More From Finance BitGo offers Europe’s crypto firms a MiCA-compliance lifeline as license deadline looms Coinbase introduces AI adviser, stock options, and pre-IPO markets in finance push Ripple invests in Flutterwave, pushing its stablecoin and XRP Ledger into payments across Africa